Ava DuVernay: Women Need to be Each Other’s “Fan Girls”
Men are often defended by other men, Ava DuVernay said to the 10,000 women attending the 2019 Pennsylvania Conference for Women. Using the film industry as an example, she said: If criticism comes, so do “fan boys” who support the person being criticized by descending on the Internet to protect them.
Elizabeth Gilbert: On the Three Most Powerful Words a Woman Can Say
When she was 25 and had moved to New York City to pursue a career as a writer, Elizabeth Gilbert saw a woman in her neighborhood who seemed to be living her dream life: one of creativity that was not taken up by other day jobs. “She became my mentor. She didn’t know. We didn’t have the conversation. I just decided. And, what that meant in my world was that … [ more ]
Jesmyn Ward: Hold Fast to Your Oars
“I grew up in a poor, rural mostly black community in Mississippi,” Jesmyn Ward began her talk before the 10,000 women at the 2019 Pennsylvania Conference for Women. She was a child of cleaning women, bootleggers, factory workers and landscapers. Growing up, she thought the people around her lived the lives they did because of one colossal mistake: They did not choose a life of education. She did not yet … [ more ]
James Clear: If You Want to Make Big Changes, Think Small
When he was a teenager, James Clear got hit in the face with a bat during a baseball game. It took surgery and nearly nine months for him to be able to work on regaining basic functions, like walking in a straight line. And even then, he could only focus on developing one tiny new habit a time. But together, these tiny habits made a big difference—big enough that, in … [ more ]
theSkimm Co-founders: Progress Comes When Hearing “No” Starts to Lose its Meaning
Carly Zakin and Danielle Weisberg quit their jobs at the age of 25 to try to start a business together, despite having no business or fundraising experience. What they had was a perception: that millennials like them were not reading or watching the news because they were too busy, and it was not being delivered in a way that effectively appealed to them. They also had a plan: that they … [ more ]
Williams Says Women Need to Push Against Boundaries Till They Budge
Looking out at a crowd of more than 12,000 women who attended the Pennsylvania Conference for Women last week, Serena Williams said, “I’ve traveled the world, and I’ve never seen anything like this.” In a conversation with Ellen McGirt, senior editor of Fortune, Williams spoke about women supporting women, pushing boundaries, sexual harassment, and more. Widely recognized as the best tennis player in history, Williams is an increasingly outspoken advocate on … [ more ]
Comedian Maysoon Zayid Makes Disability Mainstream
The first thing Maysoon Zayid said when she took to the stage at the 2018 Pennsylvania Conference for Women was: “I’m not drunk.” But, she quickly added, “the doctor who delivered me was.” She went onto explain that she has cerebral palsy, which causes her to involuntarily shake all the time. But Zayid doesn’t want anyone to feel sorry for her. “I’ve got 99 problems, and palsy is just one,” … [ more ]
Amal Clooney Speaks about Today’s Defining Moment in Women’s Rights
Editor-in-chief of Glamour Samantha Barry with international human rights attorney Amal Clooney at the 2018 Pennsylvania Conference for Women Amal Clooney, who has been called the “consummate feminist superhero,” usually speaks about human rights issues that women face in other countries. But at the 2018 Pennsylvania Conference for Women, the international human rights lawyer spoke at length about issues women are facing in America. “In the United States, a woman is … [ more ]