In her talk on the women’s movement, Richards shares incredibly powerful anecdotes about women around the world standing up for their rights. The speaker shares examples of triumph and what these fights have led to: the ability to vote, as well as the increasing representation of women in the workforce and in education systems. However, much work remains to be done to achieve ‘true and complete equality’. Cecile Richards motivates us well to do this.
While representation has improved significantly in certain sectors, the activist points to gender inequality in politics and how that is absolutely crucial to the movement. She focuses mainly on the United States. Globally, America ranks 104th in the category of female representation in office. This entails enormous problems, a disproportionate distribution of power and an inequitable distribution of benefits. The United States, for example, is “the only developed country without paid family leave” and also a leader in maternal mortality. Cecile Richards links this to the overwhelming underrepresentation of women at the table.
The lecture on the women’s movement calls for reforming governments and institutions built by men for men. It calls for the mobilization of a “political revolution of full equality across race, across class, across gender identity, across sexual orientation, and yes, across political labels.” Richards believes in the efficiency of this. She even researches that women in office have a different approach than men. First, they support open and collaborative environments and are willing to ‘work across party lines’. In addition, women are more likely to support legislation that increases access to health care, education, [and] civil rights.”
By advocating for more women in Congress, Cecile Richards hopes that families will be kept together instead of torn apart and that pregnancies will no longer be a nuisance to businesses and others. Concluding her talk on the women’s movement, the speaker leaves the audience with a few tips on taking action: standing up “loud and proud” for the values we uphold, pushing persistently until every representative of the group receives equal rights, voting at every election, don’t wait for the green light, and invest in women.
