Hillary Clinton speaks by video: 'The future is female'
If you've been wondering what Hillary Clinton is up to these days – she is not far and she is still cheering for women.
Mrs. Clinton, the 2016 Democratic Party’s presidential nominee, on Monday made her first appearance since the inauguration of President Trump in a video statement released on the first day of the 2017 Makers Conference.
“Despite all the challenges we face, I remain convinced that yes, the future is female,” the former secretary of State said in the video. “Just look at the amazing energy we saw last month as women organized a march that galvanized millions of people all over our country and across the world.”
The three-day conference, which organizers bill as “36-hour action plans on women in the workforce,” features other high-profile speakers from politics, Hollywood, and business, including organizer Gloria Steinem and actress Octavia Spencer.
Organized as the second annual conference by Makers – a storytelling platform dedicated to the discussions of women’s issues – the conference invites hundreds of leaders this year, hoping to raise awareness and seek solutions on issues ranging from violence against women and inclusion of men.
This year’s conference is themed “#BEBOLD,” following Clinton’s special announcement, and the organizers have dubbed the event “the meeting after the march,” referring to the Women’s March that happened one day after Mr. Trump’s inauguration and drew, according to some estimates, more than half a million people to Washington D.C.
"What passed as bold in 2016, is not going to get us through 2017,” said Makers founder Dyllan McGee and Vice President Samantha Leibovitz DeChiaro in their opening remarks.
The statement comes at a time when a surge of young women are flooding to local Democratic organizations, planning to give politics a first try as the first-time politician Trump settles into office. The Christian Science Monitor’s Story Hinckley reported last week:
Since President Trump’s election, young progressive women are flooding political training programs. They are energized by a fear of what a Trump presidency might bring on issues from reproductive rights and climate change to immigration policy and education funding. Ironically, some are also inspired by Trump, a first-time candidate who won the presidency despite a lack of political experience.
While it is still too early to tell if the wave of females enthusiastic about politics is comparable to the burst of interest in 1992 – when law professor Anita Hill accused US Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment in his confirmation hearing – this outpouring, according to the Monitor, is happening just at a time when local Democratic representation has declined drastically.
And as the first woman in history to win the party's presidential nomination, Clinton may be giving these young women the encouragement they need.
“And remember, you are the heroes and history makers, the glass ceiling breakers of the future,” she said. “As I’ve said before, I’ll say again, never doubt you are valuable and powerful and deserving of every chance and every opportunity in the world.”
