TED Talk with Cecile Richards: The Political Progress Women Have Made — And What’s Next

    The resource above is a TED Talk given by Cecile Richards who was the president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Planned Parenthood Action Fund and the deputy chief of staff to House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. In addition, she was named one of TIME Magazine's "100 Most Influential People in the World” in 2011 and 2012.

    In this video, Cecile Richards suggests women to reach out for their opportunities and offers several advice of how to do so that could encourage women to challenge the status quo and make progress for themselves and the next generation.

    Here are some quotes from the talk that I think are inspiring to women who intend to make a global political revolution for women's equality happen and enhance women’s political representation.

“But imagine if women actually had political power. Imagine if we were at the table, making decisions. Imagine if we had our own women's political party that instead of putting our issues to the side as distractions, made them the top priority. Well, we know -- research shows that when women are in office, they actually act differently than men. They collaborate more with their colleagues, they work across party lines, and women are much more likely to support legislation that improves access to health care, education, civil rights. And what we've seen in our research in the United States Congress is that women sponsor more legislation and they cosponsor more legislation. So all the evidence is that when women actually have the chance to serve, they make a huge difference and they get the job done.”

“But perhaps most importantly, I think all of these issues would no longer be seen as ‘women's issues.’ They would just be seen as basic issues of fairness and equality that everybody can get behind. So I think the question is, what would it take, actually, to build this women's political revolution? The good news is, actually, it's already started. Because women around the globe are demanding workplaces, they're demanding educational institutions, they're demanding governments where sexism and sexual harassment and sexual assault are neither accepted nor tolerated. Women around the world, as we know, are raising their hands and saying, ‘Me Too,’ and it's a movement that's made so much more powerful by the fact that women are standing together across industries, from domestic workers to celebrities in Hollywood. Women are marching, we're sitting in, we're speaking up. Women are challenging the status quo, we're busting old taboos and yes, we are proudly making trouble.”

“So, women in Saudi Arabia are driving for the very first time. Women in Iraq are standing in solidarity with survivors of human trafficking. And women from El Salvador to Ireland are fighting for reproductive rights. And women in Myanmar are standing up for human rights. In short, I think the most profound leadership in the world isn't coming from halls of government. It's coming from women at the grassroots all across the globe. And here in the United States, women are on fire. So a recent Kaiser poll reported that since our last presidential election in 2016, one in five Americans have either marched or taken part in a protest, and the number one issue has been women's rights. Women are starting new organizations, they are volunteering on campaigns, and they're taking on every issue from gun-safety reform to public education. And women are running for office in record numbers, and they are winning.”

“But women around the globe, they're on the move, and they are taking strengths and inspiration from each other. They are doing things they never could have imagined. So if we could just take the progress we have made in joining the workforce, in joining business, in joining the educational system, and actually channel that into building true political power, we will reshape this century, because one of us can be ignored, two of us can be dismissed, but together, we're a movement, and we're unstoppable.”