WEBVTT

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Ladies and gentlemen please welcome

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American TV and film actress

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and UN women's advocate for 
political participation and leadership

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Megan Markel.

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Well, good evening that doesn't

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feel like enough does it it's just great evening

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Maybe that's better.

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un secretary-general

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executive director Ponzi Li thank you distinguished ladies

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and gentlemen I am tremendously honored

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to be UN women's advocate for political

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participation and leadership

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I am proud to be a woman and a feminist

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and this evening I am extremely proud to stand

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before you on this significant day which

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serves as a reminder to all of us of how

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far we've come but also amid celebration

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a reminder of the road ahead I want to

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tell you a story that'll sort of give

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context to my being here and my work

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with you and women when I was just 11

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years old I unknowingly and somehow

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accidentally became a female advocate I

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was around the same time as the Beijing

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conference so a little over 20 years ago

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where in my hometown of Los Angeles a

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pivotal moment reshape my notion of what

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is possible

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see I had been in school watching a TV

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show in elementary school and this

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commercial came on with the tagline for

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this dishwashing liquid and the tagline

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said women all over America are fighting

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greasy pots and pans

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two boys from my class said yeah that's

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her women belong in the kitchen

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I remember feeling shocked and angry and

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also just feeling so hurt it just wasn't

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right and something needed to be done so

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I went home and I told my dad what had

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happened and he encouraged me to write

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letters so I did to the most powerful

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people I could think of now my 11 year

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old self

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worked out that if I really wanted

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someone to hear me

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well then I should write a letter to the

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first lady so off I went

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scribbling away to our first lady at the

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time Hillary Clinton I also put pen to

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paper and I wrote a letter to my news

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source at the time Linda Ellerbee who

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hosted a kids news program and then to

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powerhouse attorney Gloria Allred

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because even at 11 I wanted to cover all

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my bases

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finally I wrote to the soap manufacturer

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and a few weeks went by and to my

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surprise I received letters of

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encouragement from Hillary Clinton from

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Linda Ellerbee and from Gloria Allred it

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was amazing

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the kids new show they sent a camera

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crew to my home to cover the story and

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it was roughly a month later when the

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soap manufacturer Procter & Gamble

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changed the commercial for their ivory

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clear dishwashing liquid they changed it

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from women all over America are fighting

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greasy pots and pans to people all over

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America it was at that moment that I

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realized the magnitude of my actions at

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the age of eleven I had created my small

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level of impact by standing up for

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equality now equality means that

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president Paul Kagame of Rwanda whose

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country I recently visited as part of my

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learning mission with you and women it

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means that he is equal to the little

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girl the djembe refugee camp who is

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dreaming about being president one day

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equality means that UN Secretary General

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Ban Ki moon is equal to the young intern

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at the UN who is dreaming about shaking

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his hand it means that a wife it means

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that a wife is equal to her husband a

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sister to her brother not better not

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worse they are equal you and women as

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you guys know has defined the year 2030

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as the expiration date for gender

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inequality and here's what's staggering

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the studies show that at the current

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rate the elimination of gender

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inequality won't be possible until 2095

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that's another a

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eighty years from now and when it comes

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to women's political participation and

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leadership the percentage of female

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parliamentarians globally has only

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increased by 11 percent since 1995

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eleven percent in 20 years come on this

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has to change

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women women make up more than half of

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the world's population and potential so

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it is neither just nor practical for

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their voices for our voices to go

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unheard at the highest levels of

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decision-making the way that we change

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that in my opinion is to mobilize girls

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and women to see their value as leaders

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and to support them in these efforts to

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have leaders such as President Kagame of

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Rwanda continue to be a role model of a

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country which has a parliamentary system

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comprised of 64% female leaders I mean

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it's the highest of any government in

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the world and it's unbelievable

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we need more men like that just as we

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need more men like my father who

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championed my 11 year old self to stand

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up for what is right in doing this we

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remind girls that their small voices are

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in fact not small at all and that they

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can affect change in doing this we

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remind women that their involvement

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matters that they need to become active

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in their communities in their local

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governments as well as

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s parliamentary positions it is just

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imperative women need a seat at the

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table they need an invitation to be

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seated there and in some cases where

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this isn't available well then you know

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what then they need to create their own

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table we need we need a global

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understanding that we cannot implement

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change effectively without women's

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political participation it is said that

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girls with dreams become women with

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vision may we empower each other to

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carry out such vision because it isn't

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enough to simply talk about equality one

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must believe in it and it isn't enough

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to simply believe in it

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one must work at it let us work at it

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together starting now thank you so much