- 1 week ago
Refinery29 sat down with Hillary Clinton to discuss her plan to address campus sexual assault â as well as her advice to millennial women.
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00:00Secretary Clinton, thank you so much for joining us today.
00:02Thank you. I'm delighted to be here with you.
00:04Can you tell us a little bit about where we are and why we're here?
00:07We are on the campus of the University of Northern Iowa.
00:11And I came here today to roll out a policy about sexual assault on campus.
00:18And I chose to come here because they've actually been a leader
00:22in trying to figure out how to have a comprehensive system,
00:26a fair process, and increased education and prevention.
00:31I wanted to come to a place that is trying to really deal with the problem,
00:34not deny it, not push it under the rug.
00:37One in five women are affected by sexual assault on campuses
00:42and, as you know, throughout our society.
00:45So this is a serious problem for everyone,
00:48and it's something that I am personally committed to trying to address.
00:51It feels like a bold move to put this front and center
00:54in a presidential campaign. Why is that issue so important to you?
00:59That's a really fair question because usually when you run for president,
01:03you talk about the economy, you talk about national security,
01:07you talk about some additional issues like health care and education,
01:10all of which, of course, I'm talking about and have very specific ideas about what to do.
01:15I want to be the president who takes on these big issues,
01:18whether it's climate change or Syrian refugees or ISIS or anything else.
01:23But I also want to be the president who really helps people with the problems
01:29that they worry about in their own lives, the problems that keep you up at night,
01:33the problems that might be a lack of childcare or a friend's mental health issues
01:39or your own substance abuse issues, or certainly in the case of so many young women,
01:44sexual assault, which is real and which affects them,
01:48if not them personally, often someone they know and care about.
01:52I think a president can do a lot to help set an agenda that is both very big and global.
02:00Let's combat climate change and let's get clean energy, but also personal and local
02:06so that we can do better together. I really want to see our country coming together
02:11and helping everybody be more empowered to make the best decisions they can make in their lives.
02:17There are a lot of voters that we hear from, they're only interested in economic issues
02:22and less so social issues, but shouldn't they be thinking about women's issues based on their economic impact?
02:29I do. And economic issues in today's world are, of course, about how we get incomes rising again.
02:36That's the very center of my economic policy, how we get the deck to be stacked in favor of hardworking
02:44people,
02:44not just rigged in favor of those at the top. And I'm laying out a lot of those policies.
02:49However, here's what I want your viewers to know, and that is, if you want to grow the economy,
02:56if you want it to be fairer and have more people really benefiting from their hard work and their productivity
03:02and sharing in the profits that they help to make, you have to focus on women.
03:08You have to focus on whether young women, middle-age women, all women are being treated fairly in the workplace
03:17because when women aren't, that not only hurts them, it hurts their families, it hurts the economy.
03:22So when I talk about affordable childcare, that's an economic issue, not a social issue, it's an economic issue.
03:28When I talk about paid leave, and I point out that we're one of the very few countries, the only
03:34advanced economy,
03:35that doesn't take into account how much more difficult it is for most women to balance family and work.
03:42That's not just a personal issue or a social issue, that's also an economic issue.
03:46And certainly when I talk about equal pay for equal work, it is long past time we finally got that
03:52fixed.
03:53As a young woman or a woman of any age, you should be, as right, entitled to equal pay for
04:00equal work.
04:01So these are economic issues and they're family income issues and they're advancement issues.
04:06I don't want to see young women who work hard, who get their education, who are really out there trying
04:12to make the most out of their own lives
04:14to wake up, as so many have in the past, and realize they're doing the same job as a young
04:20man hired at the same time
04:21and they're not being paid the same.
04:23That's not America, that's just wrong.
04:25In a lot of ways today, the economic issues and the social and the personal issues have to be integrated.
04:30And that's why in my economic proposals, I talk a lot about how we need to make the workplace work
04:35for women.
04:36What do you want to say to those women that feel a little bit afraid to negotiate, a little bit
04:40afraid to ask for equal pay?
04:42I understand that. I know that it's not easy.
04:45I remember very well the first job I had out of law school, I didn't negotiate.
04:50The second job I had out of law school, I didn't negotiate.
04:53I was just so happy to have a job and have a job that I thought would be purposeful and
04:59give me some real opportunity to grow.
05:01But the more I represented people, the more I was a lawyer for people, the more I saw what was
05:08happening out in the work world,
05:09the more convinced I became that young women need to follow Sheryl Sandberg's advice about leaning in.
05:17Doing it in a smart way, not in a way that's going to cause a lot of waves, but a
05:22way which is going to put your worth front and center.
05:26I've often said that I've employed a lot of people now.
05:29I've worked with a lot of young people in my various jobs over the years.
05:33And often when I come to a young woman and I say, I want to give you more responsibility or
05:37we think you're ready for a bigger job.
05:41She will say, do you really believe that or are you sure?
05:44And that's kind of ingrained in us about, wait a minute, are you really talking to me?
05:49When I go to a young man and I say, we're looking for greater responsibility for you, maybe a different
05:54job.
05:55Honestly, they will say maybe not exactly these words, but the message will be what took you so long.
06:00You know, of course, I'm ready, I'm able.
06:03So part of my message to young women is first and foremost, believe in yourself, believe in who you are.
06:12You have a unique contribution to make to the world.
06:14We all have gifts.
06:15They're all different gifts.
06:16And you have something that can make life better, not just in your home with your relationships, but in the
06:23broader world of work in society, in politics.
06:26And so study what experts, people who've been very successful, like my friend Sheryl Sandberg and others, tell you how
06:33to do this and how to take that deep breath.
06:36It is scary, but to go ahead and take it, to try it out with your friends and just be
06:41specific.
06:42Here's what I've done.
06:43Here is the feedback I've gotten.
06:45I really believe that I am the best person to continue this project or this work plan, and I want
06:53to be sure that I am paid accordingly.
06:56It's scary, but we need women supporting other women, too.
06:59We need to kind of remove the mystery about pay.
07:03In some places, you can't even find out what somebody doing the same job is getting.
07:07And so we have to get more transparency and more information so that young women are supported in the risk
07:14they feel they're taking in trying to get paid fairly and equally.
07:17One of the resonant things that we hear from our audience all the time is this idea of hope and
07:22optimism.
07:23Yes.
07:24No matter what the stats are, no matter what the news is, they believe that they can change the world.
07:29They believe they're going to live in a better world.
07:31Yes.
07:31What is it about this generation that makes you most hopeful?
07:35I am thrilled to meet so many young women who believe exactly as you are describing, that they are hopeful,
07:42they are optimistic,
07:43because there has never been a better time in history or a better place in history to be a young
07:49woman than in the United States of America in 2015.
07:53And I feel that so strongly.
07:56So, yes, do we have some challenges?
07:58Of course we do.
07:58We're human beings.
07:59We're going to have challenges.
08:00But we have to keep working to make our country the place it should be, the place we know it
08:05can be.
08:06But what really excites me about a lot of millennials is that there's a great devotion to public service.
08:13I hear it.
08:14I see it.
08:15They get involved in all kinds of service activities and projects in their community, at their workplace, on their campus,
08:21if they're still in school.
08:22So they really do feel the urge to try to improve somebody's life, to try to deal with both small
08:29problems here at home, maybe cleaning up a park, and giant problems around the world like combating climate change.
08:34So I'm thrilled that that is the ethos that I am seeing when I go to campuses, when I speak
08:40with young women in particular.
08:42I would just like to connect that with the very real need to be active politically.
08:48Because I often hear from young women that I speak with about these issues.
08:52They love public service, they love to be involved in good causes and charities and all kinds of actions that
09:00give them a lot of satisfaction.
09:02But they're not so enthusiastic about being involved in politics.
09:06And what I try to explain is how whatever individual commitment you have, whether it's tutoring a child or working
09:15at a food bank, whatever it might be, I applaud you and I thank you.
09:19I'm very grateful.
09:20But it's really hard to meet all the needs that we have for all the kids who need to be
09:25tutored, all the people who might need extra nutrition, particularly children or pregnant women, without having political change,
09:33without having political leaders who will work hand in hand with the not-for-profit sector and the private sector
09:40to try to meet the very human needs that Americans have and certainly many people around the world.
09:46So don't give up on politics. Don't turn away from politics.
09:51Look for ways to become educated, to become involved, to feel that you can see a linkage between an issue
10:00or a cause you care about and what could be done by somebody you support, work for or vote for
10:06in politics.
10:07I think running for office is something that requires a tremendous amount of confidence but also competitiveness to say, you
10:15know, I'm going to win this. I can do this.
10:17Which we see less among women. We see women less likely to run once and then not get the seat
10:24and then run a second time. You've done it. You've done it.
10:27As a senator, you're doing it again as president. Have you always had that confidence or have you cultivated it?
10:34I have not. I have not. I, like every other woman that I ever grew up with, any one of
10:41my friends, this has been a journey.
10:43And I was coming of age just at the beginning of the women's movement, just when all of the options
10:51were being discussed.
10:52Now I was fortunate. I had parents and teachers who never made distinctions, at least that I can recall, between
11:00the boys and the girls.
11:01You know, they expected us all to work hard, do well and all of that, which gave me a good
11:06foundation to believe I could be successful if I tried.
11:09But I didn't have any smooth path. And in fact, the first time I was seriously thinking about running for
11:16office, I was an adult. It was 1998.
11:18I had never thought about doing this before. And I really was reluctant. In fact, resistant.
11:24People were approaching me about running for the Senate in New York. And I kept saying, no, you know, I'm
11:29not going to do that. I'm sorry. Thank you very much.
11:32And they wouldn't give up. And they kept pushing me. They wanted me to run. And they clearly saw something
11:37in me that I was not yet convinced of.
11:39I kept saying no. And I'll tell you what changed my mind because there was a moment. And that moment
11:44happened at a high school in New York City.
11:46I was there as first lady to help highlight a documentary about American women in sports, American women athletes who
11:56had gone to the Olympics, who had won tennis and golf tournaments and swimming contests, all kinds of athletic achievements
12:03going back 100 plus years.
12:04So we were at this high school and there were some great women athletes. Billie Jean King and others were
12:08there. And I was asked to go make a few words because I really support equal rights for women.
12:14And I supported equal participation in school programs under Title IX. So it was a good event for me to
12:20be at. And a young woman who was the captain of the volleyball team introduced me.
12:24She was a very impressive, tall young woman. She introduced me. And there'd been all this speculation in the press,
12:29like, you know, would I run for the Senate? Would I say yes? All these people wanted me to.
12:33And as I came up, I wanted to shake her hand and thank her because she did a nice job.
12:37And so I said, thank you so much. She bent over to me. The name of the documentary was Dare
12:42to Compete.
12:43And she said to me, whispered in my ear, dare to compete, Mrs. Clinton, dare to compete. Honestly, I was
12:51momentarily speechless because she had really kind of called me out, to be honest.
12:57I mean, I had been a very strong supporter of women running for office, women serving in office. I had
13:04actively helped to recruit women to make those elections, then certainly help them raise money and all the rest of
13:11it that you do.
13:11And all of a sudden, this young woman is basically saying, hey, don't just talk the talk, walk the walk.
13:18And it was from that moment in, you know, mid-spring of 1999 that I really began seriously to think
13:26about it.
13:26And I said to myself, you know, gosh, I don't want to be hypocritical about this. I go around telling
13:30women to be in politics.
13:31Now people are asking me. I care deeply about all the issues that affect our country.
13:37And I'm saying, no, no, no, no, no. And this young woman is saying, hey, dare to compete.
13:43And, you know, a few months later, I said, OK, and literally just stuck my toe in the water for
13:48the first time.
13:49It was really a big challenge. I had supported everybody else. I had never done it for me. And I
13:55had to learn.
13:56Does that woman know that she's had this tremendous impact?
13:59I think so. I've written about her and talked about her. And it was it was one of those real
14:04moments of epiphany and change in my thinking.
14:07I do want to go back to Campus Assault for a second. I want to talk about Emma Sokolowitz at
14:12Columbia.
14:13You said of her that that image should haunt all of us. What does the plan you want to put
14:20in place do for women like Emma?
14:23You know, first of all, there needs to be a decision in our country and on every college campus that
14:31any woman who reports an assault should be heard and believed.
14:37And there should be a process that is in place, not made up every time that something like this happens.
14:44There should be a regular process in place to examine what she is saying, to begin to hear from people,
14:53to make some kind of decision that is viewed as fair to everybody, because it does need to be fair
15:01to everybody.
15:01But too many women like her and too many others feel that they are basically being asked to remain silent,
15:09that nobody wants to hear from them and nobody wants to believe them and nobody wants to have the comprehensive
15:15services that they need.
15:16We have colleges that don't have any services in their health clinics or any cooperative agreements with nearby hospitals, even
15:24to treat somebody who's come forth.
15:27So there's like a checklist that we're going through that every place should have to be able to comply with.
15:34And then when it comes to the process, I mean, I've talked to survivors, a lot of them don't want
15:39to go into the criminal justice system.
15:41They don't feel that they will be heard or believed there.
15:46And it's a very difficult process for so many.
15:50So they want to be able to trust their college or university process.
15:55But if they choose to go into the criminal justice system, they should be supported by their college or their
16:01university.
16:02And there are some good programs. There are just not enough of them.
16:05And I want to raise the visibility of them. And I want to also do more to emphasize prevention.
16:10This starts at an early age. The culture plays a role in this.
16:14The messages that are sent to young men, the kind of visual images that are seen all too often, the
16:20lyrics of music.
16:21We know that there's a kind of pressure or expectation about behaviors that are hurtful.
16:27And so we need to do more, starting in high school, I would argue, to begin to change those signals,
16:33to begin to try to change the culture.
16:35So I've consulted, talked with a lot of people who have been through this.
16:40There are excellent leaders, really strong advocates for survivors, places that are doing good work, but it's not knit together.
16:49And the Obama administration has begun to, you know, shine a spotlight.
16:54I just want to make it a very broad and bright spotlight and then to really move forward very steadily
17:00and urgently to try to meet the needs that are out there.
17:04Thank you so much.
17:05Oh, my goodness. I enjoy that so much, Shannon. We could just keep going. I loved it.
17:10I mean, many more questions.
17:13Yeah. Well, how about To Be Continued?
17:15To Be Continued.
17:16Oh, thank you so much.
17:17Thank you so much. I really enjoyed it. You want to get a crew picture, too?
17:20Yeah, I'll be wonderful.
17:21Okay, great.
17:21Bye, bye.