Name: On being a woman and a diplomat
Uploaded: 2011-02-18T15:29:00Z
Duration: 12 min 43 s
Description: Former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright talks bluntly about politics and diplomacy, making the case that women's issues deserve a place at the center of foreign policy. Far from being a "soft" issue, she says, women's issues are often the very hardest ones, dealing directly with life and death. A frank and funny Q&A with Pat Mitchell from the Paley Center.

Former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright talks bluntly about politics and diplomacy, making the case that women's issues deserve a place at the center of foreign policy. Far from being a "soft" issue, she says, women's issues are often the very hardest ones, dealing directly with life and death. A frank and funny Q&A with Pat Mitchell from the Paley Center.

On being a woman and a diplomat

Societies become stronger when women's voices help shape foreign policy and national security. A single snake pin, inspired by being called an "unparalleled serpent" by Saddam Hussein, sparked a tradition of using jewelry to signal intent and resistance. In a room of 15 Security Council members, only one was a woman, yet her presence shifted expectations and decisions. Empowering women is not a soft issue; it tackles life-and-death stakes and rewrites the rules of global engagement.