I have lived with extraordinary women, whether it was my grandmother, my mother. My father passed away when I was 16... I was witness to a woman who single handedly brought up the entire family and managed to do everything... She was an extraordinary role model for me.
Interpretation
The quote highlights the influence of strong women in the speaker's life, particularly in their role as leaders and caregivers.
In this quote, Christine Lagarde reflects on the profound impact that extraordinary women, particularly her grandmother and mother, had on her upbringing. She emphasizes the strength and resilience of these women, who not only raised the family but also served as role models, showcasing the importance of female figures in personal development and the lessons learned from their experiences.
In practice
In a speech about leadership, one might quote Lagarde to highlight the importance of family support in shaping strong leaders.
In the 2013 Economists Program, we hired 51 percent women, 49 percent men. And the reason for that is that we have a draft from all over the world, and we've hired, for instance, in that group, a good number of Chinese economists - highly qualified, all Ph.D.s from the best universities of the world. And guess what? They're all women.
Tackling climate change is a collective endeavour, it means collective accountability and it's not too late
I'm of those who believe that excesses in all matters are not a good idea, whether it's formation of bubbles, whether it's excess in the financial market, whether it's excess of inequality, it has to be watched, it has to be measured, and it has to be anticipated in terms of consequences.
You know, when I sit in meetings and things are very tense and people take things extremely seriously and they invest a lot of their ego, I sometimes think to myself, 'Come on, you know, there's life and there's death and there is love.' And all of that ego business is nonsense compared to that.
Very often as a little girl, then as a young woman, I have suffered my lot of discrimination. I was brought up with brothers; I grew up in a boys' world. You have to elbow your way in. When you come with that sentiment of having been in a minority for a long period of time, then you are much more attentive to minorities.
To me, leadership is about encouraging people. It's about stimulating them. It's about enabling them to achieve what they can achieve - and to do that with a purpose.
The sun looks down on nothing half so good as a household laughing together over a meal.
In family relationships, 'love' is really spelled 't-i-m-e,' time. Taking time for each other is the key for harmony at home.
I have to say, I have to tell you that my kids had a most marvelous time having two moms. When my daughter was at university, she got flu. And both mums rushed to be with her. And we were both looking after her and making soup and tidying up. And one of her friends came in and went, 'Two mums? Not fair.'
There's a line I have that our family was designed more for public than for private. But there are definitely some things that are only mine. I am someone who dreams at night, and you don't know what I'm dreaming.
A mother is not a person to lean on but a person to make leaning unnessary.
I profoundly believe that the power of food has a primal place in our homes that binds us to the best bits of life.
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