It's time for male leaders to not only ask for binders of qualified women, but to re-write the definition of 'qualified.' The best man for the job, may in fact, be a woman, whose biography is not traditional, but is rich with experiences and skills that are not necessarily learned either in school or on the job.
Legislative proposals that would enable an employer to determine whether or not a woman's insurance would cover the cost of birth control strikes women as particularly bizarre. Is the boss going to take care of the children that are conceived accidentally? Stop treating us like children. Women are grown ups.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the absurdity of allowing employers control over women's reproductive health decisions.
Madeleine M. Kunin expresses concern over legislative proposals that would enable employers to dictate whether women's insurance covers birth control. She emphasizes the absurdity of this situation by questioning why employers should have such authority, suggesting that it infantilizes women and disregards their autonomy and responsibility as adults. The quote calls for recognizing women as capable individuals who should make their own health decisions without external imposition.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a women's rights advocacy speech to highlight the importance of bodily autonomy.
More from Madeleine M. Kunin
All quotes βIt's time for women to wake up, to use the power of the vote, to honor the suffragists who chained themselves to the White House fence so that women could vote.
When women and men can shed an equal quantity of tears in public, that's when we'll have equal power.
Any smart executive understands that to find the best talent she has to explore new territory that lies beyond familiar geography. That applies not only to gender, but also to race, religion, background and age.
What works for a man, still does not work for a woman - both in terms of how they see themselves and how we see them.
What some men don't understand is that by opposing policies to reduce violence, promote equal pay and universal healthcare and voting to limit access to contraception and legal abortion, they are relegating women to another century, a time when men ruled exclusively and women were considered property and had to be guided by a firm masculine hand.
Similar quotes
It is not good to see people who have been pretending strength all their lives lose it even for a minute.
The worst thing to me would be that you put on the face you think people want to see, and then they don't like it and you think, Would they have liked the real me?
The heart surrenders everything to the moment. The mind judges and holds back. _x000D_ _x000D_ In most of our human relationships, we spend much of our time reassuring one another that our costumes of identity are on straight. _x000D_ _x000D_ When we see the Beloved in each person, it's like walking through a garden, watching flowers bloom all around us.
I leave CNN with the utmost respect, love and admiration for the company and everyone who works here. This has been my family and shared endeavor for the past 27 years, and I am forever grateful and proud of all that we have accomplished.
I don't see any reason to discriminate against homosexuals.
It's all love or sex these days. Friendship is almost as quaint and outdated a notion as chastity. Soon friends will be like the elves and the pixies - fabulous mythical creatures from a distant past.