1st female White House Press Secretary aims to empower women
Dee Dee Myers hopes to change the world by boosting women and girls
By Faiza Elmasry
Voice of America
01 November 2010
To encourage women to help themselves and each other, Dee Dee Myers
became a spokeswoman for the 'Empowering Your Confidence' campaign.
Dee Dee Myers was the first woman - and one of the youngest - White
House press secretaries.
Now, more than a decade after her service in the Clinton
Administration, Myers is focused on empowering women in the U.S. and
worldwide.
White House years
Never take it personally; never lose your sense of humor. That's the
motto Dee Dee Myers lived by as President Bill Clinton's press
secretary.
"Being the first woman was a little harder for me to establish my
authority and my credibility in a culture, in Washington, which is
pretty traditional," Myers says. "I definitely faced challenges and I
sometimes felt I had more responsibility than I had authority, which I
think is a problem a lot of women face. But I fought back and, over
time, I was able to make things work better for me and most importantly
for the president."
Myers was inspired by her mother and other successful women.
"My mom always told my sister and me that we could do whatever we
wanted," she recalls. "She finished her master's degree and went back
into the workforce, when I was in high school. So she was a great role
model for me and my sister as well. And as I grew up in politics, I saw
a lot of women moving up. That gave me the confidence to think that I
might be able to make that next level. I don't think I've ever thought I
would end up in the White House."
Myers says she was also lucky to have great mentors, both women and
men.
"One of my most important mentors was one of my first bosses in
politics, the former mayor of Los Angeles, Tom Bradley, who really
treated me like a grown up when I was very young, with great respect and
really taught me a lot about how to deal with people. And I'll always be
grateful," Myers says.
Empowering women
After leaving the White House in 1994, Myers worked as political
commentator on cable and TV networks. She has also lectured on politics,
the media and women's issues.
"I'm still interested in politics, but empowering women has become my
passion because I think it can truly change the world," she says.
That's why Myers wrote a book, "Why Women Should Rule the World."
"I chose the title to sort of get people to think about what might
change if women ruled the world," she says. "But the argument that I
make is not that women should rule in place of men, but that women
should rule alongside of men because we can talk for hours about how
empowering women in the world is the single most important thing we
could do to promote economic development globally and political
stability and peace. I think there is no more generally effective way to
change the world than to educate and empower women and girls."
However, she notes, women who have been successful - in business or
politics - are not always willing to be mentors and help other women
advance.
"I think in many ways that's getting better, but I think there is
room for improvement," she says. "One of the things that I think women
have to recognize is that there is enough room for everybody. I think
sometimes that competition comes from insecurity. I don't think women
give themselves enough credit for all that they contribute and all that
they bring. I think sometimes women are more reluctant to take risks
than their skills or talent or ambitions suggest they ought to be."
New campaign
To encourage women to help themselves and each other, Myers became a
spokeswoman for the Empowering Your Confidence campaign. Sponsored by
Jones New York, which sells clothes for professional women, the online
campaign offers encouragement and advice from women who have 'made it'.
"One of the things it says to women is, 'Own your success, be
confident, know what it is you can contribute to the workplace, to
community and to family and be proud of it,'" she says. "You find more
about the campaign at jny.com/empowerment. There is a lot there
including something called 'the little black book on career advice.' We
gathered anecdotes and advice from more than 100 women, from a bunch of
different professions, talking to other women about what they think will
help women to succeed."
Dee Dee Myers says working with this campaign is another way for her
to reach out to women everywhere, helping them realize and reach their
potential to not only succeed in their chosesn careers but also to
change the world.
Find this article at:
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/usa/people/1st-Female-White-House-Press-Secretary-Aims-to-Empower-Women-106437723.html
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