A short clip from our Zoom interview with Melanne Verveer, Executive Director of the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security, as well as the former Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues, on May 5th, 2020.
Language Is Important
Interview with Ambassador Melanne Verveer
If I had been asked at the beginning of the year what I thought our trip to Washington, D.C. would look like it certainly wouldn’t be online interviews in the middle of a pandemic. The DC learning journey is something I have been looking forward to since my brother went in 2016. I am fascinated by politics, government, and diplomacy. While I am disappointed that we couldn’t travel as a class, and gain the experience of being in the heart of our government, I am thrilled to be able to spend this week speaking to so many inspiring leaders.
This morning we were incredibly lucky to interview Ambassador Melanne Verveer. She currently serves as the Executive Director of the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security. In addition to this role, she has spent her career fighting for women’s rights and equality and held numerous governmental positions. Our interview led to various topics on women’s issues, however, what really stuck with me was her discussion on building trust through dialogue and gaining respect through listening and understanding different perspectives. Especially in our current political climate, I see it as essential that we look towards connection with one another rather than division. As Melanne Verveer explained, if you want to build connections or get others to understand your side of an argument, “Language is important, communication is important, who you talk to is important.”
I plan to let myself listen and be guided by such wise words as I begin my intended education and career in international relations.
Today we had the opportunity to interview Ambassador Melanne Verveer. After talking with her a bit about our interview with Secretary George Shultz the previous day, we started to ask her our prepared questions. Each answer she provided was enriching. She talked about women’s rights and equality, and how these issues applied to the current state of the country, and around the world. She talked about closing the gap between men and women in areas such as education, work and pay, and also politics and government. It was very clear how important women’s rights are to her, and it was amazing to hear her speak about something she was so passionate about.
What struck me the most was the advice she gave us about contributing to our society. She told us to keep doing what we want to do that will help our community. She also shared with us examples she has heard about students who are helping their communities during the COVID-19 crises. She said the fact that we want to help is enough of a start. That inspires me to work hard and do more for the communities I am a part of. It was empowering to hear her talk, and doing this interview, alongside our interview yesterday with Secretary Shultz, has made me very excited for the interviews to come.
Getting to interview Melanne Verveer was an unbelievable experience. She gave strong answers to all of our questions and she was very inspiring. She talked about what is holding people back from accepting women’s rights, her work with Hillary Clinton, and how we have definitely made progress towards gender equality.
I was honestly very scared going into the interview with her even though we had many questions prepared. Despite my nervousness, the interview went well. I really respect how she took each question and gave us a solid, satisfying answer. It is impressive to look at all the work she has done. After this interview, I feel more prepared for the interviews to come.
We were all bustling; a Zoom call carrying 30 teenagers is bound to have some movement. Everyone was feeling fidgety, either from excitement or nerves, or often both. She had joined the call, unbeknownst to most of us. I heard her before I saw her.
“Hi everybody!” She announced herself with such purpose, as if to say, “I am here, and you’d better listen to me!” At once every eye followed her. There was a strength to her presence that seemed to resonate (even with the thousands of miles between us). That was the start of what I knew was going to be a great interview.
I have to say, what I found the most inspiring about Melanne Verveer wasn’t what she said, although there were plenty of gems to fill a vault, but rather how she carried herself. In talking to strong individuals and leaders, both in my personal life and in interviews, I’ve noticed a difference in the way that many men and women carry themselves. I see that some men are convinced from years of masculine power that their opinion has its rightful place. However, many women seem more reserved. They talk from years of oppression and imbalance, posing their opinions with some hesitance, providing an escape route if things get messy. While these approaches are in no ways rigid, there are outspoken women and more reserved men, in my experience this often is the case. To see Melanne Verveer come into the interview with such assurance that this was her place to be was truly awe-inspiring. She carried herself with a form of dignity. Every word out of her mouth was spoken with strength and commitment. There was no hesitance or reserve in the way she commanded herself or the room. She was someone who had confidence in herself, and would not be pushed around. She was an inspiration to how I wish to move forward in the world, with strength, courage, and a belief in myself.
It is safe to say that many of us were probably feeling a bit nervous for this interview because although yesterday’s interview with George Shultz was amazing, we had some technical difficulties. However, I am happy to say that the interview that we had with Melanne Verveer today went smoothly and she enlightened all of us with her brilliant responses to our questions.
I would say that the answer that resonated with me the most was her response to our very first question, “Has the Covid crisis impacted or changed your work in the world or the agenda in your work at Georgetown in any way?” Her response made me realize just how much women have been affected during this crisis. It is obvious that people all over the world, no matter their background, are being affected by this crisis in some shape or form. But Melanne Verveer made me realize just how hard women have it. To start things with, women don’t hold a majority of higher paying jobs. So, as this virus continues to take people’s job, lots of women aren’t feeling the stability and the comfort that other people feel with higher paying jobs. Another thing that she pointed out was the fact that women are mainly holding the burden of the care. There are many women that hold high demand jobs right now, such jobs in the medical field (91% of nurses are women), or jobs as caregivers. These jobs require interacting with other people which puts these women and their families in danger. In addition, as well as caring for others, many women take on more of the burden of caring for their families. Melanne Verveer also shared the horrifying fact that since the shelter in place, domestic violence in households has gone way up, putting many women in danger. All of these factors made it clear to me that women have it very rough during these times.
Melanne Verveer also said something that brought us hope. She told us that because of this pandemic, we are given the opportunity to build back society better than it was before. Hopefully we will because we are now seeing the many inequalities first hand. We can build back and make this world a safer, healthier, and happier place for women all over the world. Something good can come out of something terrible.
Video: Melanne Verveer and Susannah Wellford 2018
Filmed and edited by Devin Kumar.
Hope and Empowerment Through Diversity
-Susannah Wellford is the founder of Running Start and Women Under Forty Political Action Committee (WUFPAC)
-Melanne Verveer is the Executive Director of the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security, and was the first Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues, and former Chief of Staff for First Lady Hillary Clinton
This morning we had the privilege of going to the Cosmos Club for breakfast. Since 1878 the club has been a place for intellectuals of many different professions and interest to come together. The building itself was only a few blocks away from our hostel, but stepping into it was almost like stepping back in time. It was beautiful and elegant, and it was something I knew I could only experience because of this trip.
Just a few questions into the interview with Melanne Verveer, I could already see how much she cared about women’s rights as human rights, but she wasn’t just passionate—she was experienced and knew the facts behind her passion. When 30% of the decision makers are women, it reaches a critical mass of representation and as a result companies are more successful in performance. So it can even be in a company’s self-interest to elevate qualified women into board roles. It just makes sense to support diversity.
Sometimes I feel like we aren’t making any progress in women’s rights when I read the news and hear about the violence, lack of education, underrepresentation, and health care issues affecting women worldwide. But Verveer told us stories of hope. In the villages of Senegal it was common for women to go through female genital mutilation (FGM) as a social rite of passage. It was considered necessary if women wanted acceptance by the community and a good life. She spoke with the women of one village, and they told her how they wished they could end this practice. It caused many health issues and pain for the women, but without it they were outcast from the community. Although the country implemented some protections for women, nothing stopped—until Verveer was able to work with the men and women of the villages to communicate what was really at stake in the issue. In democratic discussions the decision was made to end the practice, and because other villages intermarry, the leaders encouraged all surrounding villages to end FGM. Real change happened. Verveer said, “Ending a practice doesn’t begin and end with changing a law.” Personally I have always had difficulty engaging in politics because it felt disconnected from real people to me, but on this trip I am starting to understand how policy and people can come together to move toward equality.
Today was our second day of interviews in DC. We had the amazing opportunity to interview both Melanne Verveer and Susannah Wellford. Both of these women are inspiring because they have broken new ground in areas that need improvement, especially regarding women’s progress in society. I found both of these women to be not only very knowledgeable and passionate about what they do, but they were also very honest when answering our interview questions.
Melanne Verveer is a very strong and powerful woman. This interview was a little bit different from the other ones so far because we had the chance to eat breakfast at the glamorous Cosmos Club with Melanne Verveer. I was pretty nervous at first, but the moment she came into the room and talked to us freely, I immediately sensed her authentic and wise personality. What I took away from this interview was that countries around the world can still maintain their culture while undergoing change to the desire and rights of their citizens. The most important things I learned were: stay present to your circumstances, use the power you have to determine your purpose, and that we are still working at equality between genders to allow a non-biased opinion of people, especially those in power.
Susannah Wellford is an incredible woman with a very personable nature. Her comforting presence radiated with a positive and very authentic aura. The advice I most resonated with was to take happiness over success/money when deciding what path to take in life. By staying present and in the moment instead of “letting yourself get in the way,” the fear of failure is filed down a little bit and awareness kicks in. As I am still exploring what I would like to study in college, this honest advice was short and simple, but very impactful for me. Wellford spoke honestly and openly about the fear of failure many people hold, and that by embracing failure one can become stronger. Another important lesson related to this is when she spoke about how practicing confidence when you are struggling can actually grow real confidence. From Susannah I learned that asking for help from a mentor, or someone you admire, is not a bad thing. Instead, asking for advice can allow you to grow as a person, as it helps you reach goals that may be hard to attain without some guidance. I also learned that competing against other people who you assume are “better” than you does not improve your circumstances; instead, use other people as resources, not for competition.
Both Susannah Wellford and Melanne Verveer spoke about diversity and how it enhances the richness in life. Susannah touched on how we are often comfortable in our own bubbles, and it causes us to have a hard time opening up to diversity and others’ views and opinions. But, once we learn to open our minds to what we are not familiar with, we can embrace diversity. Melanne Verveer spoke about diversity as well, specifically about how universities with high rates of diversity provide a “richer experience” because there are people who are not just like you; learning about other people’s backgrounds and views can allow you to become a more well-rounded person.
The trip so far has been an absolute blast, and I am continually inspired and in awe as each new day is met. Today is my third day here, and I have just started to adjust to the pretty dramatic shift of the East Coast. The architecture is breathtaking and satisfying to the eye, the Metro train system is an absolute exhilarating experience, and the hustling of all the confident people here is exciting and has totally propelled our group to strut in our sleek clothes to mirror them. The East Coast street life has so far taught me to be precautious of the wild drivers as well as pedestrians because one grown man has already screamed at me for being in his way.
As far as interviews go, I’ve begun to understand the process more deeply and appreciate it. Creating a question for these influential politicians and leaders is usually challenging for me; however, after some research I can more comfortably get in touch with what I really want to know or take away from the interviewee. I came to this realization today when we interviewed Susannah Wellford. This was a woman that I chose to research in the pre-trip process, and I even got a sense then of what a wonderful woman she is.
The interview felt very much like a casual conversation as Susannah was really approachable and was an overall warm and kind woman. She spoke to us on a common ground, and my classmates and I were able to relate with her easily and really take into account the valuable advice and stories she shared. The fact that she has cultivated her ideas into creating Running Start, her organization empowering women to run for office and participate in politics, was very inspiring to me and was what drew me to her in the first place. From Susannah, I took away positivity, the gleaming future that my generation has the capability of attaining, and how young voices really can be heard. She instilled hope in me.
Since I’m a junior in high school, who doesn’t have any idea which direction to take going into college, she really helped me understand why that is no big deal. She mentioned that many successful people she knows didn’t take a direct path in their lives; they explored many different things and pursued the different directions that opened up, the “zig-zag path.” She said, “Happiness encompasses everything. If you have something that makes you happy, then you are successful.” This moment struck me because it really ensured the direction I want my life to go, to really pursue something that brings light and joy and gives me daily motivation. Another light that was brought up by Susannah was her view on diversity. She spoke about the happiness she feels when gathering young women across the nation for one of her summer programs and sees the immense diversity in the girls. I connected this perspective she had with that of Melanne Verveer, whom we interviewed this morning at breakfast in the Cosmos club.
Melanne Verveer said, “When people around you are different, that’s a rich part of life.” She accounted that our American culture is critically defined by our diversity and that is what we thrive on. Melanne impacted me instantly with her gleaming kindness and wisdom. She was very interested and wanted to learn about us as much as we wanted to learn about her, which resulted in a very impactful interview.
I really look forward to the rest of the trip, and I’m keeping a very open mind in order to soak up information and get meaning out of the experience.
Today we had an interview with Susannah Wellford. The first thing I noticed about her was her confidence and energy. She talked with so much hope that it gave me hope for the future. I never once doubted anything she said because she seemed to believe in herself so much. About halfway through the interview she mentioned that everyone struggles with confidence. This was a huge surprise to me because I couldn’t imagine that would be true of her. She told a story about how she brings in women to talk to younger girls about women’s rights. She said that even these women would second-guess their performance right after talking to the girls about being confident. This struck me because I do the same thing.
Even just today when I asked Susannah my question, I stressed out about the one word that I had said a little off. I never realized that women with jobs that call for so much confidence might be going through anything similar to what I do when faced with something nerve-racking. Her advice was to remind yourself that you belong. Older women who seem “perfect” to girls my age have their own struggles as well. The fact that they can rise to do such great things gives me hope. It gives me confidence just knowing that I am not the only one and that I can do whatever I want to do as long as I believe I can.
Today we interviewed Susannah Wellford, founder of Running Start, an organization that encourages young women to join politics. The interview was so enjoyable; Wellford was absolutely amazing and inspiring from the second she walked in the room. She speaks with such confidence on the truth of the political climate, but remains optimistic while doing so. I loved how passionate and driven she is to inspire young women, which is exactly what she did in our time speaking with her. After every question, she took the time to really think about and construct what her answer would be. The whole interview was extremely interesting, but there were a few things that stuck out to me.
She said that no matter what choices you make, even if they’re the best ones, inevitably there will be difficulties. Keep going even if failure is a possibility. What matters are the choices you make regarding how to act towards your circumstances. It helps to allow ourselves to process pain and be able to feel it for a little while. Let it sink in, and then move on. This lets us process and see what’s good in our lives, which we then appreciate more.
She also spoke about the constant pressure women have to measure themselves against each other, which really stuck out to me. The constant competition of beauty and success that comes with social media, jobs, and even cosmetics ads is so prevalent in every woman and girl’s life, especially for teenagers like myself. I also related this to my transition to college, and the constant fear that every other girl at my school will be better than me. I want to pay attention and highlight this because I know that if I go into it with that barrier of fear and judgment, it will completely affect my learning experience, and my ability to make friends as well. Everyone, including young women like me, needs to stop putting women down, and start being positive and supportive in order to change our society for the better.
Today was our second day of interviews in Washington DC. This afternoon we spoke with Susannah Wellford, a highly intelligent and confident woman who clearly portrays her knowledge about the subject of women empowerment. She is a single mother with twin boys and the head of her own successful nonprofit organization called Running Start.
As soon as Susannah sat down, she had already started up conversations with the people around herself. Her warm smile was inviting and lasted throughout the interview, which made it effortless to ask her questions. When people asked questions, she was delighted to answer and treated it more like a conversation. Each time she answered a question, you could tell she put a lot of thought into her answer in a short amount of time.
After answering all of the questions, she asked us two questions. The first question was about how the previous election had inspired us and the second question was what were the biggest internal problems in our lives. Both these questions had instant responses, which indicated how enthralled everyone was in the interview. For each answer she gave a personal piece of advice on overcoming these internal struggles. Before she left the room, everyone swarmed her to shake her hand and talk to her, but unfortunately she had to leave all too soon due to her busy schedule. The amount of energy left in the room was immense and a majority of the people said that this was their favorite interview yet.
