Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in conversation with Charlotte Alter. (Photo courtesy of Chicago Humanities Festival and David T. Kindler)

“Accomplishment and happiness go together,” Hillary Rodham Clinton told an enthusiastic crowd during her recent talk for the Chicago Humanities Festival Joanne H. Alter Women in Government Lecture.

““Accomplishment and happiness go together,” @HillaryClinton told an enthusiastic crowd during her recent talk for the @Chihumanities Festival Joanne H. Alter Women in Government Lecture. ”

In conversation with journalist Charlotte Alter (granddaughter of the late community and political activist Joanne), Clinton, the former U.S. Secretary of State, and former First Lady of the U.S. and Arkansas, is clear on her positions from gender equity to bipartisanship and a mission of giving back and creating solutions. While maintaining happiness.

“COVID was a liberating and empowering opportunity for people to rethink” their lives, Clinton says.

It was also a time when many—especially those identifying as women—were bombarded with conflicting challenges of work, family and personal obligations. It resulted in a huge shift of work priorities, as well as involuntary downsizing while mostly women grappled with childcare, elder care, economic uncertainty, remote schooling and COVID restrictions.

“#Covid19 resulted in a huge shift of work priorities, as well as involuntary downsizing while mostly #women grappled with childcare, elder care, economic uncertainty, remote schooling and COVID restrictions. ”

“Women should make responsible choices that are best for them,” says Clinton, 75, now faculty at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. “What we want is to create an environment where women are able to define ambition and accomplishment based on their own sense of worth.” To nearly unanimous applause, she adds, “It is how you define your happiness.”

The former U.S. senator to New York from 2001-2009, and the Democratic nominee for U.S. president in 2016 who lost the electoral vote but earned 66 million votes, winning the popular vote by nearly 3 million votes, says the positives that came out of the pandemic are a chance to realign intentions during what many termed the Great Reinvention.

““What we want is to create an environment where women are able to define #ambition and accomplishment based on their own sense of worth.” To nearly unanimous applause, @HillaryClinton adds, “It is how you define your happiness.” #womenleaders”

“In a time of searching, COVID accelerated that. People were shut off from their own networks. A lot of rethinking was going on,” Clinton says.

But there is a danger in casting judgment on those identifying as women who continue to pursue demanding careers and accelerated their aspirations, assigning them pushback for aiming high.

“As long as we don’t fall into the thought that nobody can be ambitious and accomplished and happy,” says Clinton, author of several best-selling books, including the memoir, Hard Choices (2014) and What Happened (2017). “Well I’m here to tell you, yes, you can.”

“It’s a problem when women start judging each other on other standards.”

The real culprit is perfectionism, she says. “It is hard enough in the real world, then that creeping insecurity all of a sudden eats away at confidence and a sense of self.”

“The real culprit is perfectionism, @HillaryClinton says. “It is hard enough in the real world, then that creeping insecurity all of a sudden eats away at confidence and a sense of self.” #genderequality”

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Clinton, mother of Chelsea, and grandmother of three, says that during COVID, her daughter, her husband and their children moved in with her and her husband, Bill, for 18 months during COVID.

Grandparenting, she adds, “is the one experience in life that is not overrated.”

Looking back on her own childhood and that of her grandchildren, as well as changes since COVID, Clinton says the gendered differences are stark.

“I don’t know what it is about moving from girlhood to adolescence, but little girls have a sense of adventure, curiosity and risk-taking. At puberty, girls become more self-conscious. Add in social media and the fake lives social media presents are particularly damaging to girls,” Clinton says.

““I don’t know what it is about moving from girlhood to #adolescence, but little girls have a sense of adventure, curiosity and risk-taking. At puberty, girls become more self-conscious. Add in social media and the fake lives #socialmedia presents are particularly damaging to girls,” @HillaryClinton says. ”

Her comments arrive in the same week as a 25-page advisory from the U.S. surgeon general on dangers of social media for teens. According to CNN, “the advisory notes that although there are some benefits, social media use presents ‘a profound risk of harm’ for kids. It calls for increased research into social media’s impact on youth mental health, as well as action from policymakers and technology companies.”

“The perfectionism of girls and women has been made more intense and distinctive because of social media,” Clinton says.

Gender bias is present in distinctive ageist views as well, Clinton says.

“I do not believe in broad questions about age. Do we all wish we were younger?” The answer is yes, she contends.

As for criticism of the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg, justice of the U.S. Supreme Court who passed before she resigned, Clinton was forgiving.

“She was a survivor, she was as energetic as she’d ever been. She was as sharp and focused as she could be.”

Commenting on the recent call for Sen. Dianne Feinstein to step down in the wake of her illness and absence from Congress. “First of all, she has suffered greatly from the bout of shingles and encephalitis that she endured. Here’s the dilemma: the Republicans will not agree to add someone else to the Judiciary Committee if she retires.”

Men serving in Congress who are the same age are not criticized for their age, she says.

“The double standard is alive and well,” Clinton says. Now and historically, many are “trying to pigeon hole women in the public arena.”

She adds that years of pushback about her wearing pantsuits were because of “bizarre experiences” she had of photographers posting photos of her while wearing skirts and dresses that were shot at strange angles.

“I can’t pay attention; there is too much other important stuff to worry about. Half of what people think about me is so weird. I just live my life,” Clinton says.

“I think I’ve been the same person my entire life. There is a double standard. When you are at a high level of visibility, people see in you what reflects back to them, like a Rorschach test.”

““I think I’ve been the same person my entire life. There is a double standard. When you are at a high level of visibility, people see in you what reflects back to them, like a Rorschach test.” —@HillaryClinton #femaleleaders #womeninpolitics”

Her friend, the late Madeleine Albright, who was also former U.S. Secretary of State, told Clinton that when asked about the state of the union, “She said, ‘I remain an optimist who worries a lot.’ That’s how I feel these days. Personally I’m fine, but I worry a lot about our country and the world.”

Hopeful about the goal of bipartisanship, Clinton says after the 2016 election, she was inspired by the momentum of those identifying as women participating in elections as candidates, supporters and civic leaders as well as citizen participants.

“Women stepped up and ran for Congress,” Clinton says. “I was thrilled by the Women’s March the day after inauguration with a lot of motivated, extraordinary outpouring of feeling and commitment. “

In 2016, Clinton founded Onward Together, “an organization to recruit young people to run for office at all levels—local, state, federal—with recruiting candidates, training, mentoring. Since 2017, it has raised $63 million for organizations and candidates with a 2/3 win rate.” She adds, “We want to zero-in on people who are going to do the work and produce results.”

“Hopeful about the goal of bipartisanship, @HillaryClinton says after the 2016 election, she was inspired by the momentum of those identifying as women participating in elections as candidates, supporters and #civicleaders as well as citizen participants.”

Both in the 2018 and 2020 elections, Clinton says, the “greater percentage of young people turning out to vote was really significant. It is critically important to say the energy I saw from women and younger people has been extraordinary.”

Still, the fallout from the recent SCOTUS Dobbs decision against abortion rights and reproductive choices is deleteriously affecting women across the country. “Women will die because of this decision. The only way to reverse any of this is voting out the people who want restrictions on our rights and turn back the clock,” Clinton says.

Having recently reignited the projects of the Clinton Global Initiative, Clinton says she is feeling positive about bringing solutions to some of the many problems in the world.

“I have a sense of responsibility and ask what do I need to do to make sure the country and the world is filled with possibility and hopefulness. I like feeling that I’m helping people. I like finding ways to solve problems that are challenging, figuring out solutions.”

Take The Lead Leadership Takeaway:

“Accomplishment and happiness go together.”

Hillary Clinton, former U.S. Secretary of State, Senator and FLOTUS

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About the Author

Michele Weldon is editorial director of Take The Lead, an award-winning author, journalist, emerita faculty in journalism at Northwestern University and a senior leader with The OpEd Project. @micheleweldon www.micheleweldon.com