One reason the United States is one of three countries in the world that do not have any form of paid maternity leave is that many American business leaders, like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, oppose any family-friendly policies. They scare people into thinking maternity leave will be a job killer.

Most female CEOs have been more understanding than their male counterparts, of the stress that new mothers experience to 'do it all,' which often means, 'all by themselves.' Why? They've been there. They understand the policies needed to keep women in the workforce.

Investment in early education is not a Liberal or Conservative idea. Nor should it be decided along party lines.

The United States is no longer first in the world in upward mobility. We can reverse that trend by giving our young children an equal start in life as they begin their journey to fulfill the American Dream.

The best antidote to poverty remains simple - a paycheck. Policies like paid family leave, workplace flexibility and affordable quality childcare can make the difference for two-parent or single-parent working families who struggle to make ends meet.

Working moms, and increasingly working dads, don't want a government handout, but they do need a hand up.

'Job Killer.' Those are the two words you are most likely to hear uttered by most American CEOs when confronted with proposals to enact family-friendly work policies.

If we are to create a new agenda for family/work policies, employers and employees have to take a seat at the same table and recognize their mutual gains.

To make flexibility work, it is not only necessary to change our attitude about who is a good worker and who is not, but we have to train managers at all levels to recognize the difference between the number of hours worked and the quality of work produced.

When I ran for governor, was I ambitious? Yes. Anyone, male or female, who goes through the trials of a campaign must be ambitious.

'Power' is an explosive word, particularly when applied to women.

There are not many female role models to guide voters, and the tradition that a Southern woman's place is in the home still lingers in some quarters.

The vice presidential candidate does not usually make much difference at the polls. But that may be changing as voters become more aware that the understudy must be ready to take over if needed.

I'm not going to be bullied or pushed around by the group of the day. You've got to have political courage. You've got to have your own inner beliefs.

If being a woman is a factor politically, it's usually not because of a conscious bias, but because women are a novelty.

Somehow I got the feeling at an early age that I had to do something important with my life.

You have to build your credentials as a candidate, not just as a woman. You also have to be willing to exercise power. We've been educated to be mothers, peacemakers, but we must learn that we can't please everybody.

It is the future, of course, which politicians grapple with, and that is why politics is so disorderly. Only history clears away some of the debris.

As for a fantasy life, working women are more likely to fantasize about finding the perfect child care provider who she can both trust and afford. She might also fantasize that tonight her husband will both shop for and cook dinner.

I hadn't thought that women were particularly dangerous golfers. Could that be the reason that the Augusta National Golf club refuses to take down its 'No Women Allowed' sign?

Money often determines not only who gets elected, but what gets done. Which voices do lawmakers listen to, the banks or home owners, coal companies, or asthma sufferers, the CEOs or the unemployed?

Children refuse to compromise. Adults learn how.

Sometimes compromise is painful.

It's time to recognize what compromise means: no side wins or loses all.

We assume in our daily lives that the world is both safe and sane. Otherwise, we could not carry on.

The political environment we create matters because a disturbed person cannot always tell the difference between explosive rhetoric and explosive actions.

When women and men can shed an equal quantity of tears in public, that's when we'll have equal power.

The Republican agenda is, and always has been, to repeal Roe v. Wade, and at the very least, erode it to the greatest extent possible.

It'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.

Susan B. Anthony must be turning in her grave if she knew that millions of women who have the right to vote are not exercising it. Why? Because they haven't got the interest or the time, or they have just given up hope.

To equate a corporation with a person is a travesty of justice.

When people have lost their jobs or are afraid of losing their jobs in the future, they lash out. They want others to know about their fears, their pain.

Are there really good wars and bad wars? We thought so during World War II, and in retrospect, we were right. But in Vietnam, and Iraq we were wrong.

Why can't the world be like a summer day, when I thought that health care would be an ethical decision and wars existed only to be stopped?

The very qualities that make it harder for women to get elected - not being part of the old boy's network - gives them the advantage of having fresh, and yes, clean faces.

The death of a famous person is different from the death of a loved one, whether it is Michael Jackson, Frank McCourt, or Walter Cronkite. We didn't know any of them personally, and yet, we experience a sense of loss.

When a man interrupts a woman in mid-sentence, it reveals much about him. First, it shows he hasn't been listening to what she is saying, and secondly, it indicates that he doesn't want to listen to what she will say. Her views are not important.

Poor privileged white men. Their stranglehold on power is slowly being loosened.

Life experience is not something to be denied, but to be celebrated.

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.

Those who speak up, those who use their connections, are more likely to succeed than those who sit and wait.

People say I'm too skinny, but if I gain a little weight, they say I look chubby. You can't please everyone. As long as you're happy, that's all that matters.

The most beautiful people are those who are truly themselves, and that's what I want to show my fans.

The song 'Tyler Durden' is about the movie 'Fight Club,' so obviously, it's not a personal experience, but I love that song. It's my favorite song.

My everyday scent is a unisex perfume by Le Labo.

I always make sure my lashes look cute.

'Dear Society' really is my letter to society where I express the anguish I've been caused from such an image-based industry and culture we live in.

We don't really have any big family traditions; just spending time with each other is the most important part.

I'm not perfect. I'm not polished.

My weirdest scent association is probably Axe Body Spray, because every boy I know wears that stuff, and the smell is so specific! And the loud noise when you spray it! My little brother used to wear it, and the whole house would reek of it for days.