On Saturday, March 18, the Vice President of the United States Kamala Harris and Glamour co-hosted a brunch to celebrate Women’s History Month, at the Vice President’s residence in Washington, D.C.
In front of an audience of female trailblazers including Grammy award winner Megan Thee Stallion, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, actors Simone Ashley, Nicole Ari Parker and Phoebe Robinson, soccer star Ashlyn Harris, founder and CEO Emma Grede, fashion designer and Fifteen Percent Pledge founder Aurora James, author and activist Marley Dias, and more, Vice President Harris gave a passionate speech about women’s power, economic empowerment, and the importance of passing paid leave.
The Vice President told attendees, “Economic empowerment of women is about an investment in the future of our country. When you lift up the economic status of women, you lift up the economic status of families and communities, and all of society benefits.”
She singled out Glamour’s ongoing advocacy for paid leave, and in her opening remarks thanked Karina Garcia, one of the new mothers featured in Glamour’s groundbreaking 28 Days paid leave project, who welcomed the Vice President on stage. “Karina, I want to thank you, for the power of your voice, and the phenomenal women that you stood here on stage with. The stories that they have told publicly about the experiences that you’ve each had are heartbreaking and powerful, and it takes an incredible amount of courage for you each to tell those stories that are so personal. But you are why we do what we do.
“It’s been so wonderful to partner with Glamour. What you and your team have done to emphasize the importance of economic empowerment, and in particular highlighting paid leave, is so important.”
Guests cheered as she continued: “This issue of paid family leave is a national issue in terms of the strength of our economy as a whole. And that’s why congress needs to follow Nancy Pelosi’s word and pass legislation around paid family leave.”
The Vice President also applauded the attendees for being trailblazers and history makers across sectors, and she encouraged them to continue lifting up and inspiring other women. She said, “My mother had many sayings. She said: ‘Kamala, you may be the first to do many things. Make sure you are not the last.’ Let us continue to keep that path and that door open, and make it bigger and wider for all those who are counting on us.”
