Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told an audience in New York that the news media has a “double standard” against women in powerful position, and offered advice to younger women on how to overcome it.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks at a student conference for the Clinton Global Initiative University at Arizona State University, Friday, March 21, 2014, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
“There is a double standard,” Clinton said, according to Politico. “We have all experienced it.”
Clinton was speaking on a panel at the “Women in the World” conference in New York Thursday, along with International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde and moderated by New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman.
“The double standard is alive and well, and I think in many respects the media is the principal propagator of its persistence,” Clinton continued. “And I think the media needs to be, you know, more self-consciously aware of that.”
Hillary Clinton supporters have frequently complained about her tough treatment by the media, particularly when she faced off against Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008.
During the discussion, Friedman suggested that both women could be president, as Lagarde is considered a potential contender for president of the European Union Commission.
As a response, Clinton and Lagarde gave each other high fives.
Asked if she had plans for 2016, Clinton responded, “not right now,” before adding: “Some of what hasn’t been finished may go on to be finished.”
Clinton offerred advice for women to overcome a media double standard, she said criticism should be taken in a constructive way.
“Too many young women, I think, are harder on themselves than circumstances warrant,” she said. “They too often take criticism personally instead of seriously … you can’t let it crush you and you have to be resilient enough to keep moving forward despite the personal setbacks.”
“Believe me, this is hard-won advice I’m now putting forward here. It’s not like you wake up and understand this,” Clinton said. “But it’s a process. And you need other women, you need your friends, to support you.”
(H/T: Politico)
