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On being a woman and a diplomat - Madeleine Albright

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In a frank and funny Q&A with Pat Mitchell from the Paley Center, former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright talks bluntly about politics and diplomacy, making the case that women's issues deserve a place at the center of foreign policy. Far from being a "soft" issue, she says, women's issues are often the very hardest ones, dealing directly with life and death. Since leaving office as U.S. Secretary of State in 2001, Madeleine Albright has continued her distinguished career in foreign affairs as a businesswoman, political adviser and professor.

At her first meeting as a member of the UN Security Council, Albright “had the feeling that I had to step out of myself in my normal, reluctant female mode” and felt compelled to speak. What do you think she means by “normal, reluctant female mode”? Do you think it’s characteristic of women in younger generations as well as for Albright’s generation?

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