In honour of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, Northeastern University’s Women Who Empower celebrates the 10th anniversary of their innovative women’s empowerment initiative by hosting a global series of exciting events worldwide from Saudi Arabia to California to London, Boston and more. This month, Editor in Chief, Kat Tse, and Writer, Jasmin Sin, had the greatest pleasure and opportunity to hear the stories of several respectable and accomplished women. These speakers included United States Ambassador Jane D. Hartley, Author of Flawless: Lessons in Looks and Culture from the K-Beauty, Elise Hu, and Alli Webb, the co-founder of Drybar and the author of The Messy Truths.
ON MARCH 4
Welcomed by the President of Northeastern University Joseph E. Aoun and the Senior Vice President for University Advancement of Northeastern University Diane Nishigaya MacGillivray, honoured guest, Jane D. Hartley was introduced to the crowd of 150 people on their London campus as an “elegant and experienced diplomat” who is also a “tireless advocate for women’s empowerment.”
Jane D. Hartley has been the acting United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland since 2022, upholding the 230-year diplomatic history between two global superpower nations. She has served under three US Presidents: Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. Previously holding office as the US Ambassador to the French Republic and Principality of Monaco between 2014 to 2017. The second American woman ever to hold either of these posts in centuries.
Hartley is the second woman ever to hold the office of the US Ambassador to the UK and Northern Ireland. She admits that she was reminded of this reality every day as the US embassy in London had a hall filled with portraits of former ambassadors. She says: “If you go down that hall, it’s all white men.”
“The hall is a stark reminder of the sex and race of historic ambassadors,” she says. The only woman to hold the position of US Ambassador to the UK before her was Anne Armstrong under President Gerald Ford almost 50 years ago. But, Hartley notes that whilst Armstrong’s portraits is in the hall, “hers is a little tiny thing. You look at it and go, ‘Come on, we can do better than this.’”
Hartley shares her professional journey as a diplomatic and the difficulties of being a woman in male-dominated conversations, stating: “I worked at the White House long ago. Talk about being the only woman… but I was very lucky because I happened to have one of the senior women there as my boss. I learned so much from her and it made me realize the importance of mentors.”
Hartley highlights the importance of maintaining a work-life balance and forming a strong connected network of women and mentors. She describes her first boss as “a real powerhouse”, stating: “She taught me to always be prepared, to always do my homework, to show up on time. Then she told me to speak my mind and not be afraid. She said my opinions were as important as anybody else’s, even if they were older and louder.”
Hartley encourages her audience to do the same, to do their homework, speak their mind and do everything they can. Be unafraid. She warns the next generation not to fall prey to imposter syndrome, calling all women to be prepared, trust their instincts, make their voices heard and dare to push back against the system or men with 30 years of experience.
From her diplomatic journey, Hartley shares one vital truth with her audience: “The world is not isolationist.” Although moving between sectors and cultures may seem daunting and world-changing, Hartley encourages women to explore and live between cultures and between worlds. Noting the “cross-pollination of skills” such as teamwork, leadership and decision-making across all industries and sectors.
Hartley calls herself a “perfectionist” and a “workaholic” and shares some words of wisdom from her work with President Barrack Obama: “With age, I have learned that you can’t be too rigid…You have to stand up for what you believe in,” she says. Spotlighting the gravity of compromise and flexibility, warning her audience: “Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.”
On the future, Hartley remains optimistic, sharing a message of hope to the young faces of her audience, she says: “We have to make sure that we never forget how important democracy and freedom are, and that freedom is worth fighting for. … When I look at the world, sure I see challenges, but I also see dynamism and the opportunity to do so many things.”
One day, Ambassador Hartley’s portrait will hang in the halls of London’s US Embassy, and when it does, it will be just as great if not greater and more impressive than her predecessors.
ON MARCH 19
And on the first day of Spring, American broadcast journalist, the host of TED Talks daily podcast and the author of book “Flawless” Elise Hu, flew to Boston to join the Northeastern University community where the event was co-hosted by Women Who Empower and the Mills Institute crowd. Diane Nishigaya MacGillivra, Elise Hu and Christie Chung, Executive Director of Mills Institute dive into an inspirational and eye opening discussion about the unrealistic standards of beauty that circulate across the globe, how women have been impacted by them followed with conversations regarding the lessons she has covered in her book. One of these lessons include Hu talking about the “technological gaze”, a concept she introduces that focuses on on how one sees themselves with the influence of technology on one’s perceptions and understanding of the world around them. Hu explains how everyone has experienced technological gaze and they can even get this from the content that they are posting online and the filters that they use.
One guest speaker asked
“What can man do to be the beset allies to support women? the whole image thing is just really disheartening to me. I want to best ally that I can be.”
Elise responds with saying “The fact that you are here and that you are hearing about the paradoxes of beauty, the various struggles and challenges that we are facing is really important. Men are getting caught up in subsumed by the technological gaze especially young man just as much as women. The rise of male eating disorders have just been stock over the past 10,20 years or so.”
Elise also shares how “Self care doesn’t work as a concept without caring for one another. We are part of a larger web. We are not part of a pyramid where we area trying all to climb. The importance of asking for help. One thing that I talk a lot about is asking for help. Being unafraid to ask for help.