Just Being a Woman isn’t Enough

You were a pioneer in your role as assistant secretary of state. What was the reaction from others when you were appointed, especially from women?

I think it was interesting, I think the women of the bureau were very happy and were very proud and wanted to see what I was going to do with it. And it was clear to me that sort of arriving as a woman was not going to be sufficient, that I needed to, first of all, walk the walk and make sure that we had in the bureau a culture of diversity and a culture that allowed women to excel, as well as the men of the bureau. And when I hired my principal deputy, my guidance to her was not hire women for jobs. It was hire the best person for the job, make sure the playing field is absolutely level. And if the best person is a woman, great. If the best person is a man, that's great too. There was no sense of trying to prioritize it. But I think it was important to say, look, I'm going to make sure this playing field is level.

Did you feel a special responsibility to groom other women for leadership posts in foreign policy because of where you were?

I certainly did. Absolutely did. And I tried to do that, particularly with the women in the front office. I think that was important, but also with people I would meet when I traveled around and to show that a woman can do this job, too, and also do it while being a mother. And I made a point on many occasions in public speaking and in private meetings to reference my daughter.