Taraji P. Henson Quotes

I think diversity and having women and people of color in key positions is really important.

If I'm in the position where I get to hire someone, where I get to decide who joins me on tour, then I am mindful about that, and I try to suggest women that I know who I think deserve more exposure.

As somebody who has been an executive producer on a television series, I can tell you that increasing director diversity is as simple as hiring more women and more people of color.

I am working for the time when unqualified Blacks, Browns and women join the unqualified men in running our government.

If I only care about equality for transgender people, then I am leaving so many people behind - if I'm not at the same time seeking to end discrimination against people of color, seeking to end discrimination against women, seeking to ensure that people of every religious background have an equal opportunity.

I think it's important to always have diversity, in our Congress or anywhere, but you also need diversity not just for women of color who are most underrepresented, but diversity in different walks of life.

It's important to be an ally. You don't have to be a black woman to think we should have more black women in tech.

I don't think quotas are necessarily an evil. I think when we look at industry in general back to the '60s and the '50s, the way more diverse people like my dad and mom's generation were able to break into industry was because of affirmation action, because of quotas.

I don't feel that I've been hampered by [ racism or discrimination], and the reason why is that we reach out to people on the basis of where everyone meets, and try to build common cause on that basis. Because of that, I think we've cut through some of the issues that normally divide people.

I believe God is doing a new thing in the world. God is always moving us to include more people in the kingdom. God has taught us that about people of color, about women, and now I think God is teaching that about gay and lesbian folk. And I am humbled and privileged that I might be playing a very small part in that grand and wonderful plan of God's.

I think diversity is very key to anybody's resume, and also for your mental well-being.

I think if you look at Hollywood as a whole and the type of content that they put out over the years, it's pretty homogeneous, right? They haven't done a really deep dive into a lot of stories of people of color. I don't want to say that there haven't been attempts, and there has been some great product that has come out over the years, but I think in 2016, we're in a world of struggle. It's not just about race, it's also about the LGBT community too and others.

For me, diversity whether you think of it as race or gender, it's not a trend, it's a human movement, it's a human feeling, it's a human desire.

For me, Barack Obama's election was a milestone of the most extraordinary kind. On the day he was elected I felt such hope in my heart. I thought we were seeing the beginning of a new era of equal opportunity across race and gender such as America had never known before.

Women are being welcomed into science fiction, but it's through the back door.

What we hope to achieve is a society that doesn't value a white man because he's a white man, but also doesn't value a woman because she's a woman, or a black because he's a black.

I think there are multiple studies now to demonstrate that diversity, a better balance between genders, but also between different fields as well, is actually conducive to better growth, better bottom line, better results.

To anyone in the position to hire women directors: Make the commitment.

I don't have one role that I want to play. I guess... I want to be a producer. I want to be an activist. I want to be proactive in bringing about work for men, women, boys, girls, everybody who is good at what they do and deserve a shot at it.

Clearly no one knows what leadership has gone undiscovered in women of all races, and in black and other minority men.

I'm a female in comedy, so of course I want there to be more women on 'SNL', and women of color.

Avon is a unique place to work; we've got family-friendly policies. We have more senior women in high-level management than any other company; 46 percent of our officers are women.

When I got to be a CEO, I said: 'Right. I'm now going to tackle gender inequality head-on. I'm going to make a difference and lead by example and actively put in place policies and practices to support women.'

People of color and women are increasingly being shown on-screen. For things to be whitewashed just doesn't make sense.

Four out of five HSN corporate officers are women. I'm a believer that a diversity of mindset enables us to have an engaged conversation.