Ameenah Gurib-Fakim Quotes

I grew up in a home where I was literally told from a young age, 'No daughter of mine will ever wash a man's socks,' and I am pleased to say I never have. It was made clear that whatever I wanted to do I should aspire to, regardless of my gender.

In everything I do, I like to set the idea for girls that they can do anything. I was really moved by Hillary Clinton's speech when she lost the election - she didn't want young girls to feel like it wasn't possible and wanted them to know a female president will eventually happen. That's important.

I mean I certainly tell the Maria Goeppert-Mayer story and I'm happy that life isn't like that. I'm glad there were trailblazers like her and Marie Curie.

Aside from introducing and supporting legislation to help close the gender gap in STEM, I believe that shining the spotlight on female role models is one of the best ways we can break the gender stereotype.

I went to all-girls' schools my whole life, so every model of leadership that I saw was a young girl or a woman, and so there was never any hesitation that women could lead. I know what I believe.

I was surrounded by strong women so it had never even occurred to me that women were anything other than equal to men.

Girls shouldn't worry about being the equal of men in the business world.

There are many women who came before me who didn't really have the same opportunities that I have had. That's why I always wanted to be a great ambassador - not only today's generation - but for the women who really didn't have a voice, but who paved the way for me.

I think there have always been funny women, from Carol Burnett to Joan Rivers. When the audience sees a woman, they innately know she's worked twice as hard to get there, she's had to prove that she can be the leader, first, and then be funny on top of it. She has to emit a confidence that she's in control.

Women have talent and intelligence but, due to social constraints and prejudices, it is still a long distance away from the goal of gender equality.

I am a woman. I write SF. And it's not acceptable to treat me as anything less than an equal. I won't stand for it.

I look forward to the day when there are more women politicians accepted in their own right and not as 'women politicians.'

If more women are in leadership roles, we'll stop assuming they shouldn't be.

We will have to be very vigilant that young female scientists have the same opportunities as their male colleagues.

Maybe in past years, perhaps women didn't feel quite as comfortable with revealing themselves, and their skills and their crafts... and now we are, so we're out there, just like the guys.

Don't think of yourself as a woman in business.

If we want to get beyond this whole I'm-cool-because-I-care-about-women thing, what we really need to do is we have to start encouraging women to get engineering degrees in college.

I never wanted to be an actress who complained about the lack of roles for women.

It's important to make women feel confident, because I think they are more important than men.

If you keep telling girls they're less good at science, that will probably be self-fulfilling. But there are quite a lot of women who are good at it.

I think actively promoting women in science is very important because the data has certainly shown that there has been an underrepresentation.

Very few women are creative. I would not send a daughter of mine to study physics.

Women have to be able to look at themselves in the mirror as men do and say, “I see a presidential candidate!”

Women must become more conscious of themselves as women and of their ability to function as a group. At the same time they must try to wipe from men’s consciousness the need to consider them as a group or as women in their everyday activities, especially as workers in industry or the professions.

It's not often that a strong female role comes across one's desk, unfortunately, but it's getting better.