Helene D. Gayle Quotes

I support women, men, anybody who is in a place that's not their strongest and who is ready to push forward.

Sometimes, of course, I could not belong to the boys club, but that's OK. There are always ways to do what I wanted to do. It doesn't really matter so much to me.

As a black woman in the industry, you really do have to hold your head higher, stick your chest out, be kind and polite and generous even when you don't want to be sometimes. I learned that and, also, just to never take no for an answer.

I'm a gatekeeper, and the gatekeepers all used to be mostly old, white men.

It's not our disabilities, it's our abilities that count.

The roots of Silicon Valley are full of stories of immigrants and minority groups who experienced bigotry and made it anyway. Why should women be any different?

The problem is Silicon Valley, which is an amazing ecosystem, also ends up being an amazing bubble, with white guys talking to white guys about white-guy problems. So it's great, but you kind of miss a lot of things around you.

We've heard the excuses from those responsible for hiring that they don't want to take a chance on a new director. But the truth is that the industry hires new directors all the time; it's just that most of them are white males.

I'm always excited when I make it on anyone's list - even if it's for affirmative action. My attitude is, 'Am I the token woman on this list? Because I'll take it.'

When I was a kid, my parents never let me use race as an excuse. They'd say, 'When you walk into a room and it's all white, those kids have to work to stand out, not you.'

I decided blacks should not have to experience the difficulties I had faced, so I decided to open a flying school and teach other black women to fly.

My mom had to beg the guys to let me play. I couldn't even play the drums right - Brian had to show me.

Instead of hoping that some day the boys' club will open its doors, we can form our own clubs, define 'worthy' our own way, and celebrate the books and voices that we decide deserve celebration.

Blind don't mean you can't, you know, listen.

I feel strongly about the need for diversity, and with good reason. I'm from a generation of women that found it exhilarating to shatter the glass ceiling. We viewed obstacles as opportunities and earned our seat at the leadership table.

For me, I grew up doing kiteboarding where no girls are doing it, and you had to prove yourself. You just had to know that you could do it, too. It's the mentality you had to have to make it. I work hard like anyone else.

I think it's worth putting energy into affirmative action in terms of having diversity in positions of power because the door was shut for so long.

It was a given at UCSB that if there was a role that called for a person of color, it was going to be handed to me. There were certain times when maybe I didn't try as hard. Going to Yale was a way more diverse experience.

Black Girl Magic means that I have the power to overcome anything. Especially when we're in a world where you're told that you can't do something or you're less than, I'm reminded that my ancestors have overcome so much. There's still so much work to be done, and I have the power to overcome it.

Who would've thought that this little girl in the ghetto in Philly would be playing the first black lesbian superhero on network TV?

I believe women and minorities often wait for permission to be invited to something; we need to stop doing that.

There were times when I was down and frustrated being in a male-dominated sport: you don't get the support. It affected me. Layne Beachley helped me beat that. That was the difference for me and helped get me through.

For the American economy, for any economy to grow, to truly innovate, we cannot leave behind half our population. We have to socialize our girls to be comfortable with imperfection, and we've got to do it now. We cannot wait for them to learn how to be brave like I did when I was 33 years old.

One the reasons I talk about my story is I want other people who are in the circumstances I was in to understand they are just as good and as valuable as everyone else.

My message to my deaf community is that we can redefine anything however we want. Anything is re-definable only if we believe and work hard for it.