Hillary Clinton blamed ‘misogyny’ and ‘sexism’ for their role in her loss to Donald Trump in the 2016 Presidential Election while also speaking of her intention to keep ‘fighting’ during a speech in Washington DC honoring human rights figures.
Clinton, 70, said, per Fox News: ‘Any of you who’ve read my book about “what happened” know that I think misogyny and sexism was part of that campaign. It was one of the contributing factors.’
She added: ‘Some of it was old-fashioned sexism and the refusal to accept the equality of women, and certainly the equality of women’s leadership.’
Clinton spoke at Georgetown University’s Institute for Women, Peace and Security on Monday to honor, among others, Nadia Murad, a Yazidi human rights activist, and Wai Wai Nu, a human rights advocate in Myanmar.
During a speech in Washington DC on Monday, Hillary Clinton blamed ‘misogyny’ and ‘sexism’ for their role in her loss to Donald Trump. ‘Some of it was old-fashioned sexism and the refusal to accept the equality of women, and certainly the equality of women’s leadership,’ she said
During her speech she also said, per the Washington Post: ‘Advancing the rights, opportunities and full participation of women and girls is the great unfinished business of the 21st century.’
She added: ‘I intend to keep fighting to pursue this agenda and remain on the front lines of democracy.’
Clinton said that women could achieve equality ‘through the ballot box’.
In a similar vein, the former U.S. Secretary of State described how the momentum behind women’s rights has ‘never been stronger’.
Women’s rights advocates have become more vocal and show no signs of quieting down, said Clinton, who lost a bid in 2016 to become the first woman U.S. president.
‘The steady drum beat of women demanding to be heard about their experiences has never been stronger,’ Clinton said.
‘We are not going back, and women’s voices are not shutting up,’ she said.
Clinton spoke at Georgetown University’s Institute for Women, Peace and Security to honor human rights figures including Lyse Doucet (center), the BBC’s Chief International Correspondent
Clinton and the institute’s executive director, Malanne Verveer (left) present an an award to UN Goodwill Ambassador for the Dignity of Survivors of Human Trafficking, Nadia Murad (center)
Wai Wai Nu (center), a Rohingya advocate for human rights and democracy in Myanmar, is presented with an award
Globally, however, she said human rights are in danger due to a premium on ‘top-down authority’ and less respect for the rule of law.
‘It’s gotten better, but we’re at a flexion point where I fear it could begin to deteriorate and become worse again,’ Clinton said,
The United States is no longer playing its historical role as a ‘beacon’ for international human rights and justice and as a fighter for those ‘under the whip and the gun,’ she said.
‘I don’t want us to grow tired or feel like it’s none of our business anymore,’ she said. ‘We have to do more to reestablish America’s voice in this.’
Clinton recently made headlines over her decision not to fire staffer Burns Strider from her campaign team when a woman accused him of sexual harassment in 2008.
The former presidential nominee said she wanted to give Strider a second chance and was loathe to take away his livelihood, but added that if she could do it all again she would have fired him.
At the time Strider was accused of kissing the woman on the head five times and ‘excessively tracking her movements’, among other things.
Clinton made headlines over her decision not to fire staffer Burns Strider (pictured with her) despite a woman accusing him of sexual harassment in 2008
Strider has since been accused of harassment by two further women at pro-Clinton super PAC American Bridge, where he worked after Hillary lost the nomination to Barack Obama.
Instead she docked his pay, demoted him, moved the woman to work separately from him, stopped him from emailing her, forced him to seek counseling, and told him that if any further allegations were made, he would lose his job.
Explaining her thinking a decade ago, Clinton wrote on Facebook: ‘I didn’t think firing him was the best solution to the problem.
‘He needed to be punished, change his behavior, and understand why his actions were wrong. The young woman needed to be able to thrive and feel safe.
‘I thought both could happen without him losing his job. I believed the punishment was severe and the message to him unambiguous.’
She also believed that Strider deserved a ‘second chance’ and said taking away an employee’s livelihood ‘is perhaps the most serious thing an employer can do.’