Skip to content Skip to search

Republish This Story

* Please read before republishing *

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives Creative Commons license as long as you follow our republishing guidelines, which require that you credit The 19th and retain our pixel. See our full guidelines for more information.

To republish, simply copy the HTML at right, which includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to The 19th. Have questions? Please email [email protected].

— The Editors

Loading...

Modal Gallery

/
Sign up for our newsletter

Menu

  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Latest Stories
  • Search
  • Upcoming Events
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Donate
  • Work With Us
  • Fellowships
    • From the Collection

      Changing Child Care

      Illustration of a woman feeding a baby a bottle
      • 1 in 4 parents report being fired for work interruptions due to child care breakdowns

        Chabeli Carrazana · February 2
      • Washington, D.C., offers financial relief to local child care workers

        Orion Rummler · September 20
      • As climate change worsens hurricane season in Louisiana, doulas are ensuring parents can safely feed their babies

        Jessica Kutz · May 5
    • From the Collection

      Next-Gen GOP

      Illustration of a woman riding an elephant
      • Mayra Flores’ victory set a record for women in Congress. It also reflects the growing visibility of Republican Latinas

        Candice Norwood · June 21
      • A banner year for Republican women

        Amanda Becker · November 11
      • Republican women could double representation in the U.S. House

        Amanda Becker · November 4
    • From the Collection

      On The Rise

      Illustration of three women marching
      • Can Cheri Beasley build a winning coalition in North Carolina?

        Candice Norwood · October 11
      • Los Angeles has never elected a woman mayor. Karen Bass hopes to change that.

        Nadra Nittle · September 8
      • Judge J. Michelle Childs is confirmed to D.C. appeals court

        Candice Norwood · July 20
    • From the Collection

      Pandemic Within a Pandemic

      Illustration of four people marching for Black Lives Matter with coronavirus as the backdrop
      • Some LGBTQ+ people worry that the COVID-19 vaccine will affect HIV medication. It won’t.

        Orion Rummler · November 23
      • Why are more men dying from COVID? It’s a complicated story of nature vs. nurture, researchers say

        Mariel Padilla · September 22
      • Few incarcerated women were released during COVID. The ones who remain have struggled.

        Candice Norwood · August 17
    • From the Collection

      Portraits of a Pandemic

      Illustration of a woman wearing a mask and holding up the coronavirus
      • For family caregivers, COVID is a mental health crisis in the making

        Shefali Luthra · October 8
      • A new database tracks COVID-19’s effects on sex and gender

        Shefali Luthra · September 15
      • Pregnant in a pandemic: The 'perfect storm for a crisis'

        Shefali Luthra · August 25
    • From the Collection

      The 19th Explains

      People walking from many articles to one article where they can get the context they need on an issue.
      • The 19th Explains: Who will be most impacted by Medicaid changes — and when

        Rebekah Barber · March 28
      • The 19th Explains: What we know about Brittney Griner’s case and what it took to get her home

        Candice Norwood, Katherine Gilyard · December 8
      • The 19th Explains: Why the Respect for Marriage Act doesn’t codify same-sex marriage rights

        Kate Sosin · December 8
    • From the Collection

      The Electability Myth

      Illustration of three women speaking at podiums
      • Mayra Flores’ victory set a record for women in Congress. It also reflects the growing visibility of Republican Latinas

        Candice Norwood · June 21
      • Stepping in after tragedy: How political wives became widow lawmakers

        Mariel Padilla · May 24
      • Do term limits help women candidates? New York could be a new testing ground

        Barbara Rodriguez · January 11
    • From the Collection

      The Impact of Aging

      A number of older people walking down a path of information.
      • From ballroom dancing to bloodshed, the older AAPI community grapples with gun control

        Nadra Nittle, Mariel Padilla · January 27
      • 'I'm planning on working until the day I die': Older women voters are worried about the future

        Mariel Padilla · June 3
      • Climate change is forcing care workers to act as first responders

        Jessica Kutz · May 31
    • From the Collection

      Voting Rights

      A series of hands reaching for ballots.
      • Connecticut voters approved early voting. Here’s how their new secretary of state wants to make it happen.

        Barbara Rodriguez · February 13
      • Women lawmakers in Minnesota are in the vanguard of the democracy movement

        Barbara Rodriguez · February 3
      • Election workers believe in our system — and want everyone else to, too

        Barbara Rodriguez, Jennifer Gerson · November 8

    View all collections

  • Explore by Topic

    • 19th Polling
    • Abortion
    • Business & Economy
    • Caregiving
    • Coronavirus
    • Education
    • Election 2020
    • Election 2022
    • Election 2024
    • Environment & Climate
    • Health
    • Immigration
    • Inside The 19th
    • Justice
    • LGBTQ+
    • Military
    • Politics
    • Press Release
    • Race
    • Sports
    • Technology

    View All Topics

Home
  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Latest Stories
  • Search
  • Upcoming Events
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Donate
  • Work With Us
  • Fellowships

We’re an independent, nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender, politics and policy. Read our story.

The 19th Represents Summit

Don’t miss our biggest event of 2023!

Register Today

Become a member

The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield speaks with The 19th's editor-at-large Errin Haines at
Linda Thomas-Greenfield speaks with The 19th's editor-at-large Errin Haines at "The 19th Celebrates: International Women's Day" event at The Luminary in New York City on March 7, 2023. (Lydia Chebbine for The 19th)

Politics

U.S. ambassador to the United Nations shares what she sees on gender equity

To kick off International Women’s Day, The 19th’s Editor-at-Large Errin Haines interviewed Linda Thomas-Greenfield for a 19th event in New York City.

Marissa Nelson

Events Producer

Published

2023-03-08 12:58
12:58
March 8, 2023
pm

Share

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

For Women’s History Month, we’re letting women tell their stories in their own words through thoughtful conversations. Subscribe to our daily newsletter.

The United States is still an example to the rest of the world, even amid increased restrictions around women’s rights, said Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. 

“Ultimately when I talk to people, they still look at the United States as a role model,” Thomas-Greenfield said, even after the decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturned Roe v. Wade, erasing federal abortion protections.

The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.

The 19th’s Editor-at-Large Errin Haines interviewed Thomas-Greenfield for a 19th event on Tuesday to kick off International Women’s Day. They talked about challenges to gender equity around the world, including restrictions to women’s rights in Afghanistan, protests in Iran after the death of Mahsa Amini, and gender-based violence in Ukraine over a year after Russia invaded the country. Haines also asked about reproductive rights in the United States and what gives the ambassador hope. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Errin Haines: You could say that other countries are looking to us as a leader in the fight for gender equality. What message right now are we sending abroad in terms of our policies and our rhetoric?

Linda Thomas-Greenfield: I think if we look at our policies under the Biden-Harris administration, our policies are strong. We are sending the right messages about gender equality, about reproductive rights. But when we look at what is happening in our courts right now, we look at what is happening in our education system — particularly if you look at the state levels, we look at so many challenges that are being put in front of women. I just saw something in the news yesterday that five women in Texas were challenging Texas laws about abortion rights. We are having to go to the court system, but we’re not even sure that even in the court system we will succeed.

Originally aired on March 7, 2023
International Women’s Day
The 19th traveled to New York City for the first time for a special in-person and online event to kick off International Women’s Day.
Watch Here

What are your global counterparts saying to you about how the U.S. treats women, particularly on the issue of reproductive rights? Did the Dobbs decision harm our credibility in any way? 

They are looking at that decision and worried about how that decision will impact our policies globally. Some of our policies have been in place previously, so we have been restricted from providing funding for abortions, for example. That’s been in place for decades. But our policies in terms of funding support for education, for health care, that funding is still there and is still important. I think people are very, very appreciative of that. So we’re sort of a double-edged sword when it comes to those issues overseas. There is this world’s respect for what we do, what we promote and what we believe in. And we will have concerns about how that could change in the future.

To pick up on that point, as access to reproductive care is curtailed in the United States, does that make your job harder when you’re going abroad to talk to leaders? 

There are a lot of issues that make my job hard. That is just one of the issues: to be able to explain to the world the contradictions that they see in our system. I have to talk about racism in America when we’re pointing the finger to other countries when they are committing human rights violations. I do have to talk about women’s rights. Ultimately, when I talk to people, they still look at the United States as a role model.

Attendees listen at "The 19th Celebrates: International Women's Day" event at The Luminary in New York City on March 7, 2023.
Attendees listen at “The 19th Celebrates: International Women’s Day” event at The Luminary in New York City on March 7, 2023. (Lydia Chebbine for The 19th)

I want to talk about the situation globally right now, because it has been almost 18 months since Afghanistan. Many of those fears about what was going to happen with women and girls in terms of their freedom and access to education have come to pass. Can you talk about the situation on the ground and really why it matters? 

Women around the world, we are all connected to each other and we have to support each other. The women of Afghanistan need our support. This horrific policy barring women from education, from working outside the home, from doing anything that will give them a sense of hope, a sense of future moving forward. We are working constantly to ramp up the pressure on the Taliban, we’ve brought in other countries around the region to increase that pressure. We supported and encouraged the deputy secretary general to make a trip to Afghanistan, where she engaged with the Taliban, where they still have not reversed their policies. In fact, where they have doubled down on their policies, but they can’t continue a process and a policy that limits and restricts 50 percent of their country from participating in the world and having a future. I am absolutely confident that we are going to be able to push back on them. In the meantime, Afghan women need to know that the world is supporting them. They need to know the world is engaged on their issues and that we have not forgotten them.

And Afghan women are pushing back. Moving to another global issue, It has been nearly six months since the Iranian protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini have brought worldwide attention to issues of freedom and gender in that country. Iran has been suspended from the Commission on the Status of Women, but what else the United States is prepared to do to address the violence women on the ground there are facing in response to their peaceful protests?

First and foremost, the efforts to take Iran off the commission on the status of women. We felt that they were a stain on the commission and there was no place for them to sit next to others who supported the rights of women. We were successful in doing that. We were also successful in getting the Human Rights Council to agree to a commission of inquiry — an investigation to go into Iran, to look at the situation on the ground for women, and report back to the Human Rights Council. We are keeping up the pressure on that government. We can’t do it alone. It really is a global effort.

Attendees listen at "The 19th Celebrates: International Women's Day" event at The Luminary in New York City on March 7, 2023.
Attendees listen at “The 19th Celebrates: International Women’s Day” event at The Luminary in New York City on March 7, 2023. (Lydia Chebbine for The 19th)

Last month marked a year since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. We have seen women on the front lines of this conflict, and we know gender-based violence has become a weapon of war. What can the United Nations or the United States and our allies do to hold Russia accountable and protect Ukrainian women?

That is an ongoing effort. Russia is a permanent member of the Security Council, a fact that I can’t change. But what we were able to do is isolate them in the Security Council. We took our resolution to the General Assembly and 141 countries condemned what Russia has done. They are feeling the pressure from the international community. They are feeling the pressure from the sanctions that we have posted on them, and we are prepared to do more sanctions.

The truth of the matter is they miscalculated. They miscalculated because they didn’t expect the Ukrainians to fight back. I think they thought that they were going to go in and in two weeks, bring the Ukrainians down to their knees with a white flag. They are still unfortunately pounding the Ukrainian people. I traveled to Kyiv a few months ago, met with women who had been raped and who were victims of violence. There is no worse discussion than to sit in the room with a woman who has been a victim of horrific acts and see that there is no light in her eyes. There is no joy on her face. So the accountability part of this is really important, and these women need to know that we will hold Russia accountable for what they have done.

I want to ask some questions from some of the folks that are attending here in person today. Victoria C. asked: What is a small step the attendees here can take to increase gender equity in the world? 

My view is you only have to make a difference in one person’s life. Because that one person, if you make a difference in her life, she will make a difference in somebody else’s life and will pay it forward. So I know we do it every day for dozens of people but if you just focus on one little girl who you can serve as a role model to, you can be a person that they can turn to when they are dealing with cyberbullying and they don’t want to tell their parents. When they are dealing with identity issues. If you can help that one person, that’s the first step that you can do. That is the most important step.

Never miss a 19th event

Sign up for our events newsletter to receive updates on all our 19th programming. You’ll get invites, reminders and event highlights sent directly to your inbox. Plus, we’ll share links to events you might have missed.

Sign Up Today

Share

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

The 19th Represents Summit

Don’t miss our biggest event of 2023!

Register Today

Become a member

Up Next

Second Gentleman Doug Emhoo stands in front of first lady Dr. Jill Biden and others and delivers a speech.

Politics

White House to host first-ever Jewish women leaders summit to mark Women’s History Month

Several White House officials, including Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, and 70 Jewish women leaders will convene for the summit in the same week as International Women’s Day and the Jewish holiday Purim.

Read the Story

The 19th
The 19th is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Our stories are free to republish in accordance with these guidelines.

  • Donate
  • Newsletter
  • Events
  • Search
  • Jobs
  • Fellowships
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Community Guidelines
  • Membership
  • Membership FAQ
  • Major Gifts
  • Sponsorship
  • Privacy
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram