名人讲座英语演讲稿范文（精选30篇）
As President, my father will change the labor laws that were put into place at a time when women were not a significant portion of the workforce. And he will focus on making quality childcare affordable and accessible for all.
As a mother myself, of three young children, I know how hard it is to work while raising a family. And I also know that I’m far more fortunate than most. American families need relief. Policies that allow women with children to thrive should not be novelties, they should be the norm. Politicians talk about wage equality, but my father has made it a practice at his company throughout his entire career.He will fight for equal pay for equal work, and I will fight for this too, right along side of him.
Eliminating or easing legal and cultural barriers so that more parents can make the choices that are right for their families is a core mission for our generation. We don’t label men “working men.” And it is my hope that by the time my daughter Arabella grows into a woman she will not be defined by whether she works inside or outside the home. She will simply be a woman, afforded the same opportunities as her male peers and equipped with the education and support she needs to fulfill her unique potential.
This is how I believe we will empower women – and in so doing, enable them to raise confident, empathetic, and ambitious sons and daughters, to propel unprecedented growth and job creation, and to cultivate a society that embraces the fullness of life, the dignity of work, and the gift of strong and flourishing families.
So today, I hope you will join me in imagining this future and working together to make it a reality- for our children, for our nations, and for the hope of a more vibrant and inclusive economy.
first, i want to ask you a question; what does family mean someone told me: it means father and mother, i love you.
today i am very happy to stand here to express my opinion to my dear parents. first, i want to say thank you to my mom and dady .without you, i would not enjoy such a colorful life. you both love me for ever and never leave me alone when i was in trouble. thank you. mom and dady, thank you. when i was in my hard time, you are my tender sunshine which encourages me to hold on and never give up. and now i am too excited .i dont know how to express my true feeling with limited words. what i know is that without you my life will be filled with endless suffering and mistake .
it’s a very intresting topic today.
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I'm Eden, I'm 9 years old.Today, I'm going to tell you about my first special memory. It wasunforgettable, because it was my first flying on a plane.
When I got on the huge, white thing with two big ‘fans’, I was so scared. I was thinking what if the big thing couldn’t balance itself? What if in the middle of the trip, the airplane ran out of oil? What if the airplane crashed onto the ground when it landed? I was scared that I would falldown and smash into pieces!
Just then, the plane started to take off, and my ear started tohurt as well.So, I closed my eyes for a long long time. What a surprise! WhenI woke up, I didn't smash into pieces, and neither did I have an ear pain.Then, I looked outside the window. How amazing it was!
The sun was orange, and all the cloud turning into golden color, just like the toasted marshmallows and chicken. I could still rememberthat they looked very tasty and inviting! Furthermore, there were the golden lions,dancing bears, and more, just like the cloud zoo! I couldn’t take my eyes offthose impressive views, but it was time to land.
Never would I forget my first amazing flight, my first specialmemory! From then on, I was not afraid of flight any more, instead, I enjoyedhaving the trip in the sky. Thank you!
i've had an interesting experience. i'm an entrepreneur, having started my own business, also worked in the context of a family business that was highly entrepreneurial.i've had both, working in a large family business, that grew to be arather large business. i think for me, one of the challenges wasmanaging the competing demands of raising a family and, and running a business, working in a family business. and then politics got layered on top of that. then i got pregnant with my thirdchild in the midst of that. one of the things, there is no right answer. people ask about balance a lot. i don't think you can plan for balance. you can structure your schedule to avoid worktravel, coming home and having an event or you have to be out.you can manage things like that. we are one kid illness away from losing balance. there's no way you can plan for certain things. i have found every time i think a challenge is large and will behard to overcome that has been put in my path, if you grindthrough it, you look back in retrospect and it feels much more manageable than it was in the moment. this perspective, staying in the moment, keeping a laser focus on what your priorities are. i tell people not to architect their life for balance, but aligned with what their priorities are. and fully measure yourself againstpriorities to ensure you are where you needed to be in the long term. give yourself a little slack in the short term. i will say as anadministration, we are focused on thinking about how weempower the american working family and empower people to achieve a balance through policies around making child caremore affordable and accessible, advocating strongly for paid family leave. to support the reality of of the dual income modernworking family. thinking through policies that support the family is informed by what i have seen and what i have witnessed.
Integrating and empowering women is not just good corporate policy, it’s good business.
Second, in addition to changing the corporate culture, we must advance public policies that address the composition of our modern workforce.
In the United States, while single women without children make 95 cents for each dollar earned by a man, married mothers earn only 81 cents. Too many women in the United States are forced to leave the workforce following the birth of a child.
We must ensure that federal policies support working mothers and enable them to reach their full potential. This is how we will create an environment where closely bonded families can flourish and our economy can grow at unprecedented levels.
That is why in the United States, we are working to pass sweeping and long over-due tax reform that will afford families much needed relief. We are seeking to simplify the tax code, lower rates, expand the child tax credit, eliminate the marriage penalty, and put more money back in the pockets of hard-working Americans.
Our administration is working to address the high cost of childcare in the United States which currently outstrips housing expenses and state college tuition in much of the Country. It cannot be too expensive for the modern working family to have children.
One of my father’s greatest talents is the ability to see potential in people, before they see it in themselves. It was like that for us to growing up. He taught us that potential vanishes into nothing without effort.And like him, we each had a responsibility to work, not just for ourselves but for the betterment of the world around us.Over the years, on too many occasions to count, I saw my father tear stories out of the newspaper about people whom he had never met, who were facing some injustice or hardship.He’d write a note to his assistant, in a signature black，felt-tip pen, and request that the person be found and invited to Trump Tower to meet with him. He would talk to them and then draw upon his extensive network to find them a job or get them a break. And they would leave his office, as people so often do after having been with Donald Trump, feeling that life could be great again.
Well, ladies and gentlemen, I'm afraid I'm going to disappoint you dramatically. I am not here to inspire you. I am here to tell you that we have been lied to about disability. Yeah, we've been sold the lie that disability is a Bad Thing, capital B, capital T. It's a bad thing, and to live with a disability makes you exceptional. It's not a bad thing, and it doesn't make you exceptional. And in the past few years, we've been able to propagate this lie even further via social media. You may have seen images like this one: "The only disability in life is a bad attitude." Or this one: "Your excuse is invalid." Indeed. Or this one: "Before you quit, try!" These are just a couple of examples, but there are a lot of these images out there. You know, you might have seen the one, the little girl with no hands drawing a picture with a pencil held in her mouth. You might have seen a child running on carbon fiber prosthetic legs. And these images, there are lots of them out there, they are what we call inspiration porn. (Laughter)
then others will look to you, not with pity but with HOPE, because your strength will become their HOPE, their strength.
You really can be that powerful.
You can ditch the victim story, you can leave the pain behind and FOCUS on how you will react next. How you will react positively.
Read. Read all you can read to get your mind in a positive place.
Take steps to ensure you will be in a better position next time – whatever pain you are suffering – how can you ensure it won’t show again – Take little steps… and soon you will be at the top of the stair case.
Don’t give up
You are worthy
You are more than worthy!
You deserve to experience how great life can be – and you owe it to the world to be that positive change for others. To inspire others – who will look to you and say – he did it, she did it, and I can do it too.
Don't give up. You are worthy. You are MORE than worthy!
Throughout my entire life, I have witnessed his empathy and generosity towards others, especially those who are suffering. It is just his way of being in your corner when you’re down. My father not only has the strength and ability necessary to be our next President, but also the kindness and compassion that will enable him to be the leader that this country needs.
I’ve learned a lot about the world from walking construction jobs by his side. When run properly, construction sites are true meritocracies. Competence in the building trades is easy to spot and incompetence is impossible to hide.These sites are also incredible melting pots, gathering people from all walks of life and uniting them to work towards a single mission. There have always been men of all backgrounds and ethnicities on my father’s job sites. And long before it was commonplace, you also saw women.
No, this is Penn. That stuff wouldn’t go over well here. Maybe at Drexel—but not here. I’m in trouble now.
I was back to square one—and feeling the pressure.
So now you’re probably thinking—if it was gonna be this difficult, why’d I even accept today’s invitation in the first place?
Well, you know my son goes here. That’s a good reason. And I always like to check to see how my money’s being spent.
And I’m sure there’s some parents out there who can relate to what I’m talking about!
And there were other good reasons for me to show up.
Sure, I got an Academy Award… but I never had something called “Magic Meatballs” after waiting in line for half an hour at a food truck.
True, I’ve talked face-to-face with President Obama… but I never met a guy named “Kweeder” who sings bad cover songs at Smokes on a Tuesday night.
Yes, I’ve played a detective battling demons… but I’ve never been to a school in my life where the squirrel population has gone bananas, breaking into the dorm rooms and taking over campus. I think I’ve even seen some carrying books on the way to class!
So I had to be here. I had to come… even though I was afraid I might make a fool of myself.
My father values talent. He recognizes real knowledge and skill when he finds it. He is colorblind and gender neutral. He hires the best person for the job, period.Words and promises, no matter visionary they sound will only get you so far. In our business, you’re not a builder, unless you’ve got a building to show for it, or in my father’s case, city skylines. Most people strive their entire lives to achieve greatsuccess in a single industry.My father has succeeded in many on the highest level and on a global scale. One of the reasons he has thrived as an entrepreneur is because he listens to everyone. Billionaire executives don’t usually ask the people doing the work for their opinion of the work. My father is an exception.
Good morning,ladies and gentlemen,today i am so happy to stand here to give you arather, a real story of mine.
Though with time going by,i can still remember what you once toldshould be a brave ,you looked into myin,year out,nearly most of my memories are fading little byonly this simple sentence remained,without being forgotten in my life.
Again and again,i can not stop myself from thinking aboutordinary,but so impressive,so moving,just like the brightest sunshine,it helps me go through the darkestam such a sensitive girl in yoursaid,my sorroful facial expression made feel so ,there is one thing i never tell you,that is ,i am becoming a big girl gradually with your words andnever tell you about it,for i believe oneday,you can see the great changes of mine foris what i want to do ini know,that will be the best gift for you.
I suddenly think of a song named MY HEART WILL GOis a beautiful sentence going likeare safe in mythan once,i was moved to tears byknow ,i am also safe in yourhave already forgotten when i told you i was going to leave for Australia this summerjust smiled as usual,gentlyyou decide to do,i will be in favor of it,but, just onething,remember,when you fell lonely abroad,do not forget we are here ,praying forare all around you,far across the distance and space betweenclosed my eyes,the flashbackmemories we had together,once we played games on the palyground,we played jokes on each other,you always wrote a lot of sentences on my articles to encouragethe most unforgetable thing,you told me,you believed m i could be a bigor later.
At that specific moment,i suddenly understood the meaning of this sentenceon that day,i smiled as you used to,looking atlast words i said were,keep walking in sunshine.
Yes,keep walking insaid to you ,also toknow i am not alone wiht your company,and we can keep walking in sunshine till the last minute of our days.
I promise,i will be a big girl.
I promise,i will be a brave girl.
I promise,i will keep walking in sunshine.
That is my speech,thank you!
I am for the robust and free exchange of ideas, as essential to the mission of a great university as it is to the health of our democracy.
I am for a world where we welcome the immigrant, the poor, and the forgotten; we did [do] not shut them out or silence them; a world where showing empathy and understanding is considered the true hallmark of success, of a life well-lived.
That is what I am for.
Yale’s mission says, in part, that we are “committed to improving the world today and for future generations.” That commitment does not end at graduation.
Soon you will leave Yale and, as Robert Penn Warren, who studied and taught at Yale, wrote, “You will go into the convulsion of the world, out of history and into history.”
Indeed, you’ll go into history and make history.
Life is short, before you realize it, you have missed the opportunity to accompany those important people in your life, and more importantly, to let them sense your love and gratitude towards them.
When I was young, like any other young people who aspire to explore the outside world, I joined a multinational company, upon graduation. I subsequently moved to Hong Kong to work and eventually settled down in Singapore and started my own family. Over the years I indeed saw many parts of the world, especially in my current job. The preparation for icebreaker speech last night allowed me to take a reflection on whether I havedone enough for these important people while I am constantly shuttling here andthere to satiate my own desire.
first, i want to ask you a question; what does family mean someone told me: it means father and mother, i love you.
today i am very happy to stand here to express my opinion to my dear parents. first, i want to say thank you to my mom and dady .without you, i would not enjoy such a colorful life. you both love me for ever and never leave me alone when i was in trouble. thank you. mom and dady, thank you. when i was in my hard time, you are my tender sunshine which encourages me to hold on and never give up. and now i am too excited .i dont know how to express my true feeling with limited words. what i know is that without you my life will be filled with endless suffering and mistake .
thank you!
On every one of hisprojects, you’ll see him talking to the super, the painter, the engineers, the electricians, he’ll ask them for their feedback, if they think something should be done differently, or could be done better. When Donald Trump is in charge, all that counts is ability, effort and excellence.This has long been the philosophy at the Trump Organization. At my father’s company, there are more female than male executives. Women are paid equally for the work that we do and when a woman becomes a mother, she is supported, not shut out.Women represent 46 percent of the total U.S. labor force, and 40 percent of American households have female primary breadwinners. In 20xx, women made 83 cents for every dollar madeby a man. Single women without children earn 94 cents for each dollar earned by a man, whereas married mothers made only 77 cents. As researchers have noted, gender is no longer the factor creating the greatest wage discrepancy in this country, motherhood is.
And life as a disabled person is actually somewhat difficult. We do overcome some things. But the things that we're overcoming are not the things that you think they are. They are not things to do with our bodies. I use the term "disabled people" quite deliberately, because I subscribe to what's called the social model of disability, which tells us that we are more disabled by the society that we live in than by our bodies and our diagnoses. So I have lived in this body a long time. I'm quite fond of it. It does the things that I need it to do, and I've learned to use it to the best of its capacity just as you have, and that's the thing about those kids in those pictures as well. They're not doing anything out of the ordinary. They are just using their bodies to the best of their capacity. So is it really fair to objectify them in the way that we do, to share those images? People, when they say, "You're an inspiration," they mean it as a compliment. And I know why it happens. It's because of the lie, it's because we've been sold this lie that disability makes you exceptional. And it honestly doesn't.
we should learn to stick to our life no matter how difficult the life is and we should learn to love others .it is the flim tellsx me .
it is a story talks about a black girl named precious .precious isx fat and not beautiful. her bad temped mother never workx, always cheated others to relieve her ,and atex while watching tv all day.what is worse ,precious was only 16,but she had pregnant for twice .out of assumption ,her child is her farther
s child .living in this life ,she alawys imagine to avoid facing her life .fortunately,with the help and careneof the teacher and doctor ,her life became not so bad .
precious has a tough life ,and if she gives up her life and does not join the adult education ,she will not meet the teacher and her life may not be
changed .
You’re about to hear a fine student response at the end of today’s program. (I know that because I get a sneak peek at those remarks.) But I wish you could also have heard the two talks given at last December’s winter commencements.
Jordan Cebulla told of being a poor student in high school here locally who almost abandoned any idea of higher education. But, told by a family friend that Lafayette is, quote, “a gritty town full of gritty people,” he gave Ivy Tech a try. And four years later, he is a Purdue alum. He told his classmates, “In the end, if we quit on ourselves, everyone else will quit on us, too.”
In his response speech, Seon Shoopman confided that, out of sixteen schools he applied to, Purdue was the only one to admit him, provided he attend our summer boot camp. Three and a half years later, he, too, earned his Purdue degree, with honors, becoming the first in his family to graduate from college. Seon said that, more than any other motive, he wanted to do it for the mother who had pushed him all the way. “When I wanted to quit, she told me not to. When I wanted to leave school, she told me not to. She told me to fight, be strong, and make something of myself.”
Some in today’s world think they have discovered something new in the concept of “grit.” A Harvard Business School article just last fall was titled “Organizational Grit,” and reported that, quote, “High achievers have extraordinary stamina. ... When easier paths beckon, their commitment is steadfast. Grit predicts who will accomplish challenging goals.” So that’s why a Harvard MBA costs 200 grand.
someone said “we are reading the first verse of the first chapter of a book, whose pages are infinite”. i don?t know who wrote these words, but i?ve always liked them as a reminder that the future can be anything we want it to be. we are all in the position of the farmers. if we plant a good seed ,we reap a good harvest. if we plant nothing at all, we harvest nothing at all.we are young. “how to spend the youth?” it is a meaningfulquestion. to answer it, first i have to ask “what do you understand by the word youth?” youth is not a time of life, it?s a state of mind. it?s not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips or supple knees. it?s the matter of the will. it?s the freshness of the deep spring of life.youth means a temperamental predominance of courage overtimidity of the appetite , for adventure over the love of ease. this often exists in a man of 60 more than a boy of 20 . nobody grows old merely by a number of years . we grow old by deserting our ideals. years wrinkle the skin , but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul . worry , fear , self –distrust bows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust .whether 60 of 16 , there is in every human being ?s heart the lure of wonders, the unfailing childlike appetite of what?s next and the joy of the game of living . in the center of your heart and my heart there?s a wireless station : so long as it receives messages of beauty , hope ,cheer, courage and power from men and from the infinite, so long as you are young .
I love drama performance very much; it makes me active to try something different.
As a member of drama club, I played different roles in different dramas, such as a doctor, a team leader and some animals. I really enjoyed those different experiences by understanding their inner world and imitating their voices and behaviors.Gradually I became more and more active to try different things.
So…I chose a bad wolf as my next role which is quite different from previous ones. It looks like this: (Knock, knock)" Come in please.” ”Grandma, what big eyes you have?” ” All the better to see you with.” ”But, what a large mouth you have?” ” All the better to eat you with! Haw-haw…”
Hope you like it, thank you!
Now I seriously want to thank you for that. I had to take that picture. My mother always took photos of me at every progress point growing up. She’d show off those photos to everyone who came to our house, and she would be so proud that I am here at my old stomping ground with all of you.
So, now graduates, it’s certainly your day, but President Price already reminded us it’s Mother’s Day – but you know women never get enough love, never. So the one day we have here to offer a deserved salute to those who bore us biologically and those who stood in as surrogates for many of our needs and wants – deserve some more love. I want all the graduates to stand up and give their mothers and their surrogate mothers some love. Thank you.
Now this is my first Mother’s Day without my own mother, who I lost last August.
And while she’s not here physically, I can still hear her voice when I reach a significant milestone or face what appears to be an insurmountable obstacle.
And if she were here today, I know exactly what she would say to you.
In response to your achievement, it would, no doubt, be crisp and compelling a show of support: “You did it!” And she would offer you a huge smile and an even bigger hug.
But she would also keep it real with you like she always did with me. She would tell you that your future, like any of ours, is going to be hard work. I can hear her say: “Lisa, listen to me and hear me clearly. Adversity is like the agitator in the washing machine. It beats the heck out of the clothes, but they’re clean when they come out”.
i started a company called blueblood. this is for you. i created an online marketplace for professional truck drivers when they are in need of work to match with a motor carrier who needs a driver. we are just rolling out. my concern is the regulations. my concern is for all industries, what can we do with the regulationissued to help us through these phases?
you heard the president when he started off. he has rolled back already so many regulations to make it possible to move forward. he was only less than a dozen days in office when the executive order stated for every new regulation you want tocreate you've got to get rid of 2. i think that is bringing down theregulatory environment. i feel -- i hear the same message when i'mtouring the country. i'm visiting every district office. there's 68 of them. i hold business roundtables. the regulatoryenvironment is clearly one that is crippling a lot of small businesses as well as large businesses. i believe that it is a trillion dollars a year a cost for all businesses to comply with regulations. that is a time of money. a little example, just now i was in portland and seattle, and alaska. then i came back tomilwaukee. when i was at a small brewery, the owner said theregulations that bothers him, let me give you one example. he saidi want to launch a new beer. we had the body in the formula. hesent in the label and it was kicked back. the label was wrong. we resubmitted. it kicked back again. i finally found out it was a,missing in the text on the label of the description of the product. we were delayed six months launching our product. you are a small business person trying to reclaim that six months.those regulations we don't need.
my name is richard daphne. i have over 30 years in different sizebusinesses, with many ups and downs. my question is for ivanka.what do you feel has been your biggest challenge, most exciting success? mrs.
as an entrepreneur you try to balance yourown time, energy, focus, especially when you think big. you sometimes have to slow yourself down. so, to not -- to impose thediscipline on yourself to enable you to achieve the growth youwant, especially in the early days, you have limited people. you arejust launching a product or a service. you hopefully feel thatearly momentum. when you are an entrepreneur you have to be a visionary. we also have to be an secured her. successfulentrepreneurs are both. they dream big. they think big. they also are highly pragmatic, able to execute at the task at hand.sometimes there is an imbalance. i think for anyone to besuccessful, they have to reconcile those things. ultimately we were talking about it, in terms of recruitment, you are as good as your people. investing in your teams, your employees, making sureyou have cultivated a group that complements you, that pushesyou , that will enable you to succeed. for me, success that is scaled and done tremendously well is because they have a great team and great people.
thank you for doing this work today. we are a marketing publicengagement firm. we are a serviced a bold veteran small business. we have been based in northern virginia for many years. virginia is the number one state for veteran owned businesses. our right to pursue the american dream is something i hold dear to my heart.i'm curious, i'm sure you have had the opportunity to meet greatentrepreneurs. is there one story that is the most inspirational story?
it is been incredible to hear so many stories.during the two years prior campaigning, traveling around the country. one of the unique things about this experience, my father was running for president. people would come up to youwherever you were and tell you their stories. with suchtremendous detail, and tell you of their hardest challenges, and share with you things in a way they neither -- never would have.they would never open themselves up to you in the same way theydo during the process of a campaign. now today, being part of this administration. i feel blessed for the candor in which people share their ideas and personal stories. linda and i were together in baltimore just days after the inauguration. we did a roundtable with small business owners, predominantly female, hosted by the national urban league. one of those women who actually i brought her to the white house a few months later is named lisa phillips. she had a small's ness. she told me her storyand i think -- we were all crying. it was so amazing. she started out homeless. she is now engaged. this spring she got her mastersdegree. she has a small but thriving small business and party planning. she is volunteering with homeless youth in baltimore. so this is -- these types of stories forever change you. it is unbelievable to hear the purser variants, the grant, the energy. i know she is going to make an enormous impact not just in her business but her community. we talk about small business, how it is going to grow our economy and benefit american workers, butthe amount of philanthropy being done on the local level by small business is a norm is enormous. i'm sure each of you can share your own stories just about how you are able to give act and you do in such a tremendous way. lisa story was moving to me.
Well, that is huge different with what I knew. Of course, I didn't think there is any prefection, but get things done in "better" way. However, I now get a clear concept to get things done in a better way, and complete jobs with a learning curve. I believe I will think of Practice Makes Permanence and re-charge myself when I get tired.
In the way of creating business or no matter what you do, did you train up yourself?
God willing, none of you will face at any age the kind of dangers and fears that Fred and Tyler did. But they, and so many others like them, have left us all a legacy that provides perspective and proportion for those inevitable moments when the pressures and disappointments of life get us down.
Don’t misunderstand this, but I wish for you many such tough moments. You can easily avoid them; just lead a safely inconsequential life: run no risks, confront no injustice, accept no roles of leadership. But that’s not the path we expect you to choose. You are about to become graduates of Purdue University, which, throughout its history, has supplied leaders to a world that needs them now as rarely before.
Long after you leave us, your senior year will be remembered as the year of Tyler Trent. His is a story I need not recount; everyone here knows who he was, and how he faced a situation for which words like “adversity” and “stress” don’t come close. He impacted more people, and left deeper footprints, than most who will enjoy lives several times longer than his. We’ll never forget you, Tyler.
I encourage you to look up the scene on YouTube – but not right now – because it’s still a very funny piece. And it’s funny because it’s ridiculous, but also because it contains a kernel of truth. And the truth applies not only to college presidents, but to all of us.
How many times have we decided we’re against an idea before we’ve even heard it? How guilty are we of deciding “I’m against it” without even knowing what “it” is?
Many times, we know what we’re against based on who is saying it. If an idea comes from a certain public figure, politician, or media outlet, we already know how we feel. Partly this is because our public discourse has become so predictable. We’ve lost the capacity for surprise, for revelation.
Speaking of predictable, here is the moment where an ambassador of an older generation – that would be me – tells millennials – most of you – about the evils of social media! But hear me out…
Obviously, social media has transformed our lives and our relationships. It obviously has many advantages, allowing us to share news and information quickly with people around the world. But it also heightens our sense of outrage and speeds up arguments, depriving us of the time and space for careful reflection.
Bombarded with notifications, pressured to respond before the media cycle turns over, we tap out our position – our opposition – in seconds. It’s easy to be against something in fewer than 280 characters. It’s far more difficult to articulate what you are for – and to do it at warp speed.
During my brief time in office, our world has reminded us daily of the necessity and the urgency of our work.
We’ve witnessed the coarsening of public discourse and the volatility of national and international affairs.
We’ve mourned when gun violence has cut future short, and gatherings of the faithful – Jewish, Muslim, and Christian – have ended in bloodshed.
We’ve continued to confront the existential threat posed by climate change, and we’ve reeled as extreme weather has destroyed homes and claimed lives.
And we’ve grown increasingly aware of the scourge of sexual harassment and sexual assault, and have struggled to consider how institutions, Harvard among them, can prevent and address behavior that threatens individuals and weakens communities.
To be sure, there is much in this world that rightly troubles us. But there’s even more that gives us cause for hope.
And it’s that spirit of hope – the willingness both to see the world as it is, and to consider how we can help make it better – that is in many ways the spirit that defines this university and I believe joins us all together.
Since I took office on July 1, I’ve seen the value of both knowledge and education at work in the world. I’ve seen the good being done by our faculty and our students, by our alumni, and our staff, and our friends. And I’ve seen expressions of compassion, and patience, and kindness, and wisdom that have moved me deeply.
The problem with these stories is that they show what the data shows: women systematically underestimate their own abilities. If you test men and women, and you ask them questions on totally objective criteria like GPAs, men get it wrong slightly high, and women get it wrong slightly low. Women do not negotiate for themselves in the workforce. A study in the last two years of people entering the workforce out of college showed that 57 percent of boys entering, or men, I guess, are negotiating their first salary, and only seven percent of women. And most importantly, men attribute their success to themselves, and women attribute it to other external factors. If you ask men why they did a good job,they'll say, "I'm awesome. Obviously. Why are you even asking?" If you ask women why they did a good job, what they'll say is someone helped them, they got lucky, they worked really hard.