Ohio U hosts Hillary Clinton, Chelsea Clinton for a virtual fireside chat

Screenshot of Hillary and Chelsea Clinton’s virtual fireside chat. Photo by Kate Marijolovic.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her daughter Chelsea Clinton spoke at a virtual fireside chat hosted by Ohio University’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion on Tuesday afternoon. 

The fireside chat was the first in a series of events the Office of Diversity and Inclusion has planned for Women’s History Month. The event was moderated by Ohio U Sociology Professor Cindy Anderson. Anderson is also the director of the Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies program at Ohio U. 

During the event, the Clintons talked about the importance of women in science and answered questions about their recent book, “The Book of Gutsy Women: Favorite Stories of Courage and Resilience.” 

Chelsea Clinton, who is an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, cited the need for young people to have increasingly diverse role models as an inspiration for the book. 

“Some of my earliest memories are of my mom and my grandmother talking to me about women that were important to them, stories that had helped them have grit and gutsiness throughout their lives,” she said.

Hillary Clinton talked about the importance of telling more diverse stories and how those stories impact our perspective on history. 

“If you don't know about Black Americans, or about women who have made a big impact, who have been courageous, who have been gutsy, then you don’t understand that we have had a broad tapestry of lives and actions leading us to this point, and that we can learn from it. We can look back in order to take those lessons to try to continue having the changes that are necessary when it comes to racial and gender equality,” she said.

Both Chelsea Clinton and Hillary Clinton remarked on the disproportionate effects that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on women. 

“I think we have to acknowledge how many opportunities have been lost for women and how we’ve lost so much progress in so many different fronts and facets of life here in the United States and around the world on gender equity,” Chelsea Clinton said. 

According to the National Women’s Law Center, women lost 55% of the 9.6 million net jobs lost in 2020. An additional 275,000 women left the labor force in January 2021 alone, according to a recent report from the NWLC.

When asked about what she imagines the future will hold, Hillary Clinton said, “I’m very encouraged by young people who are getting into activism, who are getting into electoral politics, who are on the front lines of research and science and thinking.

“I think if we stand with those people, who are trying to bring out the best in us, trying to create the kind of future that they deserve, we’ll be fine,” she said.