What Will It Take to Make A Woman President?: Conversations About Women, Leadership and Power (52 page)

RS
: I think they exist, but I don’t think our media culture supports them enough to highlight what they’re doing. The question of what girls see in the media and whether or not role models exist is not necessarily the same question. I don’t think that the media promotes male role models that are that much better than what you have for girls. I don’t think we need more role models, I think we need a media that feels that it is worth its time to promote the role models that do exist in the world. By way of example, I hosted a PBS television special on girls and was asked to potentially be a host of a reality-type television show about girls and bullying and girls and friendships, and anytime anybody would get remotely interested in airing a program like this, it was salacious. It wasn’t highlighting a side to this issue that I thought was remotely ethical or meaningful, so I had to keep saying no, no, no, no, no. We can create something ethical and meaningful and educational, but the media just don’t want to do that; they want
to expose our smaller selves. So I’m not of the belief that the role models don’t exist. I’m of the belief that they just aren’t given the spotlight because it’s not seen as profitable.

MS
: Sometimes I look and see what’s happening in Washington, with all this retroactive stuff regarding reproductive rights, all these stories of rapes lately . . . yet on the flip side, we have more women than we’ve ever had in Congress and there are other positive examples of women’s issues rising. Do you see us as progressing or are you feeling concerned?

RS
: I think I feel pretty concerned. I feel concerned, in particular, about how sexual assault is treated, particularly on college campuses. I think that there’s a lot of indifference and looking the other way that goes on. I certainly think reproductive rights are always under fire, but I feel like reproductive rights have advocates for them; they’re organized and a little bit better funded. But what we see happening on college campuses is young women having to take advocacy into their own hands, and I find that troubling. I think there should be more happening there than there is.

MS
: What advice or words of wisdom would you want to offer to young girls today, if you could give them a direct message?

RS
: The thing that I always say is, we spend an enormous amount of time practicing things that we think, or that we’ve been told, are going to help us be successful. Maybe that’s science, or maybe that’s soccer, or maybe that’s a useful instrument that you play, but if we spent a tenth of the time that we put into those kinds of practice, focusing instead on our relationships and our communication and the way we handle failure, I think we would be a lot better off. I just feel like we really need girls to take some of that inner résumé work into their own hands. Because I think a lot of
young women are just thinking,
I can’t ask for a raise; I don’t know how to do that. I’m afraid
, or
I can’t raise my hand and say something in class if I don’t know the right answer
. And I just think that these are things that you
can
learn, as long as you practice and set small goals and try. But I don’t think that’s communicated to girls; I don’t think we prioritize that.

DIANE VON FURSTENBERG

“I think that women and men are different animals. And I think that they complete each other. I think that women have a different kind of strength and a different kind of wisdom.”

D
IANE VON
F
URSTENBERG
first entered the fashion world in 1972 with a suitcase full of jersey dresses. Two years later, she created the wrap dress, which came to symbolize power and independence for an entire generation of women. By 1976, she had sold over a million of the dresses and was featured on the cover of
Newsweek
. In 1997, after a hiatus from fashion, von Furstenberg re-launched the iconic dress that started it all, reestablishing her company as the global luxury lifestyle brand that it is today. DVF has expanded to a full collection of ready-to-wear and accessories including shoes, handbags, small leather goods, scarves, and fine jewelry. In 2005, von Furstenberg received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America for her impact on fashion, and one year later was elected the CFDA’s president, an office she continues to hold. In this significant role, she has dedicated herself to fostering emerging talent and helping to establish the Design Piracy Prohibition Act, which protects designers from counterfeit reproductions of their work.

Von Furstenberg’s commitment to empowering women is expressed not only through fashion but also philanthropy and mentorship. She sits on the board of Vital Voices, a non-governmental organization that
supports female leaders and entrepreneurs around the world. In 2010, with the Diller–von Furstenberg Family Foundation, von Furstenberg established the DVF Awards to honor and provide grants to women who have displayed leadership, strength and courage in their commitment to their causes. In 2012, von Furstenberg was named the most powerful woman in fashion by
Forbes
magazine.

MARIANNE SCHNALL
: Why do you think we have not yet had a woman president? What do you think it would take to make that happen?

DIANE VON FURSTENBERG
: I don’t know why it didn’t happen—maybe because there wasn’t the right person. I think that it’s a question of offer and demand, so I think that now a lot of people wish that they had voted for Hillary. We don’t know what happens, but everybody feels that they would really like her there. I think it wasn’t just the right one. And I don’t think we have to look at it as “Why not?” We should look at it as “Why, yes!” That’s the way to look at it.

MS
: Do you think we’re ready? Do you imagine that you will see a woman president in your lifetime?

DVF
: Yes. I don’t know how long I will live, but yes, yes, yes. Why not? Of course. You shouldn’t look at the glass half empty, but half full.

MS
: I know you do a lot to promote women in leadership. Aside from basic equality, why is it important that we have more women’s voices, not just in Washington but in positions of leadership in general?

DVF
: Because to some degree women are wiser and smarter and stronger.

MS
: What do you think are the greatest obstacles that are keeping women from advancing into positions of leadership, not just in Washington, but throughout society?

DVF
: Listen, I think here women are very powerful. And I think it’s just a matter of maybe not enough women wanting it. I think that if we do, in this country, and in the West, we can have it. There are countries where there is no possibility, and that’s different. But in our country—I never look at the things like “Why not?” I just look forward to it. So I take it for granted that we can.

MS
: That’s a good way to look at it. Now, I know that you’ve had such an incredible story, your own career. What advice or words of wisdom would you have for other women, in terms of following their calling, pursuing their dreams, or starting their own business?

DVF
: My mission in life is to promote and tell women in every way I can, “Be the woman you want to be.” And that’s it. That’s my message.

MS
: You have your own awards which are presented to women leaders. What type of leadership qualities do you look for in the women that you present the awards to? What are the ingredients, to you, for successful leadership?

DVF
: I think that women and men are different animals. And I think that they complete each other. I think that women have a different kind of strength and a different kind of wisdom.

MS
: You’ve done so much important philanthropic work. In addition to your awards, I know you work with the organization Vital Voices. Do you feel that women who reach positions of power and influence, as you have, have a responsibility to uplift other women, to reach back?

DVF
: Yes, every single woman is an inspiration for every other woman—I mean, constantly. When I listen to the stories of the women in Vital Voices, I feel like I am a nobody and I have done nothing, because they humbled me so much, how strong they are and in such difficult situations. So, yes, of course women inspire other women.

MS
: Girls are sometimes conditioned not to trust their own instincts. How did you develop your confidence, your strength, and your ability to develop your inner leader?

DVF
: My mother taught me that fear is not an option, and so she never allowed me to be afraid. So it’s because of my mother that I am confident, because she would not accept it any other way. I had no alternative but to be strong and realize that the most important thing in life is the relationship I have with myself, and therefore all the strength will come from within myself. There’s no other way.

MS
: What can we do to help encourage girls to have more expansive and powerful goals and to know their own worth?

DVF
: By having a relationship with themselves and liking themselves and accepting themselves and believing in themselves.

MS
: It’s hard to imagine that there was a time, not that long ago, that women didn’t even have the right to vote, and certainly we’ve made great strides . . .

DVF
: That is unbelievable, yes.

MS
: Looking at the grand arc of where women are, how do you view the status of women today? Are you feeling very optimistic?

DVF
: Well, it goes up, it goes down. In some cases, there are moments that you just feel like women go backward a little and then they come back in. But when I saw the documentary on Gloria Steinem recently, and I see how backward we were, I just feel, no, we have made progress.

MS
: You have had this incredible career—what drives you?

DVF
: I don’t know; I just love making things happen.

MS
: Were there obstacles that you had to face and overcome?

DVF
: Yes, all the time, every day. Still there are days that I feel like a total loser, and I think that every successful person feels that way.

MS
: How did you get past that when you had those moments?

DVF
: Well, you don’t. You just use it as fuel.

MS
: How do you view the role of the media and the fashion world in terms of the objectification of women? Is it getting better? Certainly there is this line between women wanting to look good for themselves and for the fun
and art of fashion, and women crossing over into an unhealthful fixation and obsession on how they look, which leads to eating disorders and other issues. Where do you view where we are in terms of that situation?

DVF
: Well, in some cases, it could be very difficult, because on television you have people who like to promote, like, if you’re the bitch, you win, or if you have fake tits, that’s happiness. And I completely disagree with that. None of this is happiness. So I fight against that and I try to promote something else.

MS
: In terms of honoring women with your DVF Awards, why did you decide to do that? What is your hope that that accomplishes?

DVF
: It’s just to help people, because if you have any degree of success and if you can use that success to give exposure to people and financial help, then that’s a wonderful thing to do.

MS
: What do you think is the call to action for women? If you could deliver one message to women today, what would you want to say?

DVF
: The most important relationship in life is the one you have with yourself. That’s number one. It’s the only thing that matters.

MS
: In terms of the whole conversation about this challenge of women having it all—how do you view that? Certainly you have a very busy life.

DVF
: It’s very difficult to have it all, but a woman certainly can have it—well, you never have it
all
. But yes, I took it for granted that I could have it, that I wanted to be independent and I had kids and I wanted this. I didn’t
want to feel guilty, and it’s a lot of work. It’s a lot of work and it’s a lot to do, but it’s worth it.