My role was to bring about fairness in the workplace. All I did was implement the laws that were currently on the books.

We need women to go through apprentice programs. I've seen women who did, and who are now highly trained electricians and welders. These are jobs that women are capable of doing.

Young people need the hands-on training that comes with a summer job. They need to know how to dress for success and nail job interviews. But most of all, they need mentorship, guidance, and inspiration.

My parents raised me and my six siblings with little money... but lots of love.

But I decided I wanted more education and I had to make a choice between starting law school, which was interesting to me, and going for a graduate degree in engineering.

I'd always thought leadership was a CEO or president or person in a position of power. And honestly, to me, that meant a man - because that's what I was reading about in history books growing up.

Girls' education is no silver bullet. Iran and Saudi Arabia have both educated girls but refused to empower them, so both remain mired in the past. But when a country educates and unleashes women, those educated women often become force multipliers for good.

Racism is systemic: It's oppression that's built into the laws, legislation, into the way neighborhoods are policed, and into job opportunities and health care and education.