Michelle Bachelet Quotes

As the old joke goes, I have all the sins together. I am a woman, a Socialist, separated and agnostic.

Today it is time to give the government a new lease of life and this new phase which is as demanding as it is inspiring requires renovated energy and new faces.

There's full consensus in the military that women shouldn't be in person-to-person combat. I don't know if we have enough experience to know whether this is the right approach. But women can be elsewhere. We have mandatory military service in Chile. I pushed for women in all areas.

We need to reform the constitution in Chile. The current one was written and passed in 1980 during the dictatorship. Some changes were made after the return of democracy, but its origins remain illegitimate. Instead of continuing to make fixes here and there, we need to undertake fundamental changes to our constitution to make it reflect the reality of our democratic society.

Chile has done a lot to rid itself of poverty, especially extreme poverty, since the return to democracy. But we still have a ways to go toward greater equity. This country does not have a neoliberal economic model anymore. We have put in place a lot of policies that will ensure that economic growth goes hand in hand with social justice.

The change of the binominal system is without a doubt, a great advancement, it will allow us to be better represented and have better ideas.

During my lifetime, I realized that discrimination was not accidental, that there were structural roots and causes to it. So if we wanted to change women's lives, we need to deal with those root causes.

Given political history in Chile, it seemed to me that there was a critical task of consolidating a democracy and creating healthy civic-military and political-military relationships.

My father respected and admired my mother and was a person who was always standing by my side, encouraging me to do more and believed in my capacity. So in that sense, my own experience was very good in becoming an empowered woman. From early on, I carried that strong message: 'You can do it.' So I never had any doubt that women can do a lot.

We simply can no longer afford to deny the full potential of one half of the population. The world needs to tap into the talent and wisdom of women. Whether the issue is food security, economic recovery, health, or peace and security, the participation of women is needed now more than ever.

In the eyes of many business leaders, there is never an opportune moment for tax reform. Yes, the economy is losing momentum, but that is not because a handful of people are losing their privileges. Slow growth did not first begin during my term in office; the market downturn is making itself felt around the world. My government has responded with an agenda aimed at raising productivity. We are also investing substantially in infrastructure - the plan calls for €20.5 billion or $26.3 billion by 2021.

I was not born in a home where there were stereotypes. So that was very useful because it gave me the sense of possibilities, of flying, if I may say, of making my hopes and dreams a reality.

Gender equality will only be reached if we are able to empower women.

Violence against women in all its forms is a human rights violation. It's not something that any culture, religion or tradition propagates.

I made an effort to ensure social safeguards. But our economy has to grow - and Chile, with a population of 17 million, cannot depend entirely on its domestic market. Which is why the decision to focus on exports, made at the beginning of the democratic era, was the correct one. We are continuing to do so. For a long time, Chile has been successful in combating poverty. But now we must focus more on fighting inequality.

As a major economic force worldwide, India and Indian companies have the opportunity to set the standards in Asia in terms of women's right to decent work.

I am a woman with a calling for social struggle and public service.

I don't like stereotypes - no kind of stereotypes.

Gender equality must become a lived reality.

The United Nations should become a proactive agent in the dissemination of democratic principles.

There is no city or country in the world where women and girls live free of the fear of violence. No leader can claim: this is not happening in my backyard.

As women politicians, we talk about the most difficult themes of state security, foreign relations and development models, then ask, 'How do you make it work with your husband?' The interesting thing is that these women - most of them - don't lose the perspective that the focus is not the position but the job at hand.

By including women in decision-making, city governments will be in a better position to fulfill their responsibility to ensure the safety of their residents, especially women and girls.

In some places women have all the rights they deserve and in others there are big restrictions - in some countries they even mutilate women.

Educational equality doesn't guarantee equality on the labor market. Even the most developed countries are not gender-equal. There are still glass ceilings and 'leaky pipelines' that prevent women from getting ahead in the workplace.

Having been a head of state gives you the possibility of getting into places others can't go.

All boys and girls should have the opportunity to receive a high-quality education, no matter what part of the country they live in and irrespective of whether their parents are rich or poor. It is the state's duty to make sufficient money available for the establishment of good public schools. A well-educated youth is crucial so that Chile can continue to grow economically.

For me, a better democracy is a democracy where women do not only have the right to vote and to elect but to be elected.

One of the factors a country's economy depends on is human capital. If you don't provide women with adequate access to healthcare, education and employment, you lose at least half of your potential. So, gender equality and women's empowerment bring huge economic benefits.

We have to make sure that women's issues are an essential element on the agendas of all heads of state, all governments.

Having more women in company boards, in senior management, supervisory positions and workers in the formal sector is not only the right thing to do, but the smart thing to do. It's good for the bottom line.

Women's strength, women's industry, women's wisdom are humankind's greatest untapped resource. The challenge then for U.N. Women is to show our diverse constituencies how this resource can be effectively tapped in ways that benefit us all.

Women say that my election represents a cultural break with the past - a past of sexism, of misogyny.

We need to have a broad debate so that the new Chilean constitution is representative of everyone. I am convinced that it cannot just be developed by an expert group. First, people at all levels will be given an opportunity to provide input. They should be allowed to express their opinions about the kind of society they would like to live in. That's the kind of open process I would like to see. The issue at hand here is finding unity on the greater rules. Afterwards, a text will be developed and presented to parliament.

The possibility of my presidential candidacy emerged spontaneously in public opinion polls. For my part, I noticed people's affection when I was doing work on the ground. I think the important thing is that my candidacy was born from citizens themselves, driven by the people and which the parties picked up favourably.

I'm working for the women in the world, today; that's my essential issue.

Because I'm a doctor, I know when you have an injury it will heal if it's clean enough to heal; if your injury is dirty, it won't heal. And so when you are talking in societies, we are also talking in healing processes, and for a good healing process, you need to make things right.

Having experienced personally and through my family the tragedy of Chile is something always present in my memory. I do not want events of that nature ever to happen again, and I have dedicated an important part of my life to ensuring that and to the reunion of all Chileans.

It was said that Chile was not ready to vote for a woman, it was traditionally a sexist country. In the end, the reverse happened: the fact of being a woman became a symbol of the process of cultural change the country was undergoing.

I wouldn't be honest if I told you that in some moment of my life I had a lot of rage - probably hate - I'm not sure of hate, but rage. But you know what happens is that then you realize you cannot do to others what you think nobody has to do to anybody. Life is important for me and not any kind of life, quality too of life.

We have had scarce investment in women... One of my tasks is that everyone spends much more on women.

Violence ravaged my life. I was a victim of hatred, and I have dedicated my life to reversing that hatred.

In today's interdependent world, a threat to one becomes a menace to all. And no state can defeat these challenges and threats alone.

There has been a cultural shift. It is difficult to measure all that right now, but Chilean women have seen my presidency as a source of pride. Women are performing in jobs in Chile now that 20 or 30 years ago nobody would have dared to imagine.

I believe that if you want to fight inequality you have to do it starting at infancy.

The 2010 global gender gap report by the World Economic Forum shows that countries with better gender equality have faster-growing, more competitive economies.

You have to be doing things that matter - responsibility, but also responsibility with epic and beautiful and noble tasks.

The current global landscape is quite different from the not-too-distant past. The process of globalization has intensified, and the world is moving towards new forms of governance.