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

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.

U.N. Women was created due to the acknowledgement that gender equality and women's empowerment was still, despite progress, far from what it should be. Transforming political will and decisions, such as the Member States creating U.N. Women, into concrete steps towards gender equality and women's empowerment, I think is one of the main challenges.

My top priority for 2012 will be to make a renewed push for women's economic empowerment and political participation.

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

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

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