Quotes About Representation

I loved Veronica right off the bat. She was so strong and I think it is so important because there are so few shows that portray women, especially young women, as being strong and being able to stand up for themselves.

I think young women want to see themselves, and indeed their hopes and dreams, represented in characters.

To make computer science more attractive to women, we might help young women change how they think about themselves and what's expected of them. But we might also diversify the images of scientists they see in the media, along with the decor in the classrooms and offices in which they might want to study or work.

I've had young women come to me and say that before they watched 'Voyager' it didn't really occur to them that they could be successful in a higher position in the field of science; girls going to MIT, girls pursuing astrophysics with a view to a career in NASA.

There are so many female roles - particularly for young women - that are just somebody's girlfriend or somebody's daughter, or that are accessories to the main story rather than being three-dimensional characters.

I'm really inspired by playing strong women. Anything that I can be a part of like that, to be a role model for young women.

Especially in the world of fantasy and superheroes, it's great to have role models that aren't in skimpy little outfits, in impossible poses. That's so important for young women.

I think that young women and little girls need to see that they don't have to be the damsel in distress. They don't have to not show their strength. They don't have to be whatever the stereotype is or the tropes that we go to in our minds.

Having the chance to walk at New York Fashion Week for Yeezy and Milan Fashion Week for Alberta Ferretti and Max Mara in a hijab is so significant. It sends a message to young women everywhere that you can be beautiful for just being you.

I want young women to see my name on 'Avengers Assembled' and to know that there are women who write mainstream superhero comics, and if it is something that interests them, it can be done.

The fictional narratives that television, film, and the news provide for girls and young women are appalling.

Young women should be telling stories of other young women. And if the superstar who is an amazing storyteller isn't a writer, that's totally fine, but we should get a young female writer in the room to work on that song with us.

Women of all ages need to be present in the media to instill girls and young women with self-confidence about their futures. And women of my age need healthy role models. Otherwise, how can we build the future dreams we still deserve to have?

I was proud to be the first woman to serve as the No. 2 in the Clandestine Service. It is not my way to trumpet the fact that I am a woman up for the top job, but I would be remiss in not remarking on it - not least because of the outpouring of support from young women at CIA who consider it a good sign for their own prospects.

If we want little girls and young women and people of color to see they have a place in the tech world, it's up to us to make that place for them.

I think it's so important to represent beautiful, natural, healthy Black hair on television and in media, so the young women who feel pressured to look a certain way can see they are beautiful and their hair doesn't have to look a certain way to be professional.

Girls of color and young women need to be seen, heard, and valued. Schools can help make this happen by including our stories in the curriculum.

We need to encourage young women to run for office and become civic leaders in their own communities.

I will not allow my experience to scare off other young women or girls from running for office. For the sake of all of us we cannot let that happen.

I know seeing bigger women looking great would have mattered to me when I was younger - that's why I try not to wear a black dress every day.

When I was younger, it was harder for me to find a black eyeliner that would actually show up on my skin. Being a dark-skinned woman, when you find something that actually shows up on your face, you love it even more.

When I was younger, I didn't have that type of person that I could look up to and be like, 'OK, this is someone who dresses like me and I relate to.' I didn't have that growing up, so to give that opportunity to a younger generation of women - and not just Somali women, but anyone who feels different - that means a lot to me.

I've had so many parents DM me on social media thanking me because I simply have dreadlocks, because their daughters wear dreadlocks and play with dreadlocks, and I'm like, 'Well why not? Let's do it.' It's really cool to be able to inspire the younger generation of kids of color that look like us.

To see another fat girl on television, I think, is really powerful. I'm happy to open the doors for a younger generation of fat, black women to be visible, to be seen, to be heard.