Marjorie Margolies
Founder and President, Women’s Campaign International
Biography:
Marjorie Margolies started her career in journalism after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania and completing a CBS News Foundation Fellowship at Columbia University. From 1971-1991, she was a television journalist at WCAU-TV in Philadelphia and with NBC in its New York and Washington, DC stations. She was a contributing correspondent to the Today Show, Sunday Today, A Closer Look, CNBC, and Real Life with Jane Pauley. Marjorie’s reporting has won numerous awards including five Emmys.
In 1992, Marjorie was the first woman ever elected to Congress from Pennsylvania in her own right. She was also the first Democrat elected from Pennsylvania’s 13th district since 1916. During her term in the House, Marjorie was appointed to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, with subcommittee assignments on Oversight and Investigations and Telecommunications and Finance. In addition, she was a member of the Committee on Small Business and the Committee on Government Operations. In 1995, Marjorie was appointed the Director of the United States delegation to the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China.
In addition to her work at WCI, Marjorie currently teaches at the Fels Institute of Government at the University of Pennsylvania. As a Woodrow Wilson Fellow, Marjorie lectures at universities throughout the country twice a year.
In 1970, Marjorie became the first unmarried U.S. citizen to adopt a foreign child. Lee Heh arrived from Korea and was joined four years later by Holly from Vietnam. Marjorie chronicled their experiences in the 1976 best-seller, They Came to Stay, the first of four books she has authored. She is the mother of a combined family of 11 children and, with the refugee families she has been sponsoring over the years, her household has taken care of 25 children in total.
Marjorie’s Thoughts on Women Worldwide:
My wish for women is ………..that they have a respected voice at decision-making tables. That they have the freedom and the right to have it all: the opportunity to both have a family and a career. This implies a support system from their families and their communities.
My advice for young women leaders is …………………go for it! Don’t let anyone tell you that you don’t have the right to do it.
The reason I am here today…………………is because I have always realized the importance of women in making a society a safer, better place. When I was a reporter, the stories I covered emphasized how women and children are so marginalized worldwide. As a member of congress, it became clear that issues normally stereotyped as “women’s issues” are really everyone’s issues: family, health, education, the environment. Women should be doing more than just setting and serving the table, we should be sitting at it as respected equals.
I am most proud of……………my children and how they are handling life.
The greatest obstacle that I faced was……..prioritizing and balancing my family and career. Worldwide, I’ve found that women often feel conflicted when at work feeling that they’re neglecting their families and at home feeling that they’re neglecting their career. The ability to discard this guilt and achieve success in both arenas is a laudable goal.
