How Progress Takes Time—and Women to Demand It

Valerie Jarrett, Krista Berger, and Brooke Shields spoke about the slow and steady progress required to make change at a panel, moderated by TIME CEO Jessica Sibley, at TIME’s Women’s Leadership Forum in New York City on Sept. 10.

Jarrett, a longtime adviser to former President Barack Obama and CEO of the Obama Foundation, noted that throughout history change has not come easily. “We get so frustrated when change doesn’t happen immediately,” said Jarrett, who pointed to the decadeslong struggle for the right to vote. “If you think about the women who petitioned, who demonstrated, who were on hunger strikes, who went to prison, whose husband said, ‘get out’, because we don’t want you to have the right to vote. How many of them actually live to see the 19th Amendment passed? Not that many.” 

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Often, change requires taking risks—Berger, head of dolls at Mattel and senior vice president of Barbie, which is a sponsor of the Women’s Leadership Forum, said that the brand has had to take a necessary risk to evolve to make sure Barbie reflects the world around her. 

“Last year,” after the success of the Barbie movie, said Berger, “there was a pink tidal wave, but 10 years ago that was not the case. We were holding up a singular reflection of societal ideals. We weren’t reflecting the world that kids saw around them. We took a really brave and bold stance and changed the product 50 years into its product life cycle. It’s a really risky thing to do, and society rewarded us.”

For 59-year-old actor, model, author, and entrepreneur Shields, living up to societal expectations has been a challenge. At just age 15, she was the face of the 1980s, according to a 1981 TIME cover. But she found the public to be less forgiving as she began aging. It’s what encouraged her to create Commence, a hair care brand aimed at supporting women over 40. 

“The minute you’re 40, you’re sort of given this message, ‘You’re no longer the ingénue.’” 

Jarrett and Shields both spoke of the power women have to demand and create change. “Go out there and use your voice to be a force for good,” urged Jarrett. “The world will be better if more women are forces for good and understand the power of their voices.”

The TIME100 Women’s Leadership Forum was presented by Barbie, Deloitte, and ŌURA.