this court which is ridden with partisan interests. so i want to know if you would be one of those justices. >> that's hilarious. [applause] >> me who has not practiced law since 1991. >> don't even get me started on kavanaugh. >> that's such a dark place. let's not go there. >> let's talk about you being a supreme court justice. and if it's not that -- >> can i talk about what i'm doing? >> yeah. >> well, i thought after the election, i have the best job in the world, and i started during the inaugural parade. it was really cold, and i started on january 20, when i

waved good-bye to the obamas when they left on january 20, 2017. the secret service told me girl, you've got to get out of here. you can't stay any longer. even on the worst days, i wouldn't have traded that for anything in the world. so after that, as i was going through the multiple stages of grief. i thought, what do you want to do next? i used to tease president obama, oh, my job is so much better than your job. i knew i'd never have a better job. so i did some soul searching. what are some jobs weighing on the issues that came before him? what do i care about? it came down to i care enormously about gender equity. i think it's outrageous that in

this day and time that we are still not paid equally, that we don't have a national pay leave policy, that work flexibility isn't built into every single workplace, that there are still companies that haven't figured out that you're leaving your town on the sideline by figuring out a way to organize so that families can thrive. so one of my colleagues, tina chin and i, formed a not-for-profit called the state of women. we brought together stakeholders from all over the country who were fighting the good fight for gender equity. we had another summit last summer, and we had more people that showed up last year than showed up when we were still in the white house. and we're going to continue that and have another summit next year. and in between that, we have summits where we go around the

country, trying to figure out what those best practices are. so i encourage you to go to the you stated states of women to learn more. the other issue, and i could talk to you for hours about this, voting. mrs. obama and i started a nonprofit around voting. as i went through those stages of grief, i was struck by -- you know, you do all these what ifs, what ifs, well, the one what if that i really locked in on was the fact that 43% of eligible voters did not vote in the last election. 43%. and yeah, they are stuck with the consequences as are the rest of us. so what do we do, particularly trying to get young people to become lifelong voters? so we're really working on that again, and i encourage everybody to get involved and

encourage young people to do so. i'm working with president obama on his platform. i joined the faculty of the university of chicago law school. they're helping me do research in the area of criminal justice reform, which is another one of my passions. i am so troubled by the fact that the united states has about 5% of the world population and 25% of the world's folks who are incarcerated. and so much can happen at the state level, and the federal government would be an important leader on that front, but we can do it without federal government, so i'm working a lot on that around our country. [applause] >> and i will say i'm particularly concerned about women that were incarcerated, and i visited compton, california several years ago,

and i visited a program where all these young teenagers were coming before the juvenile court, and the judge noticed one thing they all had in common. no matter what crime they committed, they were all victims of commercial sexual exploitation, and so that's a travesty. so these lives are being thrown away because of something that happened to them. we have to change it, and we have to change it before they even get caught up in the system. we have to reform our system with schools and suspensions. there's so much we can do. if people do get caught up in the system, we have to make it fairer so that communities of color have a better relationship with the police department. make sure that sentences are not mandatory, that they're tailored to fit the job, and when people come out, let's give them a job. let's give them another chance, right? [applause] >> i love that. so still living a life of service. >> and you know, i think president obama had it right.

i'm at the stage of my life -- don't hate me for this -- where i wake up every single day and do what i want to do. now it wasn't always like that, and if you read my book, you'll see that there were days that it wasn't like that at all. life is good, notwithstanding the chaos that we're in, but i know the chaos will change in a couple years because of you. >> amazing. valerie jarrett, other than the birth of my granddaughter earlier this year, this is the highlight of my year. can we thank valerie jarrett? >> thank you so much. i hate it to end. thank you all very much. thank you. thank you. what a beautiful room. aren't they great? you guys were great.

[applause] >> you can say you were in the room when it happened. you were in the room when two of the world's most influential woman talks about how clear we needed to be. we need to be at the head of the table, we need to be on the extreme court, we need to be the mayor, and my god, we need to be running this country. so i want to thank you all so much for being a part of that discussion, and it's not even lunchtime yet. you see how mayor breed gets down. you all with me, sisters? can you hear me? so you have your pink bags, but i want you to hold on to your phone and download be invincible at the app store. not now, but do that in the

next ten seconds after i finish because we have a lot of workshops right on the second floor, okay? and we're going to begin this conversation with so many other women, so many institutions that have come today to inspire us. so just briefly, as we walk out, and it is -- as you download your app, you can look at the information on speakers. there's speakers on women's health, civic and financial engagement. there's a couple of clothing retailers down there, so meet me, i'll be shopping. we also have some really interactive resource fairs down stairs. please check the app. a lot of hard working folks put together that app so we know exactly what we're supposed to do, all the opportunities in this building today, so really take advantage of it. and lastly, and almost more importantly, at 11:45, lunch

will be served. you can pick up your lunch outside of this room. say 11:45. 11:45. i have enjoyed being your morning emcee. be invincible. be invincible. be invincible. ladies, let's change the world together.

♪ we will never be anything >> okay. i needed that. [laughter] how many of you needed this day? [ cheers ] [applause] yeah. all of us together pretty much saying you're not going to take our country away from us. nor are you going to take our future away from us. and we're going to take it back. [applause] i'm so excited that i get to be your emcee for this afternoon. you're about to hear from a couple of super powerful, amazing women. and to introduce them is a powerful woman in her own right. a san francisco native, a health

care expert, entrepreneur for 24 years, an awardee of the 30 working mothers of the year. janet lang is kaiser kaiser pere president and a major bad ass in her own right. please welcome janet lang. [applause] ♪. >> thank you so much. thank you. ♪ thank you. thank you. oh! kaiser permanente is in the house today. hello! [cheers and applause] good afternoon, everyone. you know, i was so excited to be joining you today. and i was coming to the conference and i saw the theme was to be invincible. i took a minute to take a look at the dictionary to say what are some of the other ideas and themes behind the word "invincible." and what stood out for me was

indestructible, unbeatable, and absolutely too powerful to overcome. >> all right! yeah! that's right. [applause] >> those are fighting words. so i asked myself, so what exactly are we fighting for? so i have four principles that i think that we're fighting for. the first is that we're fighting for recognition, that there is economic value in the role that women play in raising families. [applause] that's right. that's right. the second is that we're fighting for equal pay for equal work. it's very simple. [applause] the third is that being a woman does not limit our opportunity or our voice. and then, lastly -- lastly, we must be in a society where women are free from oppression and

physical violence. [applause] so at kaiser permanente i want you to know that leaders like myself and our workforce of over 79,000 believe in these four tenets strongly. we understand that women are decision makers for the health care for their family, you're mothers and you're sisters, you're wifes and partners and daughters. you make these choices for your family and we listen to you. you have a very important voice. the second is that we employ, i said earlier 79,000 people here in northern california, 70% of those employees are women. very proud to say that. [applause] but i also want you to know that women have opportunity at kaiser to become executives. so we have eight -- we're a national organization. and there are eight presidents. and the presidents run

everything that happens in our organization. we produce the money, we take care of our members, we provide your care. and we manage a workforce of over 200,000. of the eight presidents at kaiser permanente, five are women. five women presidents. [cheers and applause] and in most companies of our size, with over 200,000 employees, fortune 100 companies, you will see the executive ranks have about on average 15% women. and at kaiser permanente we have 47%. 47% of our vice presidents, our executives, our presidents are all women. and so there you have it. kaiser permanente represents being -- fighting for all of the things that you're here today to talk about. we believe in women being indestructible, unbeatable and too powerful to overcome.

and so i have the pleasure now of introducing two women who embody that. and i'm going to talk a little bit about them. you know them so there's not a lot to say. they're going to come out together. of course, is our very own mayor london breed, who is the 45th mayor of the city of san francisco. [cheers and applause] and -- and the first african-american woman mayor in our city. so she has a lot of firsts behind her name. we know her as a native san franciscan as well, raised by her grandmother in the western addition of the public housing. and she has fought for many of our city's most challenging issues that our community and our citizens face. safe, clean neighborhoods. affordable housing. particularly her leadership recently around homelessness and she fights for equitable education opportunities and for

services for vulnerable people in our communities. the second woman that i'm introducing, of course, is our speaker of the u.s. representatives house is nancy pelosi. [cheers and applause] 31 years. 31 years, not just elected, one of the first women to be elected, but also speaker of the house for over 16 years. she served three terms now, which is a pretty big deal, given all of the changes that happened over three decades. and i personally want to thank her. she's known for many, many things. many initiatives, investments in college aid, clean energy, helping veterans and small business. but i personally want to thank her for her leadership of the affordable care act. [applause] you know, 5 million more people in the state of california have

health insurance and access to care because of her. so she's made a difference in our country that will last -- she leaves a legacy in our country under her leadership. so please join me in welcoming these two wonderful, wonderful women to the stage. [applause] ♪ r-e-s-p-e-c-t- ♪ find out what it means to me just a little bit ♪ ♪ r-e-s-p-e-c-t- ♪ oh, a little respect ♪ oh, yes ♪ just a little bit >> hello, ladies. [applause] are you having a good time today? [ cheers ] now we have our special guest here joining us. our leader, our speaker, the

woman who basically is the only woman with courage in this country right now. speaker nancy pelosi! [applause] so, speaker, thank you so much for being here. we so appreciate your time. and we just want to have a conversation because we want to know who is nancy pelosi. and i think that you've been out there, we see you out there fighting the good fight, standing up to donald trump. doing what you do best to try and really move our country in the right direction. but we also know that you have a long history in the world of politics. during a time where it was difficult for women to even get engaged. your dad served as mayor of baltimore, your brother served as mayor of baltimore. you raising five kids ran for office and became a congresswoman for san francisco. [applause]

so tell us about -- tell us about those early years and how challenging it was at that time for women, because you were breaking barriers even back then. >> thank you very much, madam mayor. first, i want to congratulate you on the great job that you are doing as mayor of san francisco. [cheers and applause] i'm so very, very proud of you. and now it appears your re-election is quite obvious. as you gain even more standing in our city and i know our city is your focus. you're a national example of whether it's public education or affordable housing or issues that relate to gun safety, the list goes on. they're stories you can tell from personal experience. and i want everyone in this room to know that personal stories are the power -- are the power. i remember when i first met the

may, he was is -- she was a star at city hall. my daughter christina said she was also an officer of the california democratic party. christine is here with a ruth bader ginsburg scarf on today. [applause] and then you were involved in emerge and i know suzie beal is very much a part of this. you took all the steps. and now to be the mayor of this great city, to bring your experience and your values. so i hope in the course of our conversation, as i share my story, you'll share another generation's story, your own. and i'm sure you're doing it in the course of this very important meet. it's wonderful. wonderful to be in san francisco on any given day, but to be here with all of these women, these invincible women. we have our bracelet. it's quite an honor. i have to just tell you, though, it is a curious time in our

country. and the time for women to be invincible has never been more important, even though this year we -- will congress we will celebrate the 100th anniversary of women having the right to vote. [applause] that's a good thing. as we do so, we have over 100 women in the house of representatives. 91 of them are democrats. 106, 91 are democrats. but they represent the beauty, the diversity of america. and when women first got the right to vote, we still had much more work to do to make sure extended to women of color and people of color across our country. so again i thank you for the opportunity to share some thoughts on that subject. when women got the right to vote, the headline said "women given the right to vote." no, women fought, women were starved, women starved

themselves, marched, advocated for decades before the right to vote came. and now we have to do some of the same things to. in the course of our revolution, when times were dark, thomas payne said the times have found us. we believe the times have found us now again to save our democracy. to save our democracy. [applause] and the role of women in all of that is very, very important. so know your power. it's fabulous to see the strength of it all here. but understand how necessary that is. so i thank you for your leadership, your involvement, your courage to be invincible. >> thank you. [applause] now 100 years may seem like a long time. but it wasn't that long ago in our history when we basically

took the right to vote and we're celebrating that 100-year anniversary, but we're still in the midst of a lot of inequities that women face in this country. i know you have been a leader around equal pay. so tell us a little bit about your work and what you're doing to help address the inequalities and the pay gap for women and men. >> well, i appreciate you asking that, because one of our top items on our agenda, when we came in as the new majority in congress, was to pass the fair pass act, equal pay for equal work. and it's still stunning to me to see people voting against that. and mitch mcconnell in the senate is saying i'm the grim reaper, it's not going to see a vote in the senate. but i say to him, this may be -- you may think it's dead, but it's alive and well in the public. so i appeal to you, because no good thing happens with the outside mobilization.

we can maneuver to pass the bill in the house, to get it through the senate and the president, to sign it is absolutely essential, for us to have the outside mobilization. know your power. weigh in. i mean, who would vote against such a thing? the republican members of congress. i know this isn't a partisan -- [laughter] but it was amazing to see. and tied to that, which we're going to bring up in a couple of weeks, is raising the minimum wage to fight for $15. $15 an hour. [applause] that affects women in the workplace as well. but when you think of the fact that women are not paid for the same amount of work as men, and what it means not only to the well being of their families, but what it means to their pensions and their retirement and the rest, it's so very, very unfair. we can correct it, we passed the bill, rosa was the author of it. and now we just have to get it past the senate.

lincoln said public sentiment is everything. with it you can accomplish anything with it. in order for the public sentiment to weigh in, the public needs to know. so tell a friend, call in, especially into -- some of you are not from california. call home. tell those people -- call the republican senators. so bring up -- to bring up the bill. it's a threshold we must cross. we must cross. >> and that, along with a number of challenges that you've been dealing with for decades in the house of representatives, you work with a number of presidents and, of course, we had a great time working with president obama and we truly miss him now more than ever. and i just -- i just wanted to understand because we watch you on the news. and we -- in my mind, i don't know about you, but i'm like how is nancy pelosi sitting there

with a straight face, when -- [laughter] when some of those things are being said. i just wonder, well, what is going on in her head. and you, classy as always, try to hold him accountable. madam speaker, what is going on in your head? [laughter] with all of that? >> well, thank you for bringing up president obama and valerie jarrett, whom you had this morning was so -- [applause] so spectacular. so spectacular. i love her. and she's really a powerful force in our country. i have to just say this about the occupant of the white house. [laughter] [applause] it's really important to recognize that, again i'm just stating a fact, this isn't political or partisan. that the republicans in congress, house and senate by

and large agree with him on almost every subject. i'm not associating them with his behavior. but i am associating them with his policy. so before he even became president, they were where they were on being an anti-women's right to choose, lgbtq rights, the climate change, gun safety, fair immigration, fairness in our economy, diminishing the disparity in income between our haves and have notes in our country. they've been on the wrong side of both of those issues for a long time. so his coming in just -- he's their guy from a policy standpoint. so when we had our election '18, as i said to the candidates, something similar to what i'll say to now. don't even mention his name, just talk about you. i say this to the women here, as

you aspire to perhaps run for office, supporting those who do, as we sit here with this magself success -- magnificent success story with our mayor london breed. here's the thing. what is your -- i keep saying to the members. we have to distinguish our why. why are we here? what is our vision for the country. what do we know about the subjects that we can make a difference in the legislation. how do we intend to do this. are we strategic in our thinking? and show your sincerity, your connection to your constituents in terms of their fears and hopes and apprehensions and aspirations. don't talk about him. but the fact is that when you present where you are on the issues, you will make a very strong distinction between the republicans in congress and the democrats in congress. and the republicans in congress

are very much aligned with the president of the united states on these issues. that's really sad news that i have to convey to you. so when people say how come they're not speaking out? well, he's their guy. he's their guy. but they also have taken an oath of office to support and defend the constitution of the united states. and we're hoping that will weigh in on their decisions, as we go forward. so when you say when you're sitting there, he's the president of the united states. i respect the office that he holds. i think i respect it more than he respects it. but, anyway, i respect the office that he holds. [laughter] and we have to try to find common ground. our founders went back and said we are -- you know, the times have found us. they also gave us guidance in this respect.they couldn't

imagine how many we would be, how different we would be. they always knew we strived to be one. so for the good of the people, we have to always try to find common ground. stand our ground. stand -- that would be thomas jefferson. stand our ground like a rock. so you try to say, well, infrastructure, building a green infrastructure for the future. green, infrastructure for the future. lowering the cost of prescription drugs, he says he wants to do those things. let's try to find common ground on that. but at the same time we must mobilize outside. we would never have passed the affordable care act or save the affordable care act without the outside mobilization. i thank for her kind words. but it was the outside that made that happen. again know your power. be invincible. weigh in on these things,

because the public is -- it is the people's country. we the people and for the people. and most importantly for the children. so that's what i think when i'm sitting there, among other things. [laughter] >> yeah. [applause] >> well, speaking of knowing your power, it happens to be the name of the book that you wrote "know your power." and part of knowing your power, of course, is knowing who you are and what you stand for. and i know that this had to come from somewhere. and so tell us -- because as i said earlier, you know, you have been doing this incredible work since -- at a time when there weren't a lot of women who were actively engaged in the political world. and not until recently are we seeing incredible organizations that are coming like emerge and emily's list and other organizations that are helping to support and encouraging and

pushing women to run for office. but you didn't have organizations like that. you stepped out on face and really got actively engaged. and you also did it while raising five kids. i mean, i'm still trying to understand how that's even possible. so tell us a little bit about how you discovered, you know, your voice and your power and what motivated you in the early years to really step out and to do this type of work. >> well, i appreciate what you're saying. but the fact i was raised in a political family, as was mentioned. i was raised in a political family. we were taught that public service is a noble calling. and that we all had a responsibility to -- for the community. it wasn't about politics so much as about civic engagement and politics as part of that. and so i never had any intention

whatsoever of running for public office. none whatsoever. but i did feel responsible to make some contributions. so i volunteered and one thing led to another. but i'll just tell you this story about how i went from kitchen to congress. one of the paths through it. [laughter] so i'm at home, with five kids, running around, little kids. all of this. i get a call from the then mayor joseph alioto. he says, nancy, what are you doing, making a big pot of pasta. [laughter] no, mr. mayor, i'm reading "the new york times." [laughter] he used to come in the afternoon in those days before all of the technology. and my kids are playing there. and this is after school. and he said, well, i'm calling for ask you to serve on the library commission. [ cheers ] so i say to him, and he said because i know you love the library, kids and you all hang out there and everything. we go there all the time, help with the books, this or that.

this is -- this is almost 40 years ago. so i said, no, mr. mayor, don't give me that appointment. i love the library. i'll doing that. i don't need to be recognized as the library commissioner. and this man, not known as a feminist, but nonetheless said to me, nancy, you're doing the work, get the official recognition for it. and that was one of the best messages that i had. [applause] he said -- and, of course, no man would have ever said that. don't appoint me, i'll just carry the books around. [laughter] so i say that to the mayor, because her path was commissioners as well. so many of you here. but that official recognition, lo and behold i had a vote on the commission. people cared what i thought. we were putting meetings out in the neighborhood. you know, we were doing things differently.

and it was empowering. it was empowering. but it was my first official involvement was to be a library commissioner in san francisco. but that -- that message -- it was so clear. as a woman, you especially should receive the official recognition for the work that you're doing. so then one thing and another, i've become chair of the california democratic party, this or that. burton, the congressman from this area, takes ill, she encourages and insists that i run for congress. there it is. and there's some steps in between. [laughter] but then i go to congress. and i really didn't want to go. i mean, i've never thought about running for office. i was basically a very shy person. still am in certain respects. people don't believe that. but anyway. so i go to my daughter alexandra, who was the youngest, she was 16, about to go into senior year. it's around january, february

and so she would be going in september. i say, alexandra -- four of them were already in college, because the five were born almost to the day six years. that's why i like to talk to my colleagues about a woman's right to choose. [laughter] when you have a five babies in six years, you come talk to me about it. [laughter] [applause] can you believe these men standing in line to prohibit a woman's right to choose. come on! come on! don't get me started. >> go ahead. get started! [laughter] >> i go to alexandra, mommy has been invited to run for congress. it will be better when you're in college. but i love my life. and so if you want me to stay here with you, i'll be gone like three nights a week. i mean, i have to even win yet. i don't even know if i'm going to win. but i have to decide whether to run. any answer is okay.

if you want me to stay with you, that's fine. she says, mother, get a life. [laughter] i had never heard -- we're talking over 30 years ago, i never heard the expression before "get a life." [laughter] what teenage girl wouldn't want her mother gone three nights a week. [laughter] so there i went. another life. and then when i got there, never intended to run for leadership. but then people came to me and said, run for leadership. and when my name was put out there that i'd run for leadership, the men said, who said she could run. poor babies. [laughter] [applause] poor babies. so i believe this was like around 2000. why don't you just make a list of all of the things that the women want and we'll do them for them. oh!

double poor babies. [laughter] [ please stand by ]

>> -- encouraging women, pro-choice women to run, so now, we have this. and i say to the members our diversity is our strength. this caucus is over 60% women, people of color, lgbtq. it's so beautifully diverse, over 60%, and i say our diversity is our strength, our unity is our power. and it's that power that i bring to the table with the president of the united states.

[applause] >> the hon. london breed: so one of the biggest challenges that we're facing as women with our reproductive health, and what's happening with the country, it feels like we're going backwards with laws that are being passed in georgia and a number of other states like utah. it is devastating. we know ultimately the changes to these policies will mostly impact poor women and women of color, and it has just really had a devastating impact on the morale of just i think women in general because we are here, trying to push for pay equity, trying to make sure that, you know, we have a seat at the table and a number of other issues, and now, we've got to go back and fight a battle that we fought and won in the 1970's. it's like we're going back to the dark ages here.

and i just wanted to know your thoughts on this, and where do we go from here, and how do we continue to push this thing back? >> you put it in the exact same frame. this is all about respect, whether we're talking about respect in the workplace, respect for equal rights, a woman's right to choose. my hope springs from the fact that so many people understand this threat and are willing to standup and advocate against this threat to a woman's right to choose. this is a moment because not only are they passing these bills which are so harmful, but they are all going into other related seals.

embryonic stem cell research, all things that they think is at the moment of conception or whatever, life begins. without going into that, let me just say this to you because this -- for 25 years, my first 25 years in the congress, i tried to convey this, but it was so unbelievable that people were like, oh, i don't really believe that. if i believed that, i'd never vote republican. they don't believe in birth control, they don't believe in family planning. they don't believe in any of that. so understand, that's very strange to be telling you that. if you think that their whole goal was to reduce the number of abortions in our country, you think they would love family planning. but what is their bete noir in all of this? it's planned parenthood because they're so effective in giving people choices to make their

own choices and have reproductive health initiatives for people all over the country. so until they were defunding planned parenthood, which is technically not exactly what they did, but the effect was to defund planned parenthood. then, people got all aroused about it, and they lost that fight. and now, we have to again make sure they lose that fight. so women have to speak up in their faith. i was raised in baltimore, maryland. most of my family is not prochoice. i don't ask them, and they don't tell me. i don't think they're crazy about my exuberance on this. believe what you want, live your life, but don't believe that politicians are going to exact that on somebody else.

[applause] >> and when -- and when we talk about the hyde amendment, when we talk about saying that no funds can be used, that's the wrong thing to do because it's a penalty that diminishes the rights of poorer women, but that's a fight we have to fight. we have to win the white house to make that fight, but understand, the hyde amendment has to go. it has to go. [applause] >> so again, know your power, advocate for this. outside mobilization will make all the difference in the world in every state. and if people squlujust decide they think that a woman doesn't have the good judgment to decide the timing and size of her family, if she even wants to have one, then they have to pay a price at the polls for thinking that way, for thinking that way.

[applause] >> but this is fundamental. it's fundamental. and again, women of color pay a price, as you mentioned, and that's same as the hyde amendment. that's the same as equal pay for equal work thing, same as minimum wage. i do want to tell a story about sojourner truth, and the suffrage. since you had valerie here, i decided to tell the story. when we to we decided we needed to have more diversity in the capital, so we had rosa parks in the statues -- one of the most visits statues in the capitol, rosa parks, sitting -- that's the way the community wanted her -- her statue.

it's fabulous. but then, when we did rosa parks -- by then, when we did rosa parks, president bush was president. when we did sojourner truth, barack obama was president, and we had a new emancipation in the wing of the building. and our speaker was michelle obama. and she gets up, talking about sojourner truth, and talking about how she was an amazing mom, and suffragette. and she says, i can see how happy sojourner truth would be to see a woman standing there

as speaker of the house, but i can't imagine what she would be thinking as me, michelle obama, the first lady of america. [applause] >> we've come a long way, but we have much more to do, much more to do. >> the hon. london breed: yes. and i just want to touch on so many of the amazing accomplishments that you've had throughout your career. we know you've spent a lot of your time getting democrats elected to congress, and we appreciate that, and it's one of the reasons we have the majority in the house of representatives because of your hard work and a lot of national policies around pay equity. but you also take care of your home. we also appreciate the support that you provided for the hunters point shipyard, and the accountability, and the issues

that we've experienced this. thank you for your neighborhood preference and that you fought side by side to make sure that people have access to the affordable housing in their neighborhoods. a lot of the work that we've been able to do, that we get funding from the feds, and the california electrification, the support that you've given as you deal with the bigger challenges of the country, it means so much to have you in this leadership position. what really stands out to you as something -- a moment in time or a situation or policy or something that you were just so proud of, and maybe share -- share that with us today. >> well, i'm so -- as i say to my colleagues in the congress, all the honors you bestay upon me as leader, now speaker of

the congress now twice is wonderful, but nothing is more important to me than stepping on to the floor of the house as a representative of the people of san francisco. that is the most -- [applause] >> and we have a beautiful agenda here that in most cases would be a model to the country, so it makes me -- it easier for me to get resources for what we need to have done here, and also helps to be speaker of the house. but i will say that the -- most -- let me just say about san francisco, you know, they always -- san francisco values. they spent -- they had 137,000 ads, the republicans, against me in the election of 2018 as a san francisco values person, 137,000 ads, san francisco liberal. yes, proud to be. however, it didn't work.

we won 40 seats in the most gerrymandered voter suppression you can be. i said, you know what we are? we are the people of st. francis, the patron saint of peace. bring us hope, light, faith. you will share in our san francisco values. but the most proud thing in addition to representing san francisco every minute of every day is the passage of the affordable care act. and when there was a time when people thought it was never going to pass, the press said to me, what are you going to do? why don't you give up and make it smaller or something? i said no, this is our moment. it's social security, medicaid, medicare, this is the moment of our generation, and we're going to pass the bill. and i said it looks impossible. there's so many barriers to it. and i said if we see a barrier

too high for us, we'll go push open the gate. and if that doesn't work, we'll climb the fence, and if that doesn't work, we'll pole vault in, and if that doesn't work, we'll push our way in. and after it happened, the press said well, which one did you do? and i said actually, we pushed open the gate because we not only had the votes of the house democr democrats to do that, but we had the outside mobilization, and i come back to you. it was the people who cared whether it was for all of the things, preexisting benefits, being a woman no longer being a preexisting condition, protecting a woman's right to choose, all of those things, so a child staying on your policy, the list goes on, but everybody

was there pushing open that gate with us. it would not have happened without the outside mobilization. i tell you that because it is true for everything that we do, and i always say particular thank god for the nuns as opposed to the bishops, to the nuns who were so helpful to us, another element of women power. so i say to women, know your power. the best advice i ever got running your office is be yourself. don't let anyone diminish who you are and what you bring to the table. and they'll try to do that, but you don't let them do it. you know why? because you're invincible. thank you. >> the hon. london breed: thank you. ladies and gentlemen, speaker nancy pelosi. [♪]

[applause] >> the most powerful woman in san francisco, and the most powerful woman in the country, yeah. right here. [applause] >> you know, in my 22 years of running the national center for lesbian rights, when i first started at nclr, the idea of same sex couples having the right to marry was ridiculous even to me, and yet early on, we had champions like nancy pelosi, who again and again understood the importance of our relationships being treated

with dignity. it wasn't just about marriage, it was about employment, it was about our place in civic life. and over and over again, when i would contact speaker pelosi's office or as a congress woman, her office, or we would be in meetings with her, she would do that thing you always need allies to do, she would deploy her privilege in power to do what we needed. she would risk her political capital to say this issue matters to me. lgbtq people matter and need to be treated equally under the law, and she did that again and again and again, and she's done it on the range of so many issues. and that's how you -- that's the difference between a situational ally or an ally when it's convenient or throw down, and that's the difference.

we are so lucky to have nancy pelosi as our own. [applause] >> i'm so excited to introduce our next individual who will introduce our next speaker, and the woman i'm about to introduce is one of my very favorite longtime friends and colleagues. you don't stay in a position for two decades if you don't have a posse around you of people who protect you and support you and are your kitchen cabinet that you can rely on, and serina kahn has always been that for me. when i first met serina -- you can clap, sure. [applause] >> when i first met serina, she was the new executive director as what was then the international gay and lesbian rights coalition. after that, she moved to philanthropy, truly making her mark at the ford institution

and many others, and she's currently the chairman of the women's foundation in california. in every role, she has brought along others, in every role, she has elevated the role of young leaders. in every role, she has been that honored partner, confidante that i know you can trust. so please welcome my friend, serina kahn. [applause] [♪] >> wow, thank you for that. kate kendall is one of my she-roes. hello, san francisco. [applause] >> how are you feeling after this incredible day?

let me hear you. [cheers and applause] >> you have to be feeling invincible after that conversation between our mayor and our speaker, nancy pelosi. now that is some leadership. we are so fortunate to have women like that who are advocating on our behalf. i am serina kahn, i am the c.e.o. of the women's foundation of california, and i am so honored to be here with mayor breed and the summit organizers today because the women's summit was founded right here in san francisco in 1979. our founders broke new ground in 1979 by creating one of the first foundations in the country led by and for women and girls. they imagined a new feminist

fi philanthropy to distribute resources to transform our communities. i stand before you as a proud lesbian, as an immigrant, as a woman of color from a pakistan muslim family, we recognize all cisgender and transgender women and girls in all minorities. we believe that those problems that are closest to our communities are closest to the solutions of our communities. we are living in times of crisis, and we need community-led solutions. our golden state is a tale of two states, just like san francisco is a tale of two cities. we have incredible wealth in california and here in san francisco, and yet, california has the highest poverty rates

in the nation despite being the fifth largest economy in the world. a single woman in san francisco especially in california's 58 counties spends more on child care than she's bringing home every month. not only is she going into debt every month, but she doesn't have money for basic necessities, like food, clothing, transportation. that's why over the past four decades, the women's summit of california is committed to community-led solutions. through our institute, we've trained more than 500 community leaders from across the state who use their lived experiences, their powerfully

unpoli unapologetic voices to pass 35 bills into law. i know you've heard about the workers rights bill in california. that happened through our fellows in the california policy institute, domestic workers who need help themselves, came up with the policy idea and worked with legislators themselves. we are fundamentally transforming the halls of power in our state, and they are each connected to thousands of people, which means that we have the power to activate millions of people across california for progressive policy change, and that's a good thing because california is providing hope to the rest of the country in these dark