Boston Globe Highlights Sally Yates’ Keynote Speech at Wellesley’s Wintersession 2018

Sally Yates, the former acting U.S. attorney general who was fired for refusing to back the president’s travel ban, stands by that decision, according to a Boston Globe story about her appearance at Wellesley’s Wintersession 2018 event. 

Yates is the first of several prominent women speaking at the January session, presented by Wellesley’s Madeleine Korbel Albright Institute for Global Affairs. (The Globe also mentioned other speakers who will be appearing during the three-week event, including Wendy Sherman, former U.S. undersecretary of state for political affairs; NBC News correspondent Andrea Mitchell; Katharine Moon, Edith Stix Wasserman Professor of Asian Studies and political science professor at Wellesley; and Madeleine Albright ’59, the first female U.S. secretary of state.)

Yates told students she was a “rules girl,” the Globe reported, and that she was obeying the law as she understood it. Asked what advice she’d give to young women, she said, “We’re at a point now where I think the most powerful woman you can be is your authentic self.… I can remember trials where I was very conscious of not coming across as too aggressive. I felt like I had to take the edge off because if I was too assertive, I’d alienate not only the men in the room but other women.…Those days are over. You should be comfortable in your own skin and be your authentic self.”

“If we are going to grab hold of this moment, like I think we all really should,” Yates said, “we should all be empowered to be who we really are.”

Watch Sally Yates' discussion on our Facebook page.