‘STRENGTH
AND A
CERTAIN
HUMILITY.’
Christiane Amanpour, broadcast journalist
“Strength and a certain humility—you know,
the opposite of arrogance. I refuse to be seduced
by the trappings that come with success,
and I keep my feet firmly planted on the ground.”57%
of U.S. bachelor’s
degrees are earned
by women. Women
are on track to make
up the majority of the
college-educated
labor force for the
first time in 2019.
The presence in the
workforce of more
women with college
degrees could increase
women’s overall
earning potential.Resilience. Because I
am queer, I have
experienced physical
and social violence
in most of my life. What
doesn’t kill you makes
you stronger. Now I use
this strength in my job,
as an explorer in rough
environments.A PHOTOGRAPHER
LIVING ON THE FRENCH
ISLAND OF RÉUNION,
RAINARD IS A MEMBER
OF THE WOMEN OF
IMPACT COMMUNITY.*
No question, it’s
connection to other
people. You know,
I’ve interviewed rap-
ists and murderers and
child molesters and all
kinds of people who
have done terrible
things—but I can put
myself in the space of
where they are in that
moment and meet
them where they are.
So my ability to con-
nect to where you are
in that moment—not
to the thing that sup-
posedly defines you—
that’s one of my great
strengths. I think that
had I had the love, the
attention, the fam-
ily surroundings that
would have nurtured
and supported me in
the way that I thought
I needed, I wouldn’t
have it. I think that this
connection and yearn-
ing to know the heart
of other people came
from my own sense
of loneliness, my own
sense of wanting to be
understood and know
that whatever I’m feel-
ing, somebody else
has felt it too.THE WORLD-FAMOUS
ENTERTAINER HAS AN
EMPIRE OF PRINT, DIG-
ITAL, AND BROADCAST
MEDIA PROPERTIES.
SHE BUILT AND OVER-
SEES A GIRLS SCHOOL
IN SOUTH AFRICA,
WHOSE STUDENTS CALL
HER “MUM O.”
OPRAH
WINFREY
DIANE
RAINARD
Probably my
stubbornness. I get an
idea in my mind, and
I don’t want to give it
up. My definition of
success was not success
in terms of monetary
reward or even profes-
sional recognition.
It was more at the level
of, Can I actually do
science that I’m going
to be proud of? And
can I feel like I’ve made
the right choice with
my life, that I decided
to do something that
I can actually do well?
There were a number
of times when
I was younger when
I thought maybe
the answer is no and
maybe I’m on the
wrong track. And again,
my stubbornness came
into play, because
I’m also not a quitter.
So I’d have voices in
my head doubting
what I was doing—
but then I’d have
contradictory voices
saying, But you’re
not going to quit.THE BIOCHEMIST’S
RESEARCH, WITH COL-
LEAGUE EMMANUELLE
CHARPENTIER, LED
TO THE DISCOVERY
OF A REVOLUTIONARY
GENE-EDITING
TECHNIQUE KNOWN AS
CRISPR-CAS9. TODAY
DOUDNA PROMOTES
THE ETHICAL USE
OF GENE-ALTERING
TECHNOLOGIES.
JENNIFER
DOUDNA
What Is Your Greatest Strength?
Q:Î
130 *NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC’S WOMEN OF IMPACT, A COMMUNITY WHERE WOMEN SHARE THEIR STORIES, IS AT ON.NATGEO.COM/WOMENOFIMPACT.