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- Welcome to the wonderful city of Paris,
Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX
where we will meet ten inspiring
and extraordinary women.
Women who overcame adversity and trauma,
turning their lives around to make a positive impact.
- I'm going to help girls like me when we get older.
* *
- Now as an adult,
I can help children understand their worth.
* *
- He'd give me a high five
and say, "You go, Mom. You got this."
- They didn't turn away.
- If you ignore the problem, it doesn't mean it goes away.
- Why are people doing this?
And why isn't anyone doing anything about it?
- These women provide solutions, work tirelessly,
and selflessly serving their communities.
- Kindness is at the root of it all.
- It has funded a lot of smiles.
- Turning heartbreak into hope.
- Tonight, they share their stories
with incredible humanitarian stars
keen to promote their causes.
They are L'Oréal Paris' Women of Worth.
- Selected from thousands of nominations
across the country,
we brought our Women of Worth 2021 honorees
to the glorious city of Paris.
* *
Paris is a truly inspiring city.
So it's a fitting place to honor ten women
who are also truly inspiring
with their extraordinary stories of support,
service, and sacrifice.
We'll meet them all.
Let's get to know the 2021 Women of Worth honorees.
* *
Amanda Munz with the Fashion Foundation.
Ashley Rhodes-Courter
with the Foundation for Sustainable Families.
Briana Daniels with Street Team Movement Inc.
Lara MacGregor with Hope Scarves.
Marian McCord with CHADS Coalition for Mental Health.
Michelle Tran with Soar Over Hate.
Natalie Jia Guo with Off Their Plate.
Natalie Wilson with Black and Missing Foundation.
Pooja Chandrashekar with ProjectCSGIRLS.
Starr Davis with the Starr Institute Inc.
For their final day in Paris,
this year's Women of Worth honorees are gathered
to share their inspirational and heartwarming stories
with each other...
and some other fabulous worthy women you may recognize.
* *
[upbeat music]
- Hey, Starr.
So when did this journey of Starr Institute start?
- I actually founded the organization in 2017.
And so by profession, I'm an attorney.
And by purpose, I'm a founder and executive director
of the Starr Institute.
[soft music]
- With more than 42 million victims
of sex abuse in America today,
Starr Davis has spent the last five years
supporting child survivors.
* *
- One in ten children will be sexually abused
by their 18th birthday.
Abuse is going on all around us,
but people don't want to talk about that.
They want to say this is too hard of a conversation
and makes them uncomfortable.
Well, I will no longer be silent
so that society can be comfortable.
Not gonna do it.
- Starr grew up with her mother and brother,
but her world fell apart
when her family structure crumbled
and she was moved from home to home.
- At seven, that's when the molestation began.
It just was, you know, kind of spiraling out of control.
And I just felt all alone.
I only told my best friend.
And I distinctly remember that night
that I made that vow to her.
And I said, "I'm going to help girls like me
when we get older."
- Starr's circumstances changed
when she was 12 years old
and moved in with her grandmother.
This move spelt the end of years of abuse.
- She was always encouraging me.
Um...
* *
[exhales]
I lost her last year.
So it's hard because...
when I was growing up, I needed her, right?
And so she was just there for me.
And so... that is what kids need.
They want to know that they have someone.
They want to know that someone is gonna show up for them.
- Five years ago, Starr launched the Starr Institute,
whose purpose is to educate, engage, and empower
young people and those who have experienced abuse.
- Let's talk about, like, have you heard about this challenge?
- Mm-hmm. - Have you participated in it?
- Okay, okay. I like that, I like that.
Starr really cares about our young people.
And they can connect with that 'cause they want
to know that there's hope, right?
There is someone who has been through
some of what we have been through
and have been able to make it on the other side.
- Ooh, this is making me excited.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Some people will never talk
about it.
Some people, it's too painful.
But for me, I feel like I'm supposed to talk about it,
and it helps me to help other people,
so that they can know "It's not just me."
It's just--it's my purpose.
It's what I was purposed to do.
And now I know that that's why I was able to make it through.
- How do you feel like this has impacted your life,
like, considering the traumatic experiences
that you went through?
- It's been healing, right? - Mm.
And I speak for other women and other men
who can't speak,
right? - Mm-hmm.
- There's never been a time
that I've shared my story
that someone else didn't disclose to me.
Very rarely disclosed.
It only affects you, like,
psychologically, or mentally, and emotionally.
- It affects you physiologically.
Trauma is a public health crisis.
- It is. - Thank you so much, Starr.
Thank you for... - Thank you.
- Sharing your story with us
and thank you for the incredibly important work
that you're doing. - Thank you for having me.
- Join us after the break, when Katherine Langford
meets a woman whose childhood experience fueled her mission
to help other families going through challenges.
[upbeat music]
.
[Lizzo's "Good as Hell" cover]
- Welcome back.
We are here in Paris, where we are celebrating
our 2021 Women of Worth honorees.
We are about to hear from a woman who,
against all odds, turned her life around
and is now dedicated to helping others
who have lived through trauma or abuse
in the foster care system.
[soft music]
- Here at the Foundation,
we serve all families that are in high-risk
or high-conflict situations,
be it families who are experiencing foster care,
families who have adopted
who need that post-adoptive support,
or just families that find themselves
in difficult circumstances.
- Ashley's desire to help others
stems from her own childhood experiences.
- I was placed in the foster care system
when I was about three years old.
And I spent almost ten years in care.
During that time, I had 14 different placements.
I later learned that more than 25% of my caregivers
were or became convicted felons.
And we were beaten, starved, locked outside,
forced to swallow hot sauce.
I didn't understand what was happening.
- After years of neglect,
12-year-old Ashley was finally thrown a lifeline
by court-appointed guardian Mary Miller.
- Mary believed me when I said I was being abused.
She was the one person who wasn't paid
to take care of me,
and yet she did the most to get me out of abusive situations
and ultimately changed everything about my world.
- Being proud of Ashley,
that's not even the word to use.
I'm not even sure what it is.
I can remember visiting her
when she was in a foster setup.
And when I asked her what she wanted to do
with her life, she said,
"I wanna make sure no other child
has to go through what I did."
So she's always known what she wanted to do.
- I was just like you.
And I was adopted too.
- Just as she was helped,
Ashley now supports countless families,
among them Janna, who is in the process
of adopting eight-year-old Mierra.
- I am her sixth placement.
She's faced significant trauma, neglect, abuse.
Things got really, really hard at home.
We were introduced to Ashley,
told about Sustainable Family Services.
And truly, the clouds started to part.
- When I was a kid growing up in the foster care system,
I thought there was something inherently wrong with me,
that I was broken, or bad, or damaged.
Now as an adult,
I can help children understand their worth
and their power and their voice.
And when you're able to give kids
that kind of power and ownership over their stories,
unbelievable things can happen.
* *
- It's such a pleasure to meet you.
- Likewise.
- What's the most important life lesson you've learned
that's helped you move forward?
- I want my story to help showcase
that no matter what your past experiences are,
no matter what your family of origin,
no matter what your life circumstance is,
resiliency can come at any age, any stage.
So you, if you're struggling,
have opportunity to turn things around,
and there will be better days ahead.
- Well, you're definitely a Woman of Worth,
as are all of you.
And thank you so much
for sharing your story with us. - My pleasure.
* *
- Sadly, not all of this year's Women of Worth honorees
were able to make it to Paris this evening.
Lara was unable due to ill health.
But I'm very happy she's able to join me
for a chat right now.
How does it feel to be one of the honorees this year?
- It was such an honor.
It really came at such a wonderful time
because I was facing
progressing metastatic breast cancer
and getting a lot of bad news
and just feeling really terrible physically.
And so to get this really exciting award
and this recognition for my life's work...
brought this spark of joy into my life
that was really needed.
- Tell me a little bit more about Hope Scarves.
- Absolutely. So I was originally diagnosed
with breast cancer when I was 30 years old
and seven months pregnant.
And a friend of a friend, who I had never met,
named Kelly sent me a box of scarves
with a note that said, "You can do this."
After I had received these scarves and worn them,
I realized how much they could help another person.
- Yes!
That's a good one.
- And I realized the power of storytelling
and passing the scarves on.
[soft music]
Hope Scarves started with two or three scarves
in my spare bedroom, and now today,
we've sent nearly 20,000 Hope Scarves
to 27 different countries.
The oldest recipient is 97.
The youngest is just six months old.
- We are positive. - Good!
- See, that's always a good thing.
- That's all you want. - [laughs]
Here, you want to celebrate!
- What began as a global community
to connect those going through similar ordeals
has now grown into a fundraising body
for vital research into metastatic breast cancer.
- The average life expectancy is still 2 to 3 years.
114 people die every day of metastatic breast cancer.
We've invested almost $1.5 million
in metastatic breast cancer research,
which really got to the heart of what I feel is so important,
which is about turning heartbreak into hope.
It is just like, "Okay, now how do we--how do
build on that and keep growing," you know?
The idea of... dying
and not being here to see Hope Scarves
grow into all it can be is really sad and scary.
It's not that you have to fill my shoes.
It's that we're gonna find you
your own amazing set of shoes.
- Knowing Hope Scarves is going to continue,
passing on the baton to somebody else
to lead the organization,
it brings her such peace knowing that we've got this.
* *
- The idea that my children will watch it grow,
and that my friends will see it,
and that people will remember me...
not only for who I was as an individual,
but what I created here,
it brings me so much joy and gratitude.
* *
- Tell me about the grant.
How are you gonna use it?
- We've created a strategic plan
for the future of Hope Scarves and what looks like beyond me.
And though that's a really hard conversation,
it's something that is so powerful
because it's really amazing to know
that I've created an organization
that is bigger than me and that will be my legacy.
- Thank you so much, Lara, for, you know, joining us.
You have touched so many lives
and you're doing incredible work.
I thank you from the bottom of my heart
for all of the women that still have yet
to be affected by your legacy.
- Thank you so much. It's an honor to be recognized
for something I'm so passionate about.
- Join us after the break, when Gemma Chan talks
to a woman who is giving self-worth to the homeless.
.
[upbeat music]
- Welcome back to our Women of Worth special.
[soft music]
In a world where we need more empathy,
it often helps to put ourselves in other people's shoes.
And, Briana, I know that's exactly how you got started,
so can you please tell us a bit about that?
- Absolutely. I thought
the best way in order to help the homeless
is to become like a homeless.
I lived on the streets for 32 days.
You're sweating. It's raining.
Like, I need to shower, and I can't do that.
I need to use the restroom, and I can't do that.
You know, I got a bug bite.
Like, I'm outside.
I'm like, "What now?"
That's when I created Street Team Movement.
- Street Team Movement partners
with local laundromats, who open their doors
to the homeless community.
For many, it's life-changing.
- There was two brothers, the Anderson brothers.
They came in.
They had job interviews the next day
as welders and they needed these jobs.
So we did their laundry for them.
And they called the next day, and they said,
"The hiring manager said no one looks clean
in welding interviews."
And they both walked out with jobs that day.
And they said, "We didn't feel homeless.
We felt normal for once."
- As well as helping the homeless with laundry,
they offer hygiene essentials
and a safe place to hang out.
- We have a whole coffee bar set up
with, like, actual glass mugs.
And I remember one of our homeless friends,
Eugene, he sat there the first time he had his mug,
and--and he cried.
Yeah.
He hadn't drank from a regular cup
in a long time.
And it's something that was so little
that we didn't even think about.
It meant everything to him.
- Since its inception, Street Team has done
over 20,000 loads of laundry
and handed out over a million hygiene items.
- What we're gonna be doing is we're gonna
pack our feminine hygiene kits.
- Briana is the girl who knows what she wants to do.
And she's going to do it.
To be around her is to know
that we are going to get it done.
- She's the real deal. She is making a direct impact
in Orlando, where there is
a huge need for services like this.
And you can just see the difference that she makes.
- The mission of Street Team Movement
is to restore hope to homeless individuals.
* *
Everyone deserves to be clean,
because if you feel clean,
you begin to feel fragments of the person
that you were coming back.
- Homelessness is a global problem, and it's something
we all need to take seriously, and I feel that especially
because of the last couple of years and the pandemic,
so many more families will have been pushed to the brink
and probably over that poverty line
and potentially into homelessness.
So what do you think that the people watching
should be focusing on,
or what is something small that they could do?
- If you see a homeless person, look them in the eyes.
Something I experienced on the street was,
nobody will look you in the eyes.
It's something so small,
but you start to not feel like a human.
And people start to look at you differently
or they ignore you completely altogether.
And if you ignore the problem, it doesn't mean it goes away.
- Yeah. - And I want everyone to know
that they're seen.
And just by being seen,
that really does change somebody's life.
Just to let them know that you see them.
- I think that's brilliant advice.
- Thank you.
* *
- The brains and the talent in this room
is so impressive, to say the least.
And their stories are so very empowering.
As we know, Paris is the fashion capital.
And here's a woman giving a new meaning to fashion.
Amanda,
it sounds as if your nonprofit
has really been the focus of your time
for the last few years.
So tell us all about it.
- I started the Fashion Foundation.
It's a nonprofit where I get designers
from around the world to donate product
that they no longer need.
[upbeat music]
We sell that product to consumers on our website
for a fraction of the retail cost,
and we use the proceeds to help
local underprivileged kids throughout New York.
* *
I was in the fashion industry
and just saw that we had a problem.
We were overproducing samples.
And I just kind of thought, as a 23-year-old,
like, let me figure out how to get designers
to donate product to me.
* *
- The donated goods go on sale
on the Fashion Foundation website,
and the money raised is used to provide
much-needed supplies in the local community.
- October 2020,
that's our first work together.
Amanda went ahead, and she supplied over 500 bags
of school supplies for children
in family shelters all across Brooklyn.
- We did school uniforms for 455 children.
- We have had a elementary school in Brooklyn
that we helped to create a school library for them.
We've helped create a school playground in Harlem.
- Christmas.
Girl, Christmas was crazy. - Hello.
- Was Christmas crazy? - Hello.
She did blankets.
She did hats. - Hats.
- Gloves, scarves,
activity books, crayons...
- And the shelters. - We were like
real-life Santa Clauses. - Yeah.
[soft music]
- As well as art and school supplies,
the foundation runs the Let's Get Artsy program
every Sunday, a chance for local kids
to have fun and explore their creativity.
- She's really big into arts and culture
because that's something that really lacks
in schools of color.
Amanda saw that and said, "What? This is all you have?"
And the next day,
it was like $5,000 worth of equipment came.
- One, two, three. Oh!
- I'm like, "Yo, who does that?"
- Amanda. - The Fashion Foundation.
- They do it. - Yeah.
- Still running the company virtually single-handed,
Amanda now works with over 20 schools
and has helped 16,000 local children.
- I saw a problem,
and I'm addressing that problem every day.
So I feel, like, a great sense of pride in what I do.
- She's truly an extraordinary human being.
She doesn't look at color.
She doesn't think about race.
She just serves because there is a need,
and that's what sets her apart.
That's what sets the Fashion Foundation apart.
- 'Cause it's really hard to actually track
where your impact is going,
but it has funded a lot of smiles.
People say, they're like, "How do you measure
your impact?" and I honestly say,
"We measure it in smiles."
* *
- I think that's such a good message
I think you're giving us all.
And obviously, here, we have many women
who have done extraordinary things for communities.
It's a great story. It's a great idea.
And the best thing will be to know
that our money that we're spending
is going towards such a great service as you are providing.
- Thank you so much.
- Join us after the break,
when Aja Naomi King meets a woman
who's given a voice to marginalized families
.
[upbeat music]
- Welcome back.
We're in the beautiful, romantic city of Paris,
where our ten compassionate and committed honorees
are sharing their stories.
[soft music]
I'm joined by a Woman of Worth who is shining
a very important light on a heartbreaking issue
that doesn't get the prominence it deserves.
Welcome, Natalie.
- Thank you for having me.
- I would really love it if you could tell us
all about the Black and Missing Foundation.
- Sure, so the Black and Missing Foundation--
we are a nonprofit organization,
and we focus on missing people of color across the country.
When we first started the organization,
we had no idea of the magnitude of the issue.
Right now, today,
close to 40% of all persons missing are of color.
But we definitely don't see ourselves on the news cycle.
And that's why we were created as an organization,
to be that advocate or to be that liaison
between families and media to get the word out.
- Despite having full-time careers,
Natalie and her sister-in-law, Derrica, work tirelessly
to make a change.
- When it comes to missing persons of color,
our lives are just not valued.
And it's really giving opportunities to predators
to prey on us because, in their mind,
they know no one is gonna come looking for us.
They know that law enforcement is gonna classify us
as runaways or associate our disappearance
with some sort of criminal activity.
It all breaks down to the color of our skin.
- Ten years ago, my goddaughter was kidnapped.
At first, her mother went in to the police station,
and they just kept blowing her off.
They just didn't believe she was missing.
I wrote about it and put it on my blog.
Natalie found me from my blog the same day,
and by Monday, Natalie made the national news.
- Once you receive media coverage,
it alerts the community that someone is missing.
And they can be vigilant,
which will increase the chance of a recovery.
But it also puts pressure on law enforcement
to add resources to the case.
- Tragically,
the body of Ni'cola's goddaughter, Jade,
was found four days later.
- At least we got some type of comfort
'cause we know exactly where she is.
I think, for any mother,
they'd rather know where their baby is
than if that child up the street could be mine.
If we did not have Natalie...
[soft music]
Jade would probably still be missing.
* *
- Our fight is for the voiceless.
* *
These families are desperate.
* *
- For you personally,
what does that do to be able to give voice to the voiceless?
- It means a lot.
We've come a long way as an organization,
but we have much more work to do.
We're still knocking on doors, being turned away,
asking for media coverage.
We're not picking on the media
because it takes law enforcement, the media,
and our community to get involved.
We all play a role in this.
- In those really harsh moments...
- Mm-hmm.
- How do you keep the hope going?
- You can't give up.
Again, these are mothers and fathers.
There's Akia Eggleston,
Relisha Rudd,
Jonathan Bandabaila,
Keeshae Jacobs.
Those are just a few.
There are thousands.
- Thank you so much.
Thank you for sharing your story with us.
We are with you.
God bless you.
So just thank you for all of it.
- Thank you.
- Thank you so much.
* *
[upbeat music]
- The pandemic has been tough on all of us.
We've all had to adapt
and dig deep for the strength to get through it.
Hearing inspiring stories of people going above
and beyond in their communities has given us all hope.
I am so happy to be joined
by a woman on the medical front line
who saw an immediate problem
and came up with a brilliant solution.
Natalie, it's a great honor to get to speak with you.
So-- - You too.
- When the pandemic hit,
tell me a little bit about what was happening in your life.
- Everything changed.
I mean, we really went into crisis mode.
[soft music]
That night, I saw the news and it was talking about,
you know, millions of restaurant workers
who were getting laid off.
And hospital workers were working crazy shifts
and eating out of vending machines.
And so that's sort of where the idea started.
- That night, she began recruiting volunteers,
and Off Their Plate was born.
Within a couple of weeks,
over $1 million had been raised,
allowing her to fund this project
in cities across America.
- When COVID started, I went crazy.
I didn't know what to do
because I have my staff that depend on the business.
I just cried, I'm like,
"I have no idea what I'm gonna do."
And then I came across Off Their Plate, basically,
trying to save restaurants
by giving us, like, at least $10 per plate
to produce food to bring it to the hospital.
So I'm like, "Where do I sign?"
* *
- We started out serving hospital workers,
people that the community wanted to just, like, wrap up
in their arms and say thank you for what you do every day.
* *
I knew we were headed somewhere really interesting
when Barack Obama posted on Instagram about us.
That is probably the most surreal moment of my life.
I think we can just grab some meals and just hand them out.
- As hospitals began to turn a corner,
it became clear to Natalie the Off-Their-Plate model
could work equally well
in providing hot, nourishing meals
to food-insecure families throughout the country.
- Here you go. So this is chicken.
- Yeah. - And that's vegetarian.
- We work with mostly women of color chefs
around the country to tackle hunger
exactly where they are in their communities.
And they do it doing what they do best,
which is cook amazing food.
- Chicken or vegetarian?
- Chicken. - Chicken right there.
- What she did during the pandemic, it's amazing.
She has done a lot to help so many of us.
- By providing restaurant wages,
by supporting restaurants,
we're hoping to rebuild communities in that way.
- You've created this amazing network of volunteers.
Can you tell me
what a simple act of kindness can do?
- Our generation cares so deeply
about where we head in our decisions.
And kindness is at the root of it all.
- Mm-hmm. - And you can start small.
You asked, you know, simple act of kindness,
what can that mean?
It is glue, it is the glue that sticks us to one another.
One of the easiest ways, I think,
to build a friendship, I've now realized,
is to work on something together
that's about somebody else.
- Yes. - I think that joins you
in a way that is really special.
- Yes, that's beautiful.
And finally, Natalie,
what would you say to people at home
who have been inspired by your story?
- To care about something that's bigger than yourself
and to go and find other people
who care about it as well because whatever that is,
it's waiting for you,
and it's waiting for your craft.
And if you go looking for the team
that's passionate about it and you don't find that team,
then you should go start it yourself.
* *
- Wow. And that's what you did.
Congratulations.
- Join us after the break,
when Camila Cabello meets a woman whose own grief
inspired her to help others.
.
[upbeat music]
- Welcome back.
I've been so touched and amazed by the stories
I've heard so far.
Stories of women who go above and beyond
to serve their communities.
That's what L'Oréal Paris Women of Worth is all about.
[soft music]
I'm joined by Marian.
I'm so sorry for your loss.
- Thank you.
- And if it's not too triggering for you,
is it okay if I ask what your son was like?
- Yes.
Chad was just an incredible child.
It was in--when he was in high school
that he had shared with his girlfriend
that he wanted to take his life.
And at that time, Chad was the poster child
of success on the outside. - Wow, wow.
- He was smart.
He had a ton of friends.
And I know if he were here, he would say,
"Mom, make sure you tell them I was a Scout."
I think of all the things he enjoyed the most--
- Yeah. - Was his time
spent as a Scout.
* *
- He loved his camping.
Didn't he, Larry? - He did.
Oh, and there's the running.
That's his other love.
Chad was recognized as one of the top runners
in the United States.
And then he had a knee injury.
And his orthopedist said,
"Chad, your running career is over."
That was really the turning point for Chad.
* *
Over the course of the next six months,
he had tried to kill himself six different times.
* *
And those six months
I would not wish on my worst enemy.
And it drives me to do what I do.
- Marian's daughter, Jess, and husband Larry
have joined her in her mission
to educate and support young people
dealing with suicidal thoughts,
anxiety, and depression.
- Chad would have been so proud of you
for driving this organization from kitchen table
to probably one of the top 5% nonprofits in the state.
* *
- It has grown through the years to the point where,
today, we have about 45 employees.
And we are in almost every school
in the St. Louis metropolitan area.
- This is the first year we're gonna have CHADS
in our entire school.
- Gosh. - We have students dying daily
of suicide.
She trained our staff by telling her story
and knew that her mission was to save lives.
* *
- Yet to see other kids come through it
and to find that joy again...
it just melts my heart.
- She is pouring her heart and her pain
into other children, other students,
other people, other families,
and saying, "I don't want anyone else to go through
what I've gone through."
She is remarkable.
- Aw, man, the memories.
Look at Chad.
I know he would be proud.
[laughter] And I know he would...
he'd give me a high five and say, "You go, Mom.
You got this."
* *
- How does your coalition help with that awareness?
How do you help these kids?
- So many kids like Chad are masters of disguise.
They put their mask on, and they pretend
everything is just fine when they are so broken inside.
One out of eight children have depression.
So being able to try to find those kids like Chad
and to be able to have that entire classroom know
what to do when their friend shares that with them.
So just empowering kids to know what to do is huge
'cause this is something we don't talk about.
So just fulfilling that dream, like Chad said,
giving kids the tools what to say and to teach them
that it's not your fault
and it's nothing to be ashamed of.
- When you're a kid, all you wanna do is fit in
and look like you're having a great time
and look like you're cool... - Yes, yes.
- And have it all together.
- Yeah. -I've spoken a lot about
my mental health in the past and, you know,
suffering with anxiety and not anymore,
but when I was young, it was like--
it felt like it was the thing that was wrong with me
that I couldn't-- - Yes.
- That I couldn't talk about,
which obviously only makes it worse.
- Yes, this conversation
at a young age is so critical.
- Thank you so much for sharing your story with us.
And thank you for the important work that you're doing.
- Thank you.
* *
- Now I was delighted to be given the opportunity
to talk to a very special young woman
who has focused her energy on encouraging more women
towards STEM careers.
And for those who don't know what that stands for,
it is science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
* *
Pooja, it is so wonderful to meet you
and to see your beautiful face there.
- It's such an honor to meet you, Kate.
And I'm obviously such a big fan.
- Thank you so much.
How did you come to be in this place
where you felt so passionate and so motivated?
- So I started ProjectCSGIRLS
because of my own experiences with the tech-gender gap.
I remember vividly looking around
my computer science class on my very first day
of high school and realizing that I was one of three girls
in a class of over 30 students.
My first reaction was just a feeling of discomfort
and feeling like I didn't belong.
- Despite making up
nearly half of the American workforce,
women are still vastly underrepresented
in STEM careers.
Science, tech, engineering, and mathematics.
- When you think about who a software engineer is,
the images that pop into your mind
are Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates.
So it's really about us taking the time
to change that stereotype to encourage girls
to find female role models.
- To make a change, Pooja created
an international nonprofit called ProjectCSGIRLS,
which shows middle-school girls what they can achieve
if they pursue their interests in science.
- So you can add people that you trust.
You can walk in daylight is the other one.
This program really encourages girls
to go deeper into their interests
and see more of what you can do.
- It's especially important because it's for girls,
and women and girls haven't always been
accepted in, like, jobs where science is involved.
- It's taught me to, like, not only see problems but also,
like, solutions.
- Can you explain to us a little bit about
how a satellite phone works?
ProjectCSGIRLS
makes me feel very, very confident
that girls are gonna contribute something very awesome
and constructive to society.
The fire's already been lit.
- Girls tend to gravitate towards careers or projects
where they can make a difference.
So our goal at ProjectCSGIRLS is to show them
that technology is a fantastic way
to accomplish this and to actually make a difference
in the causes that you care about.
- Pooja, your work is so inspiring.
And we are all so incredibly impressed.
And we need more role models like you,
especially women of color
and from culturally diverse background.
So tell us what's next for ProjectCSGIRLS.
- So for us, it's all about first expanding
our existing programs.
So adding more workshops and chapters
and generally increasing the number of girls
that take part in our competition.
- I've always said, "If you speak from the heart,
you can never go wrong."
And you're clearly not going wrong at all.
Pooja, thank you so much for taking the time
to talk to us today.
And I hope that by sharing your story
and highlighting how girls can be at the heart of STEM,
science, technology, engineering, and mathematics,
that we can start to shift the perception
of what women are capable of in this field
and how much women can achieve
in equal measure to their male counterparts.
You are an inspiration.
Thank you so much.
- Thank you so much, Kate.
It was such an honor to be here with you
and to share this space with you.
[upbeat music]
- Join us after the break,
when Gemma Chan speaks to a woman
.
[upbeat music]
- Welcome back to Paris
and the final part of our program.
[soft music]
I'm so delighted to introduce our next honoree,
a woman whose story I can relate to
and who I know will inspire you all.
Welcome, Michelle.
Well, we're here to talk about your work.
And I know that Asian hate crimes have been in the news
a lot since the start of the pandemic.
But it's not something new, sadly.
- Yes, unfortunately,
with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic,
it exposed another horrible pandemic beneath the surface.
- Mm-hmm. - Pandemic of racism,
xenophobia, and scapegoating against Asian Americans.
Certain leaders in the country were blaming China
for starting the virus.
And we started seeing attacks happen
towards people that looked like me and my family.
As an Asian American woman,
I experienced fears about the COVID-19 virus
but fears about a racist, violent attack.
- In 2020, reported Asian hate crimes in New York
surged up 833%.
- It was scary because people that I knew and worked with
started getting hurt.
I became scared to go about my daily life.
Taking the subway turned into a nightmare.
- On February 3rd, I take the subway,
and there's a man who entered the train,
and he came forward and slashed over my face
from ear to ear and just walked away as if nothing happened.
- I started feeling really sad, of course,
and then angry like, "Why is this happening to us?
"Why are people doing this?
And why isn't anyone doing anything about it?"
- My faith began to question because...
[soft music]
I would die...
Because I was praying...
* *
Because I was praying to have a peaceful death.
- Fueled by her frustration,
Michelle launched Soar Over Hate,
a nonprofit dedicated to combating Asian hate crime
through equipping the most vulnerable
with self-defense devices,
community support, and Heal from Hate therapy.
- We had, like, overwhelming response.
People were so thankful to receive them.
And people wanted more to give to their friends and family,
to give to their colleagues at work.
Ni hao. - Ni hao.
- This is a personal alarm for you.
- Okay. - Okay, if you pull it out...
[alarm blares] it makes a loud noise
to scare people away, so you stay safe.
- Okay, thank you. - [laughs]
- With the rates of Asian hate crime
still at an all-time high,
Soar Over Hate is needed now more than ever.
- Thank you so much for this one.
I feel better with them.
- My ultimate goal is to demonstrate
to all that love is more powerful than hate
and that we can overcome anything if we work together.
[soft music]
- We have had a similar uptick
in those kinds of crimes in the UK,
and it's really worrying.
And I know, personally, that I was very worried
for my family members.
You know, my mum actually used to work in a hospital
like yourself and just really distressing to see,
especially the older generation
being vulnerable and being targeted.
- Thousands of elderly would line up in the rain
just to receive a small alarm, which is just super telling
of how big of a deal this was to them,
how terrified they were going about their lives
and just motivated Soar over Hate
to keep on growing.
- Yeah, that's amazing.
What has Soar over Hate done for you personally?
- This whole experience has made me very proud to be Asian.
I feel like I'm prouder than ever
of my Chinese, Vietnamese, American heritage.
- Mm-hmm. - And I'm really proud
of all of the Asians and non-Asians alike
who have been speaking up about racism
that's been affecting our community
but other communities of color as well.
- Thank you. You put that so beautifully.
And I completely agree, it's all about building
that cross-community solidarity.
And that's how we'll be able to move forward together.
So thank you so much, Michelle. - Thank you.
- Thanks for talking to me. - Thank you.
[upbeat music]
- I want to thank my friends Camila, Katherine,
Gemma, Kate, Eva, Andie, and Aja
for being a part of celebrating these incredible women.
I know they will all join me in thanking the real stars
of tonight's show,
our incredible and inspiring honorees.
You always give back,
and you never, ever give up.
And that gives us all strength.
* *