Gayle Tzemach Lemmon Quotes

Powerful Gayle Tzemach Lemmon for Daily Growth

About Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon is an acclaimed American journalist, bestselling author, and Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), focusing on the economic empowerment of women in the 21st century. Born in 1975, she was raised in Bethesda, Maryland, where her parents fostered a strong sense of curiosity about global affairs and an unwavering commitment to justice. Lemmon graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University with a B.A. in Politics and received a Master's degree in Business Administration from Columbia University. Her early career spanned roles at Goldman Sachs, McKinsey & Company, and CNN, where she served as an assistant producer for Anderson Cooper 360°. Lemmon's first book, "The Dressmaker of Khair Khana," published in 2009, is a compelling narrative about Kamala Sidiqi, a tailor in Afghanistan who supported her family during the Taliban regime. The book became an international bestseller and was recognized with the Quill Award for Best First Book. In 2015, Lemmon published "Ashley's War: The Untold Story of a Team of Women Soldiers on the Special Ops Battlefield," which examines the role of women in the military. Her latest work, "The Daughters of Kobani: A Story of Rebellion, Courage, and Justice," published in 2019, tells the story of Kurdish women who defended their hometown against ISIS. Lemmon's writing has appeared in numerous publications, including The Washington Post, TIME, CNN Opinion, and Harvard Business Review. She serves on several boards, including the Board of Councilors at the USC School of Cinematic Arts and the Board of Directors for Girls Learn International. Her work continues to shine a light on women's roles in shaping global events and inspiring positive change.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"Empowering women economically isn't just the right thing to do, it's the smart thing to do."

This quote highlights that economic empowerment for women is both ethically sound (the "right" thing) and strategically beneficial (the "smart" thing). It suggests that by providing opportunities for women to gain economic power, we not only promote fairness and equality, but also stimulate economic growth and development due to the significant contributions of women in society. The implication is that economies could potentially thrive more effectively if they embrace this principle.


"Women are the architects of peace, and their participation is essential for sustainable solutions."

This quote emphasizes that women play a crucial role in building and maintaining peace in society. Their involvement in conflict resolution and peacemaking efforts is not only important but also indispensable for achieving long-lasting, sustainable solutions to conflicts. By including women's perspectives and experiences, we can foster more comprehensive and equitable approaches to peacebuilding that are essential for a stable and just world.


"In a world where too many women are still held back, we must stand together and demand equality."

This quote emphasizes the persistent gender inequality in our world, where the opportunities and rights of women are often limited compared to men. The author urges for unity among women, as a powerful force can be achieved when they join forces to advocate for their equal rights and opportunities. This call-to-action is intended to inspire a movement that demands change, challenging societal norms and injustices, ultimately striving towards a more equitable society where everyone can thrive regardless of gender.


"The strength of a woman is not measured by her ability to bear children, but by her ability to endure pain."

This quote by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon emphasizes that a woman's strength transcends traditional roles and definitions. It suggests that the capacity to withstand hardship or suffering is a significant expression of feminine power, challenging the notion that only motherhood determines a woman's worth. Instead, it highlights resilience, courage, and perseverance as essential components of female strength in all aspects of life.


"When we invest in girls' education, we aren't just creating students, we're creating leaders."

The quote underscores the transformative impact of educating girls. It suggests that investing in female education doesn't only yield students but also cultivates future leaders. This is because a well-educated girl has the potential to contribute significantly to society, leading changes, making decisions, and driving progress. By focusing on girls' education, we are essentially investing in leadership for tomorrow's world.


Entrepreneurship isn't for everyone, and not everyone is going to be an entrepreneur, but women who turn to business, turn to economics, because there are people depending on them, I think that their creativity, their resilience, their spirit, embody what's best about entrepreneurship.

- Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Best, I Think, About, Embody

The lessons I learned from my mother and her friends have guided me through death, birth, loss, love, failure, and achievement, on to a Fulbright scholarship and Harvard Business School. They taught me to believe that anything was possible. They have proven to be the strongest family values I could ever have imagined.

- Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Love, Death, Through, Scholarship

Educating girls just one year beyond the average fourth grade education increases their eventual earnings by 10 to 20 percent. Every additional year of secondary education can increase future wages by 15 to 25 percent.

- Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Education, Year, Average, Secondary

I don't often think of Donald Trump, but his daughter is very smart. She's a woman working in real estate, which is predominantly men, and she's both savvy and articulate about her business and her business acumen.

- Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Trump, Very, Donald, Articulate

In Tunisia, where women have long enjoyed greater rights than many of their Arab neighbors, women pushed for and won a new electoral code that guarantees women will make up half of a candidates' list for office.

- Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Code, Electoral, Half, Tunisia

In Afghanistan, life is so fragile; who knows what the next week will bring? That fragility really affects the way you're able to report, and the kind of stories people will tell you.

- Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Week, Next, Stories, Report

Women in Afghanistan do not ask the United States to stay for the simple or sentimental reason of safeguarding their rights. They are the first ones to say that this is not enough of a reason for the world's remaining superpower to remain in their country.

- Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Reason, United States, Sentimental

War reporters are often seen as a wild bunch of thrill-seekers who wade into danger zones simply for the sake of the adrenalin high the settings inevitably provide. But this one-dimensional explanation leaves out the core of the story, which is that reporters go to these places because they feel the tug of responsibility.

- Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Feel, Danger, Reporters, Tug

It is high time to declare an end to the breastfeeding dictatorship that is drowning women in guilt and worry just when they most need support: after the birth of a child.

- Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Worry, Guilt, Declare, Dictatorship

In Nigeria, along with its West African neighbor Ghana, women are now starting businesses in greater numbers than men.

- Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Neighbor, Numbers, Nigeria, Businesses

The military alone cannot end the conflict in Afghanistan. On that much nearly everyone can agree, offering a rare island of consensus among sides otherwise divided on the question of how and when America's longest-ever war should wind down.

- Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Down, Divided, Nearly, Wind

What I learned at journalism school and at ABC - those skills are the same no matter where you are in the world.

- Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Matter, ABC, Learned, Journalism

The majority of Afghans do not see the Americans as foreign occupiers who must be defeated. Instead, they are hungry for the Americans to step up and help them make their country safer, their government cleaner and their economy stronger. They are disappointed because the international community has done too little, not too much.

- Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Defeated, Country, Afghans, International

I think that sometimes people are frightened to take the risk of entrepreneurship.

- Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Think, I Think, Take, Frightened

Educated mothers are 50 percent more likely to immunize their children than mothers with no schooling.

- Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Educated, Mothers, Likely, Schooling

Certainly Afghans in general and women in particular want a country in which security is a daily reality rather than a campaign slogan or the focus of drive-by speeches from diplomats dropping in for the day.

- Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Country, Which, Certainly, Slogan

A social entrepreneur finds market-based solutions for change. Because without a market-based solution, without a sustainable solution, you go nowhere.

- Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Change, Social, Sustainable, Entrepreneur

It matters whether women sit at the table. No one speaks up for you when you are standing outside with your nose pressed up against the glass. You cannot window-shop for power.

- Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Nose, Glass, Pressed, Table

When the Taliban captured Kabul in 1996 after a searing, four-year civil war, they immediately instituted laws which fit their utopic vision of the time of Islam's founding more than 1,300 years earlier. Afghan women's lives offered the most visible sign of the imagined past to which Afghanistan's present was to be returned.

- Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Sign, Immediately, Imagined, Instituted

The draconian prohibitions of the Taliban years and the gains Afghan women have achieved since the Taliban government was overthrown in 2001 are now well known and often cited: Today, Afghans lucky enough to live in secure regions can go to school, women may work in offices, and the burqa is no longer mandatory.

- Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Lucky, Regions, Afghans, Draconian

My mother never asked me whether I wanted to go to college, but told me I was going - to the University of Maryland on an academic scholarship.

- Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

College, University, Going, Scholarship

We are so used to seeing women as victims of war to be pitied rather than survivors of war to be respected.

- Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Seeing, Rather, Pitied, Respected

Numerically speaking, half the population cannot be a minority. Yet when it comes to women, the numbers plainly show that the mathematically impossible is the socially acceptable.

- Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Acceptable, Half, Socially, Minority

I think for larger-scale entrepreneurship, it's true - for men and women - that people who already have capital tend to do better.

- Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Think, I Think, Capital, Entrepreneurship

Microfinance does not require previous experience or loans to the same extent as a small-business loan, so it's easier for women to enter the micro sector.

- Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Loan, Extent, Previous, Micro

In reality, Afghanistan has functioned as a nation-state for more than two centuries, and its army and bureaucracy reach back to the 19th century.

- Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Reach, More, Centuries, Bureaucracy

We do not invest in victims, we invest in survivors.

- Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Invest, Victims, Survivors

I'm a really bad driver. When I'm in L.A. my husband always has to park the car for me, because I'm likely to hit something.

- Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Bad, Always, Likely, Park

I think entrepreneurs are born and not created, and so I think you see a lot of similarities among entrepreneurs in different parts of the world. Their backdrop may be very different, but their drive to create a business and to create jobs remains very much the same, whether it's in Silicon Valley or Kandahar or Kabul.

- Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

I Think, Very, Entrepreneurs, Similarities

When people can't feed their children, nothing else positive happens. You don't have to look farther than the United States to see that.

- Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

United, United States, Feed

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