Meghan: My lobbying is humanitarian, not interfering in politics
LOBBYING for paid leave is a humanitarian issue not a political one, the Duchess of Sussex has insisted, as she acknowledged the constraints on her “husband’s family” in sharing opinions.
The Duchess, interviewed for a New York Times event, said her recent phone calls to US senators asking them to support paid leave for parents were not about “a political issue, frankly”, despite a precedent set by the Royal family.
Saying it was not a “red or blue” topic, referring to US political parties, she said “we can all agree that people need support” after the birth of a child.
The Duchess appeared at the Dealbook conference with Mellody Hobson, president of Ariel Investments, on a panel to share her thoughts on how women can “reach economic and professional parity”. Speaking of growing up while “clipping coupons” and still seeking out “promotional codes” before buying anything online, the Duchess said it was essential to equip girls with knowledge about finance, and tackle the “troubling” negative connotations about “ambitious” women.
Asked about her recent foray into political lobbying, in which she coldcalled senators and introduced herself as the Duchess of Sussex before sharing her opinion on paid leave reform, she said: “It’s so funny because they’re not planned calls, right? I just get the phone number and call and have the conversation. People are pretty surprised, I think. I think this is one of those issues that is not red or blue. We can all agree that people need support.”
In a separate event, an online conversation with Wired, the Duke of Sussex disclosed he had attempted to stop the US Capitol riots.
Saying he had been emailing Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter, about the issue of misinformation prior to the Jan 6 attack by supporters of Donald Trump, Prince Harry said he had told the social media mogul he was “allowing his platform to allow a coup to be staged, and then that coup happened and then I never heard from him again”.