“Representation matters! It sounds obvious, but how incredibly powerful is it for little girls to see Paloma on that iconicVoguecover — or hear Yuna, who started recording during law school on a cheap microphone, collaborate with Usher and launch her own indie label,” Harris tells PEOPLE.
“Their impact is so, so important in terms of representing their successes and redefining what’s normal. As the saying goes, you can be what you can see. So the fact that they’re showing it’s not impossible — that if you put your mind to it, you can absolutely be it — is empowering beyond words,” Harris adds.
While she says she “wears a lot of different hats,” bringing women together to speak about equality, diversity and representation is the “common thread” in everything Harris does.
“To me, it’s as natural as breathing, and doing anything else would be as unnatural as holding my breath,” she says. “I am not only passionate about bringing women together to speak out about equity and injustice, but I also view it as my responsibility.”
Throughout the past year, Harris has found joy in writing her first children’s book,Ambitious Girl, which she calls “an incredibly rewarding way to spend this stressful year.” And while she sees a “brighter, more inclusive future ahead,” the mom of two still knows there is much more work to be done.
She believes one of the best places to start is “expanding our circle of allies.” Harris says: “When each of us is an ally in our own sphere of influence — when we embrace the fact that representation is everyone’s responsibility, all of the time — there’s real potential to meaningfully change the conversation.”
Since becoming a mom todaughters Amara, 4, and Leela, 3,sparking these kinds of discussions has become even more important to Harris.
“Raising two daughters has driven home, for me, just how important representation is, in just about every facet of life,” she says. “So that’s something I try to carry with me as I move through the day, showing them — and so many girls who look like them — that entrepreneurs and CEOs can look like them, too”
source: people.com
