Adora Svitak

“The first thing anyone can do, about any issue, is get informed.”

“CEOs of top companies could probably use a dose of not-asking-for-raise behavior and less self-entitlement, rather than us trying to change girls in order to fit into the common mold of what we think a CEO looks like.”

“We all love people who give credit to others for their success. Companies would probably do better with CEOs who didn't blow their own horn and ask for ridiculous salaries and new yachts every year.”

“My family joke that I'm really a very senior person who accidentally happens to be 11.”

“To try to teach ignoring technology is to ignore the progress that we have made over the last century. If school is preparation for the real world - a real world that is increasingly technology-driven - then to ignore technology is to become obsolete.”

“Hoping to instill my love of learning in other children, I taught my first class at a local elementary school the year my first book, 'Flying Fingers,' debuted; since then, I have spoken at hundreds of schools, classrooms and conferences around the world.”

“I think women should be more independent. In society, we're portrayed as people who simply wear make-up and sit around. We need a Princess Charming - a woman who rescues her man and slays the dragon instead of the other way round.”

“I would say that kids are great in many ways, because I think that we are less hampered when it comes to 'this costs too much' or 'that's impossible'.”

“History is made every day. The challenge is getting everyone to pay attention to it.”

“I cannot emphasize enough the importance of family encouragement - not just for me, but for everyone.”

“I need to be allowed to make my own decisions and mistakes, take leaps - and fall - without receiving too much help, because it's what I'll be doing for the rest of my life.”

“America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the other, we're being marketed makeup and clothing that obviously turns us into someone different.”

“The unsaid message of that endless rack of juniors' pushup bras? No matter what size you are, it still isn't good enough.”

“Since the age of four, I've been exploring what I can do with the written word: everything from championing literacy and youth voice to raising awareness about world hunger.”

“It seems we're not only uninformed about our present, we're ignorant of our past.”

“Success on the front of women's rights will look like a world not only with obvious advances - where no girl is denied access to education, for instance - but also one with more subtle changes in how we regard gender and gender stereotypes.”

“I was thrilled to be able to read at three. I just thought everyone loved reading as much as I did.”

“Like probably a lot of people, I came away from watching films like 'Miss Representation' and 'Half the Sky' with the realization that the battle for women's rights is not over, especially not globally, and that the moral imperative of our century is to achieve full rights for everyone regardless of gender.”