Madeleine M. Kunin

“It is easy but inaccurate to label any legislation which makes it easier for working families to combine family and work responsibilities 'job killers.'”

“Statistics do not convey emotion. They shock us for a minute or two, and then we click again.”

“A small pay discrepancy between men's and women's salaries for the same job may seem inconsequential. But over the years, salary discrimination adds up to a significantly smaller pension.”

“Money often determines not only who gets elected, but what gets done. Which voices do lawmakers listen to, the banks or home owners, coal companies, or asthma sufferers, the CEOs or the unemployed?”

“We continue to blame the poor for their own condition. They are lazy. We do not want to know that the poorest of the poor are toddlers under three years of age.”

“It's time to recognize what compromise means: no side wins or loses all.”

“Fair treatment in the work force is no longer exclusively a labor issue, nor is it a women's issue - it is a fundamental economic issue.”

“The focus of Congress is on keeping the nation secure - and it doesn't see that food security is an essential part of that responsibility. Instead of putting more food on the tables of America, they are busy finding ways to take it away.”

“We assume in our daily lives that the world is both safe and sane. Otherwise, we could not carry on.”

“'Power' is an explosive word, particularly when applied to women.”

“Why is computer science a good field for women? For one thing, that's where the jobs are, and for another, the pay is better than for many jobs, and finally, it's easier to combine career and family.”

“The first thousand days of a baby's life are likely to determine the rest of her life - whether she grows up to be healthy or not, both physically and emotionally.”

“Most often, qualifications are defined by the credentials of the person who last held the job. If that is to continue to be the litmus test, white males will continue to be the top choice on any list, if the interviewer is also a white male.”

“There are not many female role models to guide voters, and the tradition that a Southern woman's place is in the home still lingers in some quarters.”

“It is the future, of course, which politicians grapple with, and that is why politics is so disorderly. Only history clears away some of the debris.”

“Contradictory as it seems, malnutrition is a key contributor to obesity.”

“Babies are smart. They can tell the difference between a responsive face and a blank face, wiped clean of emotion.”

“You have to build your credentials as a candidate, not just as a woman. You also have to be willing to exercise power. We've been educated to be mothers, peacemakers, but we must learn that we can't please everybody.”

“Common wisdom dictates that the vice president should provide balance to the ticket by representing a different part of the country, another set of experiences, or a basketful of electoral votes.”

“In Washington, the translation of E Pluribus Unum has been lost. The belief that we are one nation - united in purpose - caring about and for one another is no longer the practice.”