Last week, we reported that Meghan Markle had cold called two Republican senators to lobby for parental paid leave. Now, the wife of Prince Harry is doubling down by saying that this is not a political issue, saying that her lobbying push is for “humanitarian” reasons.
Backstory: Report: Meghan Markle Uses Her Royal Title To Lobby Republican Senators By Cold Calling Them
Meghan Markle Sounds Off On Paid Parental Leave
"We can all agree that people need support, especially when they've had a child," said Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, at the #DealBook Online Summit. "Paid leave, from my point of view, is a humanitarian issue." https://t.co/mXcALFsbeS
— DealBook (@dealbook) November 9, 2021
“I think this is one of those issues that is not red or blue,” Meghan said, according to People Magazine. “We can all agree that people need support certainly when they’ve just had a child. Paid leave, from my standpoint, is just a humanitarian issue.”
Meghan went on to explain that after living in Canada and the U.K. for many years, she returned to the U.S. as a mother of two (2-year-old son Archie and daughter Lilibet, born in June).
“To come back and now be a mother of two and to see that the U.S. is one of only six countries in the entire world that doesn’t offer any form of national paid leave just didn’t make sense,” she said.
Before Her Time Of ‘Privilege’
Meghan then said that she has always been outspoken about issues that are close to her heart.
“Even before I had any sort of privilege in my life — when my life and my lifestyle were very, very different — I always stood up for what was right,” she said, going on to recall selling homemade scrunchies when she was a little girl.
“I remember the feeling of knowing that I had done something, I had invested in myself and done this labor and been compensated for it,” she said. “There’s a sense of pride that comes from that.”
In this same interview, Meghan talked about what she sees as the double standard between men and women having ambition, which she called a “trigger word,” adding that she saw a study that said 60% of women would rather talk about the details of their own death than about money.
“There’s nothing wrong with talking about a woman’s success or her ambition or her financial prowess,” Meghan said as she called for men to be part of the conversation.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand Confirms Meghan Markle Cold Called Senators
This comes one week after Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) confirmed to Politico that Meghan was cold calling senators.
“I talked to each of the women senators and let them know that she’s going to reach out, because she only completed two of the calls,” Gillibrand said. “She’s going to call some others, so I let them know in advance. She wants to be part of a working group to work on paid leave long term and she’s going to be. Whether this comes to fruition now or later, she’ll be part of a group of women that hopefully will work on paid leave together.”
Rumors have long been swirling that Meghan Markle is planning to launch a political career for herself. Her recent activity certainly lends credence to those rumors.
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