Michelle Bachelet Quotes

A collection of quotes by Michelle Bachelet.

Michelle Bachelet is a prominent politician and leader from Chile. She was born on September 29, 1951, in Santiago. Bachelet's interest in politics developed from an early age, as her father, Alberto Bachelet, was an air force general who opposed the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. Sadly, her father's opposition to the regime led to his arrest and death.

Bachelet studied medicine at the University of Chile and specialized in pediatrics and public health. However, her political aspirations led her to become increasingly active in political movements advocating for human rights and democratic reforms in Chile.

In 2002, Bachelet became the country's Minister of Health, where she successfully implemented several healthcare policies. Later, in 2006, she made history by becoming Chile's first female president, serving a four-year term. Her presidency was marked by progressive reforms, including improvements in education, healthcare, and social welfare.

After her term ended, Bachelet held significant roles at an international level. She became the Executive Director of UN Women, where she focused on promoting gender equality and women's empowerment. Additionally, she served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2014 to 2018.

In 2018, Bachelet made a remarkable political comeback by being elected as the President of Chile for a second term. Known for her progressive policies and commitment to social justice, she continues to be a prominent figure in Chilean and global politics.

One of the factors a country's economy depends on is human c

One of the factors a country's economy depends on is human capital. If you don't provide women with adequate access to healthcare, education and employment, you lose at least half of your potential. So, gender equality and women's empowerment bring huge economic benefits.

Michelle Bachelet


As a doctor, when I was minister of health and would go some

As a doctor, when I was minister of health and would go somewhere, little girls would come up to me and say, 'I want to be like you one day, I want to be a doctor.' Now, they tell me, 'I want to be president just like you.' All of us can dream as big as we want.

Michelle Bachelet


There is no city or country in the world where women and gir

There is no city or country in the world where women and girls live free of the fear of violence. No leader can claim: 'this is not happening in my backyard.'

Michelle Bachelet

Fear

When women earn the money for the family, everyone in the fa

When women earn the money for the family, everyone in the family benefits. We also know that when women have an income, everyone wins because women dedicate 90% of the income to health, education, to food security, to the children, to the family, or to the community, so when women have an income, everybody wins.

Michelle Bachelet

Education

Violence against women in all its forms is a human rights vi

Violence against women in all its forms is a human rights violation. It's not something that any culture, religion or tradition propagates.

Michelle Bachelet

Religion

As a vibrant force in civil society, women continue to press

As a vibrant force in civil society, women continue to press for their rights, equal participation in decision-making, and the upholding of the principles of the revolution by the highest levels of leadership in Egypt.

Michelle Bachelet

Leadership

The respect for human rights is nowadays not so much a matte

The respect for human rights is nowadays not so much a matter of having international standards, but rather questions of compliance with those standards.

Michelle Bachelet

Respect

My father respected and admired my mother and was a person w

My father respected and admired my mother and was a person who was always standing by my side, encouraging me to do more and believed in my capacity. So in that sense, my own experience was very good in becoming an empowered woman. From early on, I carried that strong message: 'You can do it.' So I never had any doubt that women can do a lot.

Michelle Bachelet

Experience

Given political history in Chile, it seemed to me that there

Given political history in Chile, it seemed to me that there was a critical task of consolidating a democracy and creating healthy civic-military and political-military relationships.

Michelle Bachelet

History

There's full consensus in the military that women shouldn't

There's full consensus in the military that women shouldn't be in person-to-person combat. I don't know if we have enough experience to know whether this is the right approach. But women can be elsewhere. We have mandatory military service in Chile. I pushed for women in all areas.

Michelle Bachelet

Experience

I was not born in a home where there were stereotypes. So th

I was not born in a home where there were stereotypes. So that was very useful because it gave me the sense of possibilities, of flying, if I may say, of making my hopes and dreams a reality.

Michelle Bachelet

Dreams

Women's strength, women's industry, women's wisdom are human

Women's strength, women's industry, women's wisdom are humankind's greatest untapped resource. The challenge then for U.N. Women is to show our diverse constituencies how this resource can be effectively tapped in ways that benefit us all.

Michelle Bachelet

Strength

Educational equality doesn't guarantee equality on the labor

Educational equality doesn't guarantee equality on the labor market. Even the most developed countries are not gender-equal. There are still glass ceilings and 'leaky pipelines' that prevent women from getting ahead in the workplace.

Michelle Bachelet

Equality

I took a gamble to exercise leadership without losing my fem

I took a gamble to exercise leadership without losing my feminine nature.

Michelle Bachelet

Leadership

We simply can no longer afford to deny the full potential of

We simply can no longer afford to deny the full potential of one half of the population. The world needs to tap into the talent and wisdom of women. Whether the issue is food security, economic recovery, health, or peace and security, the participation of women is needed now more than ever.

Michelle Bachelet

Food

People see I am a mother and head of a household. Today in C

People see I am a mother and head of a household. Today in Chile, one-third of households are run by women. They wake up, take the children to school, go to work. To them I am hope.

Michelle Bachelet

Hope

In today's interdependent world, a threat to one becomes a m

In today's interdependent world, a threat to one becomes a menace to all. And no state can defeat these challenges and threats alone.

Michelle Bachelet

Alone

Gender equality will only be reached if we are able to empow

Gender equality will only be reached if we are able to empower women.

Michelle Bachelet

Equality

The 2010 global gender gap report by the World Economic Foru

The 2010 global gender gap report by the World Economic Forum shows that countries with better gender equality have faster-growing, more competitive economies.

Michelle Bachelet

Equality

U.N. Women was created due to the acknowledgement that gende

U.N. Women was created due to the acknowledgement that gender equality and women's empowerment was still, despite progress, far from what it should be. Transforming political will and decisions, such as the Member States creating U.N. Women, into concrete steps towards gender equality and women's empowerment, I think is one of the main challenges.

Michelle Bachelet

Equality