Kamala Harris’s inauguration will normalize female ambition: Meena Harris

Updated Tue, Jan 19, 2021, 7:51 AM 2 min read

It seems everyone has an opinion about Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’ ambition.

The Atlantic examined “Kamala Harris’s Ambition Trap.” Bloomberg asked “Is Kamala Harris Too ‘Ambitious’ to Be Vice President?” Over the summer, even the Vice President-elect herself said, "There will be a resistance to your ambition.”

Once Harris is actually sworn in, her niece, children’s book author and founder of the Phenomenal Woman Action Campaign, Meena Harris, believes it will change the conversation around ambition once and for all.

“It inherently will open the door for more women of color to achieve and it will normalize ambition. Female ambition,” she told Yahoo Finance Presents.

Ambitious Girl

Meena Harris never grew up thinking ambition was bad. On the contrary.

“My worldview was basically female ambition... meant purpose and meant determination,” she said. “It meant having a dream and a vision and going for it.”

It wasn’t until she entered the working world that Harris, who eventually went on to positions at both Facebook (FB) and Uber (UBER), realized the word often had a negative connotation, at least for women.

Also Read: Why Big Tech needs to slow down: Meena Harris

Now as a mom, she’s trying to reclaim the adjective for her own daughters and the next generation with her second children’s book “Ambitious Girl.” The book launches the day before her aunt’s historic inauguration.

With its illustrations and rhymes, “Ambitious Girl” is a book for kids. But for Meena Harris, its message of affirmation, acceptance and encouragement is one she thinks everyone needs to hear.

“I think all of us need that. I think women, I think grown women and adults need it.”

Jen Rogers is an anchor for Yahoo Finance Live. Follow her on Twitter @JenSaidIt.