They advise against calling her Clegg, the last name of her husband, Nick.
It’s just that my name is Miriam González Durántez and my husband is not me. And it’s not the first time I’ve complained about the “lady of….”
Did his last name cost Nick Clegg votes?
In the UK, the ultra-conservative tabloids beat me up for it during the five years that Nick was Vice-President of the British government…
For refusing to play “lady of”?
Because I told everyone that I would not give up my own legal work to play deputy first lady…
Was that going off script?
The tabloids saw me as a threat to the establishment, but I endeared myself to the public. And from then on I tried to keep a discreet line regarding my husband’s agenda, because I already had mine.
How did they meet?
We met in Brussels, where I studied and was already practicing as a lawyer in international trade. And we were a community couple: I was working with the commissioners, and Nick, in the European Parliament.
A Union in the Union.
We got married, we had two children… And Nick wanted to stand in the British elections, and I wanted to work in the City.
Did you campaign against Brexit?
I only criticized Prime Minister May for her attitude towards us EU Europeans working in the UK.
But the Brexiters won.
And Facebook, now Meta, offered Nick a job, and the whole family, with our three kids, decided to follow him to Silicon Valley, where we’ve been for four years.
What was the best of California?
We live Biden’s victory; the covid … And he changed my life and taught the boys a lot to see how there they value what you have done more than what you are …
And more what they think you will do for them.
And I was highly valued for having created Inspiring Girls, now in 32 countries.
How do they inspire girls?
It is a very simple idea that is so effective for this very reason: to offer girls role models of women to inspire them so that they can overcome the gender conventions that limit them and have new role models.
How do they manage to inspire the girls?
We take great women to schools so that they can talk to today’s little ones, the girls, and explain to them how their school stage was; how is your career today; his life…
And do they inspire?
Even more than we thought at first: we ask the girls and the answers inspire us, the inspirers. They are fabulous.
What women lead the cabbages?
We started in 2013 in the UK with Inspiring Women and we got 24,000 volunteers to help us; In 2016, we launched Inspiring Girls International and last year we organized 915 events in 701 schools in our 32 countries…
Your favorite campaign?
The first one in the US was a huge hit: “Little girl is me” with the participation of Melinda Gates, Annie Lennox, Arianna Huffington, Billie Jean King, Lillee Jean and Diana Russet… They were wonderful live talks; but we have also set up inspirational campaigns on networks and videos.
What is your main value?
We promote diversity as an opportunity for coexistence and collective growth, always from a perspective that is not apolitical, because we train, of course, in politics; but it is non-partisan, ideologically transversal and open to all.
Why do you insist on diversity?
Every time you launch any initiative you need diverse people on your team who see successes and failures differently to turn them into progress. Without diversity you don’t progress.
Why do you also need flops?
That was shown to me by Silicon Valley, where they value you and invest in you because of the list of your previous failures when starting a business. Instead, our culture penalizes failure so much that it terrifies and paralyzes us, making the venture too risky a priori to pay off.
Can’t you think of any other initiative to inspire the boys as well?
We have just launched “Imagine” to listen to all young people. And it is part of a broader program: Spain, Better…
…And to motivate us mature? We need it too, Miriam!
We would settle for contributing to stop complaining and confronting and start proactively proposing and discussing public policy proposals.
Isn’t it difficult for you to make proposals without falling into partisanship or ideological bias?
The analysis and collective discussion of the common always improve us all.
