Actress and activist Meghan Markle has made headlines as of late because of her engagement to Prince Harry. However, Markle has been receiving national attention and making her mark long before this. Even at age 11, she was fighting the good fight against sexism. In a video published by Inside Edition, we see a young Markle back in 1993, using her voice to speak out against a sexist ad.
When she saw a commercial for Ivory dishwasher soap that claimed “women all over America are fighting greasy pots and pans," she knew the wording and implications just weren't right. Washing dishes is not and should not be exclusively a woman’s chore.
In a 2015 speech to the United Nations, Markle recalls two male classmates joking about how women “belong” in the kitchen, obliging her to take action. After her dad advised her to write letters, she sent them off to Procter & Gamble, the maker of Ivory; lawyer Gloria Allred; then-first lady Hillary Clinton; and journalist Linda Ellerbee, who was hosting “Nick News” on Nickelodeon.
Not only did Procter & Gamble change the ad from "women" to "people," she also earned a spot on "Nick News" with Linda Ellerbee.
“It was absolutely clear that this young woman was strong in her beliefs,” Ellerbee told Inside Edition. “It didn’t matter that she was 11 years old. She believed in women and she believed in her own power and wasn’t afraid to reach out and say, ‘I want my power. I want my rights.’”
In Markle's 2015 UN speech, she reflects saying "It was at that moment that I realized the magnitude of my actions. At the age of 11, I had created my small level of impact by standing up for equality."
11-year-old Markle also offered the advice “If you see something that you don’t like or are offended by on television or any other place, write letters and send them to the right people and you can really make a difference, not just for yourself but for lots of other people.”
Advice that still remains true all these years later. Never be afraid to stand up for what you believe in.