On International Women’s Day, Meghan Markle got a promotion, of sorts. The Duchess of Sussex is now vice president of the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust.
Joining husband and Trust president Prince Harry, and the Trust’s patron, Queen Elizabeth, mom-to-be Meghan will largely be tasked with providing support to young people throughout the British Commonwealth, with a special focus on women and girls, Harper’s Bazaar reports.
Following today’s announcement of her new role, the Duchess, a longtime advocate for women and a self-proclaimed feminist, sat on a panel convened by the Trust alongside supermodel-activist Adwoa Aboah, entertainer and activist Annie Lennox, Angie Murimirwa of Campaign for Female Education and former Prime Minister of Australia Julia Gillard. Among the issues discussed were equal access to education and opportunity in the workplace and the benefits of feminism to both girls and boys (and no, she dropped no hints about which she’s expecting, other than to joke that she was being kicked during the panel.)
“If things are wrong and there is a lack of justice and an inequality, someone needs to say something—and why can’t it be you?” the Duchess asked. “It’s not just about girls going to school and becoming smart women,” she later added. “It’s knowing that those smart girls become influential women and that ends up changing the world for the better.”
But Markle was clear that the mantle should not be solely—or even mostly—on the shoulders of women and girls. “If you have boys as part of the conversation as well, you’re moving the needle in a different way because they’re not mimicking learned behavior that could be incredibly sabotaging for young girls’ potential,” she said.
With Meghan as a mother, it seems assured that whatever the gender of the next member of the British royal family, undoubtedly, they’ll be raised with an awareness of gender equality, which is not bad royal protocol at all.