Woman Who Was Disinvited From Smith College Commencement Gives a Talk On Female Empowerment

Watching Smith and Rutgers turn into Lord of the Flies was a bit creepy.
Creepier still is the little creeps who don't know the Lord of the Flies reference.
From the International Monetary Fund:

Daring the Difference: The 3 L’s of Women’s Empowerment

By Christine Lagarde
Managing Director, International Monetary Fund
National Democratic Institute, Washington DC, May 19, 2014 As prepared for delivery
Good afternoon. It is great to be here today among friends and kindred spirits. The National Democratic Institute is a passionate advocate for the full participation of women in the life of nations. I admire you, I salute you, I am with you.

Let me begin by thanking Madeleine Albright, a great public servant, a great inspiration to us all, and to me personally. I would also like to thank Kenneth Wollack, the president of the Institute, and the talented Claire Shipman.

Let me also recognize the wonderful organization being honored today, Aswat Nisaa, and its president, Ikram Ben Saïd. This group is doing remarkable work in Tunisia in furthering gender equality and women’s leadership—and will set standards, I hope, in neighboring countries and around the world. The world needs more people who do what you do.

I want to begin today with a story—a well-known puzzle. A young boy is involved in a traffic accident, and is immediately rushed to the hospital for urgent surgery.

In the bustle and chaos of the hospital environment, the surgeon strides into the operating room. Think of a quintessential surgeon—brimming with confidence and authority, a true type-A personality, one who knows instinctively how to take charge.

Yet this distinguished surgeon looks down at the boy and gasps, saying: “I can’t operate on this boy… it’s my son”.

Indeed, the boy is the surgeon’s son. Yet the surgeon is not the boy’s father. Who then?
I know that everyone in this room can see the answer immediately. It is simple—the surgeon is a she, she is the boy’s mother....MORE

HT: FT Alphaville's The Closer post

If you can't tell from the coiffure or couture, Mme Lagarde is French. Here's the backstory to the intro:
Dear Class of 2014: Grow Up

Related: this morning's  Haverford College Commencement Speaker Calls Students Arrogant, Immature-Also, Wear Sunscreen