President Obama’s senior adviser Valerie Jarrett and Joy-Ann Reid, managing editor of “The Grio,” a news website aimed at African-Americans, joked Tuesday that John Kerry “broke the glass ceiling as secretary of state,” since so many women have held that position in recent history.
Jarrett and Reid both praised Secretary of State John Kerry, gracing him with being a pioneer in politics.
“Madeleine Albright used to joke about the fact that her grandchildren said to her, ‘Is it possible for a man to be secretary of state?’ Because all they had known were women who were secretaries of state,” Jarrett recalled.
“John Kerry is a trailblazer,” said Reid.
“He is breaking the glass ceiling,” Jarrett replied, laughingly.
Jarrett and Reid spoke together at a panel at the White House on Tuesday entitled “50 Years Forward: Building Ladders of Opportunity.”
In recent presidential terms, the secretary of state position has been filled with three women: Madeleine Albright, Condoleezza Rice and Hillary Clinton. Gen. Colin Powell served under President George W. Bush.