Bu siness skills: b et ter me etings 1 — 21 business englisch bu sin es s e n g L is

19 
1/2021
Business Spotlight
TRENDS
Illus
tr
ationen; IUR
O
V
SKAIA EKA
TERINA
, D
ar
shana Pho
tos
/Shutt
er
st
ock
.com; F
ot
o: priv
at
accomplished
,
fähig
aligned: the stars have 
finally ~ 
[E(laInd]
,
etwa:
die Sterne stehen 
endlich günstig
ascent 
[E(sent]
,
Aufstieg
attorney general 
[E(t§:ni] 
US
,
Generalstaats- 
anwalt/-anwältin 
bid
,
Gebot, Angebot; 
hier:
Bewerbung
bring sth. to the table
,
etw. beisteuern; als
Voraussetzung mitbringen
chastened 
[(tSeIs&nd]
,
geläutert, nachdenklich 
gestimmt
district attorney 
[E(t§:ni] 
US
,
Bezirksstaats- 
anwalt/-anwältin 
found sth.
,
etw. gründen;
hier:
initiieren
marvel
,
Wunder
most notably
,
insbesondere, vor allem
office
,
hier:
Amt
run for sth.
,
hier:
für etw. kandidieren
running mate 
US
,
Kandidat(in) für die 
Vizepräsidentschaft
serve
,
hier:
einen Sitz haben
soundly
,
hier:
vernichtend
speak up
,
sich äußern, den Mund 
aufmachen
ticket 
US
,
hier:
Wahlliste
“You just do it because 
it is the right and
necessary thing to do”
Schon einige US-Politikerinnen haben versucht, Einzug
ins Weiße Haus zu halten, jedoch vergeblich. Kamala Harris 
ist es nun gelungen, an der Seite von Joe Biden als erste 
Frau das zweithöchste Amt in ihrem Land zu bekleiden.
Von ELIZABETH ZACH
MEDIUM

US

AUDIO
W
hen I was 13 years old, it 
was 1984, and the United 
States appeared ready to 
elect its first woman vice 
president, Democratic candidate Geral-
dine Ferraro. Her candidacy felt extraor-
dinary to me, and I read as much about 
her as I could.
Ferraro lost her bid for high office 
when her ticket with presidential candi-
date Walter Mondale was soundly beaten 
by the Republican ticket of Ronald Rea-
gan and George H. W. Bush. Ferraro was 
then mostly forgotten. 
There have, of course, been accom-
plished American women politicians 
who have followed her lead in attempting 
to enter the White House, most notably 
Hillary Rodham Clinton and Sarah Palin. 
This sense of “so-close-yet-so-far” over 
the years has left many American wom-
en, including me, hopeful yet chastened.
So, with California senator Kamala 
Harris’s ascent to the second-highest
office in the land, it feels as if the stars 
have finally aligned. It’s a marvel of firsts: 
Harris was the first female district at-
torney of San Francisco, the first female 
attorney general of California, the first 
Indian American to serve in the United 
States Senate, and she is now the first
Indian American vice president.
ELIZABETH ZACH
 
is a California 
native who has 
worked in journal-
ism for more than 
20 years in both 
the United States 
and in Europe. 
Contact:
women@business- 
spotlight.de
“I knew Biden would have to pick Harris as his running mate,” 
Vivian Hernandez-Ortiz, an independent journalist and docu-
mentary filmmaker in New York City, told me. “She brings so 
much to the table and, over the years, has proven herself as an 
excellent leader. I imagine she will have a stronger voice than 
any other American vice president has had just because she’s 
overcome so much — as a woman, as a minority.”
Kelli Kelly met Harris as she herself was preparing to run for 
local political office in Nevada in June 2020. Kelly was partici-
pating in a six-month training program for Democratic women 
who wanted to enter politics. Harris herself had helped found 
the program. Kelly remembers Harris as quietly inspiring.
“Imagine you’re on a boat with many others,” Kelly recalls 
Harris saying. “You know it is going to sink, but it doesn’t seem 
like anyone else knows. You don’t worry about how you look, or 
what people are going to think about you when you speak up. 
You just do it because it is the right and necessary thing to do.” 
Ferraro, who died in 2011, would have approved — as do I.
WOMEN AT WORK