Thank you all for being here for this important moment. These men from all over the world have decided to make gender equality a priority in their lives and in their universities. Thank you for making this commitment.

I graduated from university four years ago. I had always dreamed of going and I know how fortunate I am to have had the opportunity to do so. Brown [University] became my home, my community, and I took the ideas and the experiences I had there into all of my social interactions, into my workplace, into my politics, into all aspects of my life. I know that my university experience shaped who I am, and of course, it does for many people.

But what if our experience at university shows us that women don't belong in leadership? What if it shows us that, yes, women can study, but they shouldn't lead a seminar? What if, as still in many places around the world, it tells us that women don't belong there at all? What if, as is the case in far too man...