One of the criticisms I've faced over the years is that I'm not aggressive enough or assertive enough, or maybe somehow, because I'm empathetic, it means I'm weak. I totally rebel against that. I refuse to believe that you cannot be both compassionate and strong.
Jacinda Ardern
How great it would be for us all to have the pride of knowing that we, as a country, are one of the best countries to be a child.
I never, ever grew up as a young woman believing that my gender would stand in the way of doing anything I wanted.
I really rebel against this idea that politics has to be a place full of ego and where you're constantly focused on scoring hits against each one another. Yes, we need a robust democracy, but you can be strong, and you can be kind.
I want to be a good leader, not a good lady leader. I don't want to be known simply as the woman who gave birth.
I worked as long in a fish and chip shop as I did in Parliament. I've had particular experiences in politics, but they're not my only ones, and they're not the ones that defined me.
Issues like obesity do, as you well know, have a knock-on effect to diabetes. So we all are better off if we invest early in prevention.
I am not the first woman to multi-task. I am not the first woman to work and have a baby - there are many women who have done this before.
If you sit and wait to feel like you are the most confident person in the room, you are probably going to be left by yourself.
This stardust won't settle, because none of us should settle.
Everything I've ever thought about doing has been, in some sense, about helping people.
Never feel like you have to tick all of the boxes on everything to be able to feel like you can do a job. I have heard it said many times before, and it is so true.
Taking on a leadership role doesn't mean that you only have to be personally ambitious.
The fact I'm the third female Prime Minister, I never grew up believing my gender would stand in the way of doing anything I wanted.
I don't think that the next generation should fear just being who they are rather than confirming to an expectation of what they are meant to be.
Back in the early days of my political career, I was called Socialist Cindy. I just hate the nickname Cindy.
I didn't think I would be prime minister, because I didn't consider it. But that's the power of saying yes, because there will be a moment when someone asks you to do something beyond your comfort zone. I am not unique.
Getting stopped in the middle of the lingerie section, when you're trying to stock up on a few things, by an older man who wants a selfie is a little bit awkward... but I don't let that get in the way of me trying to do normal things, because that is when I get to interact with people as well. Preferably not amongst the underwear, though.
We aspire to be a government for all New Zealanders and one that will seize the opportunity to build a fairer, better New Zealand.
I am a thinker, and I do muse over things a lot and am constantly assessing whether I am doing enough or what I should be doing more of to make sure I am not letting anyone down.
When you're a bit of an anxious person, and you constantly worry about things, there comes a point where certain jobs are just really bad for you.
We will work hard to ensure New Zealand is once again a world leader, a country we can all be proud of. We said we could do this; we will do this.
We spent the election campaign really canvassing where we were as a nation, deciding who had the mandate to change that up going forward. But I think the challenge for us will be, as with any government, your actions demonstrate your legacy.
If we want to make workplaces more open, we need to acknowledge logistical challenges... by being more open, it might create a path for other women.
You can't ask other people to believe you and vote for you if you don't back yourself.
Yes, we believe in globalization and trade, but we also believe in you being able to benefit from that more. For too long, we progressives have seemed like part of the system. We need to start thinking about whether or not it's delivering for us now.
I hope for little girls and boys that there is a future where they can make choices about how they raise their family and what sort of career they have, which is based on what they want and what makes them happy.
It becomes tricky if you ever try to partition off what might be seen as sexist criticism. To be honest, I just don't engage. The best way I can rebel against those notions is being competent, good at my job.
I was there when Gordon Brown basically was taking over - so right in the middle of that transition. It was fantastic; I learnt a lot.
All of the things that people said that I would experience - that idea that you suddenly have this new person in your life that you could love so much and that time will go incredibly quickly, but that the nights will seem incredibly long - all of that has been true, but it has been wonderful.
I refuse to be held up as some kind of superwoman because, in my mind, the superwomen are the ones who do it on their own. I have my partner, who will be a stay-at-home father. I will do as much as I can, but I will have a village around me, and there's lots of people who don't have that.
I'd say it was always in me - it's just what's required of you is very different in the moment that you become leader. When you're part of a team, you defer, and you're there to support your leader.
I definitely try not to get too caught up in putting too much of a gender or age assessment on everything - I've just got to get on with it.
It is a woman's decision about when they choose to have children, and it should not predetermine whether or not they are given a job or have job opportunities.
There's probably a tendency to view power... to be either based on size or the size and power of your economy. I think New Zealand's strength has always been using our voice on the issues that matter, and we've been consistent on it. There is power in that.
We're looking to ways to build in the responsibility we have on climate change and the way that we approach, potentially, climate change refuges in the future amongst our neighbors.
We know we've got a problem attracting to certain areas because of the cost of living, so we're thinking about things from how do we ensure key workers have accessible and affordable housing; also, how do we attract people into teaching as well.
I have already been a big believer in a model of nurse/family partnerships: the idea of having - for those mums that might benefit from a bit of extra support - having those visits scaled up a bit. I believed in it before; I absolutely believe in it now. So that is probably one of the things that affirmed something I already supported.
I do find it slightly offensive that everyone thinks that every New Zealander starred in either 'Lord of the Rings' or 'The Hobbit.'
The thing that drives people more often than not is they genuinely feel that they can make a difference. So that means there are nice people in politics.
I'm constantly anxious about making mistakes.
I hate the idea of anyone thinking that I don't put a lot of thought about the cost to taxpayers. I make our ministers travel to events in vans to pool together.
I have a collection of ukuleles. I meant to graduate to the guitar, but I never did.
I would absolutely classify as being incredibly progressive the fact that I am the third female prime minister.
I have a partner who can be there alongside me, who's taking up a huge part of that joint responsibility, because he's a parent, too - he's not a babysitter.
I might be at the odd press conference with a little bit of spill on me because I'm not going to hide the imperfections of parenting. I don't think anyone needs that.
I'm the one who's put myself into politics, so I'm the one that really should be wearing that front-facing role.
I'll be prime minister and a mum, and Clarke will be 'first man of fishing' and stay-at-home dad. I think it's fair to say that this will be a wee one that a village will raise, but we couldn't be more excited.
The teacher crisis is something we are really worried about during the byelection in Mount Albert. I counted, across a month, seven teachers I identified just in my area who were all leaving - not the profession but Auckland.
I credit the women who came before me and credit New Zealanders for welcoming me having a child... positivity outweighed negativity. I'm proud of the nation.
