Gretchen Carlson

After I won Miss America, I called my dad, who had four kids in college, to say he no longer had to pay for Stanford.

Sometimes people look at television personalities and say, 'Wow, they've never had any problems.' And I really wanted people to know that hadn't been my path. I want people to know the real me underneath.

If you Google me, you'll find plenty of 'dumb blonde' references - even though I graduated with honors from Stanford and studied at Oxford University. I don't let it bother me.

Nothing was ever handed to me. My hope is that when people read my story, it will inspire them to reach for their goals and not give up. The real story is this: if I can do it, you can, too.

All women deserve a dignified and respectful workplace in which talent, hard work and loyalty are recognized, revered, and rewarded.

I'm ready to move on to the next chapter of my life in which I will redouble my efforts to empower women in the workplace.

When people don't want to debate you on the smart issues of the day, it's just a lot easier to call you a dumb blonde from Fox.

Life is about compromise - in relationships and at work.

The political scenario has gotten so divisive - not only in Washington, D.C., but across the country, too.

Holding true to what you believe - even in a big city - is so important.

I always wanted to have a really successful career, but I always wanted to be a mom, too.

Sexual harassment can really affect you for a long time, and I want more women to come forward.

Once I turned 40, I stopped giving a rip about my detractors, the people who say nasty things. It's more candid and honest than it would have been. I share my failures, which is important.

I cling to the hope that with more and more women in the workplace, we can teach younger generations to be respectful and also encourage young women to speak up when they've experienced abuse.

I actually always say that I have a son and a daughter, but I work more for my son, because I want him to respect women when he gets into the real world like he respects his mom right now.

During the time I was Miss America, I had come to New York City because I had decided I wanted to try to get into television.

Maybe it's because I'm short and blond, but people have really underestimated me.

We need a woman in the White House right now. I really think that women want to work together.

I do think we need to find common ground on some of these major issues facing our nation.

A lot of stories that aren't true get out into the mainstream, and it's hard to correct that. People want to hear what they already believe.

Trust is the most important aspect of being a journalist. If people don't trust or find you relatable - you will not have success.

I know, normally folks on TV wouldn't readily admit their age, but since there's nothing you can do about it, you might as well own it and be happy.

I wasn't prepared for the environment I encountered trying to break into television news. In the world of music, where I spent my formative years, we were judged solely on our talent, and gender wasn't a factor.

To this day, I have an open door policy. I seek out interns and young women and try to help them. Women mentors were important to me, and I want to do that for others.

During my whole year as Miss America and afterward, I was calling agents, looking for advice and opportunities. When I was in New York or in Los Angeles doing different appearances, if I had time on my schedule, I tried to meet with executives.

I wasn't naive, but at the end of my Miss America year, when two different executives attacked me during what I thought were informational interviews about jobs, I was shocked. I didn't see it coming, and the worst thing about it was the shame I felt, as if I'd done something wrong.

One of my proudest moments in life was earning the valedictorian medal in high school. I worked so hard for it!

The minute that you go to arbitration, it's 100% confidential, so nobody ever hears about it.

Arbitration clauses have become prevalent in most corporate agreements or contracts for employees.

We all remember growing up with mean girls, right?

In our society, people look at women who are tenacious, smart, attractive, and talented and for whatever reason say, 'There must be something wrong with that equation. She couldn't possibly be all of those things at once.'

I might even pursue a career in politics. If I do, I will have had great practice dealing with the avalanche of daily criticism from working at Fox News and being a former Miss America. I'm ready for anything!

The future is wide open. I may actually go back and get that law degree someday.

I didn't win Class President in tenth grade. I was too chubby to win a role in the school play 'Oklahoma!' and I didn't make it into a singing and dancing group in high school for the same reason - too fat.

My career had zero to do with whether or not my husband also worked. It had everything to do with personal identity, personal goals, and making the most of my life.

One week after getting married in my thirties - while I was working as the main anchor at the CBS affiliate in Cleveland, Ohio - I got fired.

I wanted to see how much of an insult it was to be called an ignoramus. I didn't know what it meant; I just Googled it.

For all of you out there who don't know what 'ignoramus' is, it's an ignorant lawyer.

We like to say Miss America is the classy one. It has a talent category. I would have been dead last in Miss USA - I'm five foot three, I'm not a model, and I never wanted to be one.

Hearing that I had a 3 percent chance of ever having kids was one of the more devastating moments in my life.

I wanted to play the piano.

I think one of the things I've learned is that the tone of an organization is set from the top down. And if you have men running an organization that want to honor women, that's a whole different experience than if they don't.

I'm setting up a fund to empower girls and women to speak up - on all issues, not just sexual harassment. For me, it's about inspiring women to come together.

Becoming Miss America was one of those things. It immediately changed what I thought I was going to do with the rest of my life.

I grew up thinking that I could be anything I wanted to be in this world because my mom told me that every single night.

My grandfather was the minister at the Lutheran church. My dad owned a car dealership in town. My mom was the consummate volunteer and cheerleader for me.

Even though we have laws against it and HR departments to handle it, a woman - especially if she is young and just starting out - can never be sure that reporting harassment won't hurt her career.

One of the most important things to do is to raise our kids in a respectful way with both genders.

I never expected to be the face of sexual harassment. But I never give up on anything. So when placed in a new, challenging situation, it's like, 'I'm going to give this 110% because that's what I've done my entire life.'

A lot of things I've done in my life have taken incredible mental fortitude.