Meghan Markle Said Women Undervalue Their "Skills and Assets"

(Image credit: Getty Images / Pool / Samir Hussein)

published 14 September 2020

Meghan Markle spoke to Smart Works clients on September 12 to celebrate the first anniversary of her clothing collection with the charity.
Speaking via video call to clients Charlene, Karla, and Agnieszka, Meghan said, "As women, so often it’s easy to forget all of your skills and your assets—not that they’re not there, but you need someone sometimes to point them out for you."
"People can say that so much of Smart Works is about the clothes themselves but it's really not," the Duchess of Sussex said. "All of that stuff is the exterior but it's what it does for you on the inside that ends up being the best accessory."

Can you believe it's been (just over) an entire year since Meghan Markle launched her capsule clothing collection with British charity Smart Works, which provides job interview outfits and coaching for women returning to the workforce? On Saturday, September 12, Meghan celebrated the anniversary by speaking to three Smart Works clients via video call, all three of whom landed jobs after working with the charity.

The Duchess of Sussex spoke to clients Charlene, Karla, and Agnieszka about the importance of confidence, commenting, "As women, so often it’s easy to forget all of your skills and your assets—not that they’re not there, but you need someone sometimes to point them out for you."

Discussing the interview clothes Smart Works provides, Meghan said, "All of that stuff is the exterior but it's what it does for you on the inside that ends up being the best accessory, right? It's the confidence, it's what builds within that is the piece you walk out of that room with and walk into that interview with." Then, speaking about the job mentorship clients receive, she explained, "They’re not pointing out something that doesn't exist—they’re seeing it in you for the first time."

Meghan Markle's Most Iconic Fashion Moments

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commonwealth day service 2020 — (Image credit: Karwai Tang)

March 9, 2020

Meghan and Prince Harry attend the Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey with all of the royal family. Meghan is wearing a custom Emilia Wickstead dress and carrying a Gabriela Hearst Demi bag; she's also wearing Birks earrings and Aquazzura heels.

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Emily Dixon is a British journalist who’s contributed to CNN, Teen Vogue, Time, Glamour, The Guardian, Wonderland, The Big Roundtable, Bust, and more, on everything from mental health to fashion to political activism to feminist zine collectives. She’s also a committed Beyoncé, Kacey Musgraves, and Tracee Ellis Ross fan, an enthusiastic but terrible ballet dancer, and a proud Geordie lass.