--- title: Jessica Alba: Feminism Means Equality description: Jessica Alba recently spoke at the Forbes Under 30 Summit, where she discussed her definition of feminism and why diversity matters. canonical: https://time.com/4540389/jessica-alba-feminism-means-equality/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-10-21T15:25:06.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T09:03:39.588Z og:title: Jessica Alba Believes 'Feminism Means Equality' og:description: The entrepreneur and mother spoke at the Forbes Under 30 Summit og:url: https://time.com/4540389/jessica-alba-feminism-means-equality/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2e36f47bf503b725/6988ab06656a3f22afbcd8be/jessica-alba-forbes-feminism-equality.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Forbes Under 30 Summit In Boston og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Jessica Alba Believes 'Feminism Means Equality' twitter:description: The entrepreneur and mother spoke at the Forbes Under 30 Summit twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2e36f47bf503b725/6988ab06656a3f22afbcd8be/jessica-alba-forbes-feminism-equality.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Jessica Alba Believes 'Feminism Means Equality' by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Oct 21, 2016 3:25 PM UTC  BOSTON - OCTOBER 17: Jessica Alba speaks at the Forbes Under 30 Summit in Boston on Oct.17, 2016\. (Photo by Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) BOSTON - OCTOBER 17: Jessica Alba speaks at the Forbes Under 30 Summit in Boston on Oct.17, 2016\. (Photo by Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)Jessica Rinaldi—Boston Globe/Getty Images by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Oct 21, 2016 3:25 PM UTC [Jessica Alba](http://time.com/4485312/stephen-colbert-jessica-alba-makeover-video/) was recently named one of _Forbes_‘ [America’s Richest Self-Made Women](http://www.forbes.com/sites/forbespr/2016/06/01/forbes-2016-list-of-americas-richest-self-made-women/#17311d0bbef3) thanks to her startup, [Honest Company](http://motto.time.com/4477845/jessica-alba-bipartisan-diapers/). Alba [spoke](http://www.forbes.com/video/5174316525001/) at the [Forbes Under 30 Summit](http://www.forbes.com/under30summit/#5b9b2e2544f7) in Boston earlier this week, where she discussed her own definition of feminism and why businesses need to focus on diversity. At the conference, Alba thanked her mom and grandmother for helping instill her meaning of [feminism](http://motto.time.com/4396276/emily-ratajkowski-feminism-ideal-body/). While being interviewed by _Forbes_ staff writer Claire O’Connor, Alba said, “Feminism means [equality](http://motto.time.com/4509411/hillary-clinton-gender-equality-leadership/) and I did feel like women should deserve the same things as men at a very early age.” [_Follow Motto on Facebook_](https://www.facebook.com/mottoworkplaylive/)_._ Alba takes that mentality to heart, especially in the workplace. As the face of a multi-billion dollar company, Alba advocates for equality in the workplace, in terms of both gender and [diversity](http://motto.time.com/4457972/diversity-in-hollywood-wise-entertainment/). She told the Boston crowd, “I do think that as we look at the world and as you guys are building these companies, really understanding how important it is to include the other half of the world.” She continued, “Make sure your businesses reflect the world in a real way. If you can somehow measure your success with diversity, then I think that would be pretty cool and innovative.” As a parent herself, Alba understands why [parental leave](http://motto.time.com/4505708/nev-schulman-laura-perlongo-parental-leave/) and benefits are vital to the strength of a company. She told the crowd why business leaders need to pay more attention to parents: “When you own a business, really make sure that you are addressing a modern person. Whether it’s a man or a woman, when you do have a kid, make sure you have benefits that allow someone to be a good parent that feel like they can nurture their children and also come to work and execute.” \[[Forbes](http://www.forbes.com/video/5174316525001/)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4540389/jessica-alba-feminism-means-equality/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4540389/jessica-alba-feminism-means-equality/"},"headline":"Jessica Alba Believes 'Feminism Means Equality'","datePublished":"2016-10-21T15:25:06.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:03:39.588Z","description":"The entrepreneur and mother spoke at the Forbes Under 30 Summit","url":"https://time.com/4540389/jessica-alba-feminism-means-equality/","keywords":["motto"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2e36f47bf503b725/6988ab06656a3f22afbcd8be/jessica-alba-forbes-feminism-equality.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2e36f47bf503b725/6988ab06656a3f22afbcd8be/jessica-alba-forbes-feminism-equality.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Forbes Under 30 Summit In Boston","caption":"Forbes Under 30 Summit In Boston","creditText":"Jessica Rinaldi—Boston Globe/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4540389/jessica-alba-feminism-means-equality/","name":"Jessica Alba Believes 'Feminism Means Equality'"}}]}] ```