Meghan Markle Sports a Poppy Pin for a Conversation About Paid Family Leave

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Meghan Markle is continuing to use her platform to advocate for parental leave in the United States. At the end of October, she wrote an open letter to Congress calling for paid leave to "be a national right."

"I know how politically charged things can—and have—become. But this isn’t about Right or Left, it’s about right or wrong," she wrote. "This is about putting families above politics. And for a refreshing change, it’s something we all seem to agree on. At a point when everything feels so divisive, let this be a shared goal that unites us."

Earlier this month, the Duchess of Sussex took things a step further, personally calling legislators to ask for their support on the issue. And today, she participated in a wide-ranging conversation with the New York Times's Andrew Ross Sorkin and businesswoman Mellody Hobson, in which she called paid family leave "a humanitarian issue."

"I don’t see this as a political issue, frankly. Look there is certainly a precedent amongst my husband’s family and the royal family of not having any involvement in politics. But I think this is—paid leave from my standpoint is just a humanitarian issue," Meghan said. She also noted that she sees advocating for the policy as a "logical" and "obvious" thing to do.

"I have been gone from the U.S. for a really long time," she said, detailing her time in Canada working on Suits, and her move to the UK to live with Prince Harry. "To come back and now be a mother of two and to see that the U.S. is one of only six countries in the entire world that doesn’t offer any form of national paid leave, just didn’t make sense," she said.

For the interview, which was part of the New York Times's DealBook Online Summit, Meghan opted for an all-black outfit, and she accessorized with pointy-toe pumps, what is believed to be a Ferragamo belt, and a bright red poppy pin. For those unfamiliar, in the UK, the floral brooch represents those soldiers who have lost their lives during wartime. The symbolism of poppies is a tradition that dates back to WWI, when John McCrae wrote the poem "In Flanders Fields" following the loss of a friend in battle, and now, many wear poppies in November as a sign of remembrance.

Watch the full interview below:

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