Gail Collins

  • Women’s Historian
  • New York Times Op Ed Columnist
  • First Female Head of New York Times Editorial Board

The first ever female head of The New York Times editorial board and op-ed columnist, Gail Collins is a noted women’s historian and author of When Everything Changed: The Amazing Journey of American Women from 1960 to the Present.

 

Gail Collins headshot
Past Hosts Include:
  • Stephens College
  • Omega Institute's Women & Power 2010: Our Time to Lead Conference
  • Fairfield County Community Foundation
Rave Reviews About Gail Collins as a Speaker
Gail Collins was a dream come true. She made her remarks exactly right for our audience and our time frame. She was also very easy to work with and accommodate. As soon as she stepped up to the podium to deliver her keynote, she artfully helped the room make the transition from misty-eyed inspiration (from the previous speaker) to laugh-out-loud delight. She was bright, funny, entertaining, informative and motivating. Her humor disarmed everyone, which allowed her to slip in some powerful messages. Finally, she cheerfully stayed to sign books and talk with her fans.

Talks & Conversations with Gail Collins
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When Everything Changed: The Amazing Journey of American Women

In this speech Collins champions American women. With a gift for story telling, Collins tells of the icons and the ordinary as she examines the struggles and successes women have achieved. From the time the first colonists arrived on our shores to the open sexism of the 1960’s “Mad Men&r ...

In this speech Collins champions American women. With a gift for story telling, Collins tells of the icons and the ordinary as she examines the struggles and successes women have achieved. From the time the first colonists arrived on our shores to the open sexism of the 1960’s “Mad Men” to Hillary Clinton’s historic run for President, Collins, with a clear eye and candid style, tells the story of all American Women in the battle for parity. Amazingly , for centuries this battle was incredibly unsuccessful until the last fifty years, when almost in a heartbeat all the established preconceptions of women as being inferior to men intellectually and physically came crashing down. How we got from there to here and why it happened, historically speaking, so fast is an enlightening and fascinating journey which resonates with all audiences.

Scorpion Tongues: Gossip, Scandal and American Politics

In this speech Collins destroys the image we have that we are living in the most scandalous and screechiest era in American history. Going back to several other periods, Collins lays out the often outrageous and always colorful tempests that have surrounded certain major political figure and explain ...

In this speech Collins destroys the image we have that we are living in the most scandalous and screechiest era in American history. Going back to several other periods, Collins lays out the often outrageous and always colorful tempests that have surrounded certain major political figure and explains how telling and meaningful political gossip is and what it says about the anxieties of the age.

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Books by Gail Collins
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Biography

Gail Collins joined The New York Times in 1995 as a member of the editorial board and later as an Op-Ed columnist. In 2001, she was appointed editorial page editor – the first woman to hold that post at The New York Times.

In 2007, she stepped down to finish her book: When Everything Changed: The Amazing Journey of American Women from 1960 to the Present. She returned as a columnist in time to cover the 2008 presidential election.

Ms. Collins latest book is No Stopping Us Now: A History Of Older Women In America. She is also the author of five other books: America’s Women: Four Hundred Years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates and HeroinesAs Texas Goes: How the Lone Star State Hijacked the American Agenda, a biography of William Henry Harrison, Scorpion Tongues: Gossip, Celebrity and American Politics, and The Millennium Book, which she co-authored with her husband, Dan Collins. 

Before joining The New York Times, Ms. Collins was a columnist for New York Newsday,  the New York Daily News, and a reporter for United Press International. She started her journalism career in Connecticut, where she founded the Connecticut State News Bureau, which provided coverage of the state capitol and Connecticut politics.

She is a graduate of Marquette University, and has a master’s degree in government from the University of Massachusetts. Since 2013, Ms. Collins has been a member of the Pulitzer Prize Board.