Chelsea Clinton's message to women for International Women's Day: 'We have to keep going'

Former first daughter, children’s book author and mother of two Chelsea Clinton has a message for women around the world as they prepare to mark International Women’s Day.

"Particularly at this moment, in 2018, when we have so many women who are raising their voices around the world, so many women here in the United States who are running for office," Clinton said, "my message is thank you and we have to keep going."

Clinton, 38, is author of the number one New York Times bestselling picture book, "She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World."

She is also the vice chair of the Clinton Foundation, where she works on initiatives including those to help to empower the next generation of leaders.

Clinton's new book, "She Persisted Around the World: 13 Women Who Changed History," celebrates women from around the world who have made a difference and inspired others.

As for women in history who inspire her personally, Clinton said her own mother, former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, tops the list.

"My mom has definitely inspired me the most, with my grandmother," Chelsea Clinton said, referring to her maternal grandmother, Dorothy Rodham. "I’m just so thankful to have such kind of strong, fierce women role models in my family who I have been lucky enough to be loved by, to love, to look up to -- and to kind of have as my North stars, as I think about how best to lead the life that I feel called to lead in the world."

International Women’s Day is an annual celebration of the movement for women’s rights and equality.

The day is also a time Clinton thinks that citizens of the world should "take stock" of what they are doing for girls and women.

"Whether that’s in terms of educational opportunities or employment opportunities, getting health care, including the reproductive health care that every woman around the world should have access to," she said. "How we’re doing in terms of women in leadership positions in every sector, in every country across the world so that we really have a clear sense of what the gaps are for whether or not girls and women are given an equal shot, equal opportunity, equal affirmation to the boys and men in their families or communities."

Chelsea Clinton believes that women's initiatives have advanced in some ways, but there are still many women who haven't been reached.

"I just think that, while we’ve made progress, we have so much work to do until every girl and every woman is protected, supported and empowered to be whatever they want to be in the world," she said.

Chelsea Clinton spent eight years of her childhood, including her teenage years, living in the White House while her dad, Bill Clinton, was president.

When asked what advice she would give her 16-year-old self, Chelsea Clinton said she wished she had been "less afraid."

"I think I always knew that persistence was really important," she said. "I just wish I had been a little less afraid when I was younger."