Former White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett has detailed in her new book how former US president Barack Obama handled an issue of gender inequality in the White House during his tenure.
In Finding My Voice: My journey to the West Wing and the Path Forward, Jarrett said she told Obama that the White House had a "macho atmosphere" that made her and other women feel unwelcome, reported the Los Angeles Times.
When the matter was brought to the attention of the then president, he invited senior women at the White House to a dinner.
The Hill reported that Jarrett described how Obama sat with senior female advisers and discussed how to make the White House a better environment for women.
"He gave us his undivided attention for over two and a half hours," she wrote.
Obama has been vocal about his stance on gender equality and masculinity.
At the "My Brother's Keeper" conference in Los Angeles in February, Obama said: "All of us need to recognise that being a man is first and foremost being a good human. That means being responsible, reliable, working hard, being kind, compassionate."
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