Circumstances

Abby Wambach delivered her commencement address “Make Failure Your Fuel” to Barnard College graduates in May 2018, in a ceremony hall in front of over 600 people. Barnard College is a private liberal arts college for women, from New York City.

The main circumstances of the speech are related to inequality between men and women in American society. These social circumstances form the basis of her speech, as Wambach explores issues related to unequal pay and traditional gender roles. The speaker talks about unequal pay in sports when she mentions that her fellow male athletes retired with much more money than she did, even though she put in the same effort as them (ll. 46-55). This reflects the wider circumstances in the world of sports, namely that women are generally paid l...