Heidi M. Przybyla

USA TODAY

Hillary Clinton made her first public remarks on the state of women’s issues since President Trump’s inauguration and the Jan. 21 Women’s March on Washington.

“Despite all the challenges we face, I remain convinced that YES, the future is female,” Clinton said in a videotaped message to the 2017 Makers Conference in California. Makers is a storytelling platform for raising issues impacting women.

“We need strong women to step up and speak out. We need you to dare greatly and lead boldly. So please, set an example for every woman and girl out there who’s worried about what the future holds and wonders whether our rights, opportunities and values will endure," Clinton said.

“Remember, you are the heroes and history makers, the glass ceiling breakers of the future. As I've said before, I'll say again, never doubt that you are valuable and powerful and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world," Clinton said.

Clinton was mostly quiet during the inauguration and since then, with the exception of a tweet she sent out in response to the estimated 3 million people who marched in Washington and in cities throughout the U.S. and across the globe.

Since then there is growing evidence that many women are motivated to be more politically involved following the election. On Monday, USA TODAY wrote about plans by EMILY's List, a political action committee that recruits and trains pro-choice Democratic women, to conduct its most aggressive campaign in its 32-year history.