Madeleine Albright broke through huge barriers during her years in the Clinton administration, first as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, then as Secretary of State. She was a leader in what had been, until her arrival, an all-male club—the world of national security and international relations.

Ms. Albright, who later this year will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, says she never wanted to be considered a woman secretary of state, but as a secretary of state who was a woman.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal's Rebecca Blumenstein, Ms. Albright discussed her pioneering career, obstacles she has overcome, and the continuing struggle for women's rights around the world. Her latest book, Prague Winter: A Personal Story of Remembrance and War, 1937-1948, has just been published.

Here are edited excerpts of their conversation.

REBECCA BLUMENSTEIN: We've been talking about the status of women in America, how far things have come and how far things have to go. When you graduated from Wellesley in 1959, the expectations for women were not particularly great. You told me your commencement speaker was not exactly inspiring.