Michelle Obama graces the cover of the September 2012 issue of Ladies’ Home Journal.

Here’s what the First Lady had to share about women in leadership roles.

On how can we get more women to be leaders: “We have to start with them while they’re young and instill in girls a sense of confidence. That’s why sports are so important. They teach you how to compete — how to fall down and get back up. And there are organizations like the Girl Scouts: They nurture self-confidence and give girls the chance to practice being in charge. We’ve got to give young women the opportunities to be leaders.”

On raising Malia and Sasha to be confident girls: “We talk about this a lot, obviously. But it’s not just about what we want for our girls…we also think about the girls who grew up like we grew up: in working-class neighborhoods where they didn’t have sports programs. Or in a single-parent home. They need to be encouraged, too. Choices and options shouldn’t be limited to…”

This issue is currently on newsstands!!