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In Talk to Silicon Valley Leaders, Hillary Clinton Offers Glimmers of White House Aspirations

Clinton said if she seeks the White House she would want to bring Republicans and Democrats into a "nice, warm purple space"

Hillary Clinton spoke at the Lead On: Watermark's Silicon Valley Conference for Women in Santa Clara Tuesday, amid speculation on whether the former secretary of state, senator and first lady will run for president.

In her first U.S. speech of the year, Clinton spoke about women's empowerment, a topic expected to be central to her long-anticipated second run for the White House.

Clinton called on female technology executives to do more to help women in leadership: "As women, let us do more to help all women lead on and lead. What you do doesn't have to be dramatic. You don't have to run for office. Although if you do more power to you."

Clinton said if she seeks the White House she would want to bring Republicans from red states and Democrats from blue states into a "nice, warm purple space" where they could try to solve problems.

Clinton was interviewed onstage by Kara Swisher of Re/Code. "I interviewed President Obama last week and I'm eager to interview another president," Swisher said to laughter from Clinton.

The former first lady invoked Oscar winner Patricia Arquette's Oscar speech in talking about the importance of pay equity for women.

Clinton said anyone who runs for president in 2016 should seek to restore economic growth and rising wages while building trust and cooperation. She said many women in the workplace struggle with policies related to family leave and child care.

Clinton has so far kept a low profile this year, something that's starting to change as she heads toward her expected 2016 campaign for president.

Clinton is scheduled to step up her public appearances in March, appearing at a gala for EMILY's List, which supports female Democratic candidates who support abortion rights, an awards ceremony in Washington for political journalists and a United Nations meeting on women's rights.

Later in the interview, Swisher asked her: "Presidential campaign or Oscar host next year?"

Clinton responded: "Oscar, it's a one night gig.... The other is a long commitment."

As to whether she was an Applewatch ot a FitBit kind of person, Clinton said: "You can tell I am not FitBit."

"I am not in a wearable frame state of mind yet. I look at it and think: Do I really want to wear something that tells me what I know I should do?"

She admitted to using both an iPhone and a Blackberry.

For more information on the conference and biographies of the other speakers, click here.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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