Former House speaker, 85, expects woman to assume Oval Office this generation but concedes she may not live to see it

Nancy Pelosi, the outgoing congresswoman and former House speaker, has conceded that she may not see a woman be elected US president in her lifetime.

The California Democrat said as much in a USA Today interview published on Sunday with her retirement looming after four decades in Congress – and invoked a turn of phrase referring to a metaphorical barrier impeding advancement in a profession that often confronts women and racial minorities.