Tuesday (June 14), the first ever United State of Women Summit was convened by the White House and held in the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington D.C. According to its website, this summit seeks to “rally all of us together to celebrate what we’ve achieved, and how we’re going to take action moving forward.”
This conference will feature discussions on four major topics: economic empowerment, health and wellness, educational opportunity, violence against women, entrepreneurship and innovation, and leadership and civic engagement. There are dozens of speakers scheduled to give presentations on the various pillars of this conference. A few of the most recognizable names on that list being Kerry Washington, Oprah Winfrey, Amy Pohler, Shonda Rhimes and the first lady herself, Michelle Obama.
#StateOfWomen has taken Twitter and Instagram by storm.
A photo posted by Monique Coleman (@_moniquecoleman) on
Revolutionizing Gender Norms seminar w. Amy, @meredeetch & this incredible crew starting now! #StateOfWomen ??💪💙 pic.twitter.com/V5AYHMN8CD
— AmyPoehlerSmartGirls (@smrtgrls) June 14, 2016
Being inspired by @MCS4Biz @SBAgov administrator. From Mexican immigrant to Cabinet official! #stateofwomen pic.twitter.com/ne8rJjYTtY
— Maria Smith (@MariaRSmith) June 14, 2016
Issues of gender equality have always held a place on the Obama administration’s agenda. In 2013, the president reportedly signed a reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which improved protections for Native American women and members of the LGBTQ community. Also, earlier this year, the Obama administration announced that companies with 100 employees or more would now be required to report how much they pay their employees, that information to be organized by gender, race and ethnicity.