United State of Women Summit


The United State of Women Summit was a summit held in Washington, D.C. focused on gender equality in the United States. The summit was hosted by the White House, the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of Labor, and the Aspen Institute.

Background

The White House first announced the summit on January 29, 2016, with the theme "Today we change tomorrow." Originally scheduled for May 23, the summit was postponed to June 14.
On June 7, First Lady Michelle Obama announced the summit on a video, alongside Meryl Streep, Oprah Winfrey, Tina Fey, Laverne Cox, Kerry Washington, Shonda Rhimes, Cecile Richards, and Jessica Williams.

Agenda

The summit was dedicated to discussing a number of topics, including economic empowerment, equal pay for equal work, women's health, women's education, violence against women, entrepreneurship, and civic engagement.
Ciiru Waithaka, a Kenya entrepreneur, was lauded by Michelle Obama. She recognised their common ancestry and said "You Go Girl". Obama noted that Waithaka had doubled her production of school furniture thanks to a loan of 10,000 by Goldman Sachs. Obama recognised her as a woman who was helping other women and families to follow her lead.
President Barack Obama, one of the key speakers at the summit, was introduced by child entrepreneur Mikaila Ulmer. He discussed feminism, violence committed against women by groups such as ISIL and Boko Haram, and the progress made by his administration in supporting family leave and the minimum wage. Vice President Joe Biden was another key speaker, citing campus sexual assault as a major issue.

Participants