White House kicks off the United State of Women summit

Global Business

White House kicks off the United State of Women summit

Women’s rights have grabbed global headlines in recent weeks.

First, former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made history by becoming the first female presumptive presidential nominee.

On Tuesday, the White House kicked off the United State of Women summit. The summit is a celebration of the successes of the women’s fight for equality, but also an honest look at the challenges they still face.

CCTV America’s Roee Ruttenberg reports.

It’s been nearly 100 years since American women earned the right to vote.

And now, Democrat Hillary Clinton broke a proverbial glass ceiling by becoming the first woman set to lead her party’s presidential ticket. And another woman, Jill Stein, is the presidential candidate for the lesser-known U.S. Green Party.

However, as a matter of fact, women comprise less than a quarter of the members of Congress, although they make up around half of the U.S. population.

U.S. First Lady, Michelle Obama, thinks women still have a long road to equality. The challenges they face include sexual, physical and mental abuse. Millions of women continue to live in poverty and obstacles to employment and promotions continue to keep them down.

Equal pay, among all gender issues, is the major object women need to fight for.

On average, women in the U.S. still earn 79 cents to a man’s dollar, for the same work. But there are more women in the American workforce than ever. And two-thirds of them are said to be the primary bread-winners in their households.

Women in the US are also opening more small businesses than men, though accessing funding remains a problem.