Council on Women and Girls Weekly Highlights

Welcome to the Council on Women and Girls Weekly Highlights. If you have friends or family who would like to support the efforts of the Council on Women and Girls, please visit our website and share this link with others on Facebook and Twitter.

This has been an important week for women, and we’ve got a lot of good information to share! In case you missed it, on Wednesday November 9th, President Obama delivered powerful remarks about the women in America at the National Women’s Law Center annual awards dinner. The dinner honored the Women Freedom Riders who valiantly fought segregation in the South during the Civil Rights Movement. Additionally, make sure to check-out Valerie Jarrett’s Op-ed in the Huffington Post from Friday, November 11, entitled “Women's Issues are America's Issues.”

Last week, we proudly commemorated Veteran’s Day. Women make up 7.5 percent of Veterans in America, (1.8 million women), and that number is expected to grow to 10 percent by 2020. We continue our work to honor our promise to women veterans. In addition, on November 10th, First Lady Michelle Obama spoke at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce about what private companies are doing to help military families and the President launched the Veteran’s Job Bank.

On Saturday, November 12, the President and the First Lady traveled to Honolulu, Hawaii to host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers and Economic Leaders’ Meeting to discuss an agenda for growth in the Asia Pacific region. Earlier this fall, as you will remember, the U.S. hosted the APEC Women and the Economy Summit in San Francisco where the leaders adopted the San Francisco Declaration on Women and the Economy and Valerie Jarrett opened the Summit. It is important to note that the Leader’s Statement, the Foreign and Trade Ministers’ Statement and the Finance Ministers’ statement all pledge to adopt and implement the San Francisco Declaration, fully recognizing and endorsing the fact that the economic empowerment of women is a strategy for growth in the region and around the world. Additionally, Secretary Clinton delivered remarks with Nina Easton of Fortune Magazine at the APEC CEO Summit on women and the economy that you can view here.

Check Out These Videos  
 

Small Business owners talk about the provisions of the American Jobs Act that are important to the growth of their businesses and how it will help them create jobs and put more money in the pocket of their employees. November 15, 2011.

Small Business Owners Meet with the White House Business Council:

A group of business owners recently met with the White House Business Council to say they hope that Congress will pass more provisions in the American Jobs Act and support their efforts to grow their companies and create jobs in their communities. In the meeting, a video response on their thoughts was made.

Helping Veterans Get Back to Work

Maria Canales Maria Canales joined the Army in 2002, when she was 22 years old. First stationed in Germany, the Brooklyn, NY native, served in Iraq from October 2005 through October 2006. Although she left the Army in 2007, Canales did not find a job until October 2011. She shares her story in the video here.

Check out the President’s Weekly Address honoring veterans and their sacrifice.

Highlights

Open Innovation for Heroes – Introducing the Veterans Job Bank

Honoring Women Veterans: A Message from Under Secretary Alison Hickey

The First Lady in Hawaii for APEC

Leaders and their spouses watch cultural performance at the APEC summit at the Hale Koa Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii, Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Meeting with African American Leaders at the White House

Regional Town Hall Meetings Focus on Engaging Men in Ending Violence Against Women

Protecting Our Nation’s Youth

We Can’t Wait: Jumpstarting Innovation in Health Care, Reducing Costs

A Partnership for Positive Re-entry

Art Cart in The Big Apple

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Avra Siegel is the Deputy Director of the White House Council on Women and Girls.