Expanding Opportunities for Women and Girls of Color

Today, the White House Council on Women and Girls and the Anna Julia Cooper Center at Wake Forest University are co-hosting an all-day conference on expanding opportunities for women and girls of color and all Americans.

Our country has made significant progress on improving outcomes for marginalized women in recent years. The growth in the number of businesses owned by black women outpaces that of all women-owned firms. Teen births are down, high school graduation rates are up, and the number of college graduates is at an all-time high.

But opportunity gaps and structural barriers still remain.

At today's forum, academics, advocates, foundation leaders, policy think tanks, and Administration officials will address these challenges and talk about ways to build on the progress we've already made.

Follow along at whitehouse.gov/live and share your thoughts on social media using the hashtag #YesSheCan.

We'll be discussing our report, "Advancing Equity for Women and Girls of Color," which you can read here.

President Obama knows that women and girls of color face persistent challenges throughout their lives. Girls from marginalized communities are suspended from school at disproportionate rates. Women of color experience higher levels of unemployment, are more concentrated in low-wage sectors, and consistently earn less.

Today the White House is announcing $118 million in independent commitments to help low-income women. With public and private collaboration, we can work toward improving economic prosperity for women and support research efforts about women and girls of color and vulnerable youth.

Thanks for being part of this groundbreaking conversation to advance equity for all women and girls.

​Melanie Garunay is the Associate Director for Digital Outbound for the Office of Digital Strategy