By Anna Butler, Associate Editor for the Dallas Business Journal
Two weeks ago, the White House hosted its first ever United State of Women Summit. Spear-headed by Michelle Obama in her final months as First Lady, the summit—or “movement” as the White House terms it—seeks to continue to advance gender equality issues both domestically and internationally.
I spoke with two North Texas women, Crystal Arredondo and Darla Beggs, who ventured to Washington, D.C., for the invitation-only event to take part in panels, discussions and lectures on topics ranging from equal pay to increasing access to credit for women.
Both Arredondo and Beggs serve on the executive committee of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), an organization founded in 1975 in the D.C. area due to the business climate.
“There weren’t any resources or organizations for women in business back then—unless they were an honorary member through their husbands,” Beggs told me. “Women couldn’t even get loans or a credit card in their own name without a male co-signer.”
Fortunately, women have come a long way in the past 40-odd years.
Arredondo, who is the current national chair of NAWBO, is a partner at Dallas-based MPACT Financial Group, which focuses on wealth management and comprehensive planning for high net worth individuals. Beggs heads up Abba Staffing and Consulting as president in Fort Worth.
Arredondo and Beggs shared key moments and emphases from the summit and what the United State of Women means for Dallas-Fort Worth women, below.
Click here to read the full article, including key moments and emphases from the summit.