Michelle Obama Talks Empowering Women, Favorite Albums at SXSW Keynote

It was a discussion for the ages at SXSW 2016, with its keynote Let Girls Learn panel featuring Michelle Obama, Missy Elliott, Diane Warren and Sophia Bush, alongside moderator Queen Latifah. The main takeaways of the chat focused on the simple-yet-effective ways to help women around the world—which includes The First Lady's new charity single "This Is for My Girls"—but also gave insight into what makes these inspiring figures tick.

Each member talked about how anyone (no matter your gender) can help empower women. From embracing a hashtag to hosting a car wash, there was a big push to find more methods on 62milliongirls.com, which supports female education around the world. Other methods included Sophia Bush recalling how she encouraged her young Twitter followers to make coffee for their parents in the morning and then ask to donate the $3 or $4 they would have spent on a latte on a school the actress was building in a developing nation. Meanwhile, Dianne Warren mentioned that simply being kind to one another is another important method. 

The panel also addressed the men in the room, encouraging them to hear the story of a woman they're close to, with Obama giving men the following task: 

"When you have a seat at the table, and have access to power—whether you’re a CEO or a professor in a classroom—the question you can ask yourself is 'Is their diversity around the table?' Are their opinions ones that don't sound like yours? We reach better answers when there are women, minorities, people with different voices. If you're a man at the table and there are only men at the table, you should ask 'How can I do better?'"