January 11, 2019
This past November over 100 people, most of them women from throughout central Appalachia, came together in downtown Harlan, KY, for “Mountain Women Mean Business.” The gathering was organized by local businesswomen and community leaders who recognized that, despite the downturn in the coal economy, new businesses were popping up in Harlan and across the region, and many were led by women. The conference was their way of highlighting the work of these entrepreneurs and connecting, empowering, and uplifting entrepreneurial women throughout the region. WMMT’s Mimi Pickering reports on what the organizers called an “uprising of women in Appalachia.”