Community News: Highlighting Our Members
August 14, 2020

Elizabeth Headshot

Dear Colleaguess

For the first time in history, the U.S. is experiencing a “shecession” ([link removed]) — an economic downturn in which job and income losses are having a greater impact on women than men. What is glaringly, painfully, apparent is that poor access to affordable, quality child care is at the heart of the issue — both in terms of how disproportionately hard women have already been hit by the economic downturn and how quickly, or even if, women will be able to fully recover.

Yet, the child care crisis continues to be treated as a sideline issue by politicians ([link removed]) , revealing the continued lack of recognition or value that our society and systems of economic and political power still place on domestic, caregiving, schooling and child rearing labor traditionally relegated to unpaid “women’s work,” which today still falls disproportionately to mothers, even in households where both parents work.

As Women’s Fund of Omaha Executive Director Michelle Zych aptly summarized: “Working families are facing impossible decisions about how to ensure their children are safely cared for when not in school while also keeping their jobs. Many working families that are living paycheck to paycheck do not even have the luxury of choices — they simply cannot afford to miss any work or cutback on hours if they want to keep a roof over their head, food on the table and bills paid.”

While there is no single solution that will work for all parents or all communities, the Women’s Fund of Omaha is taking a public policy advocacy approach to create a “patchwork of options for families to consider what works best for their situation.” These include, making paid leave more accessible by expanding paid family leave provisions ([link removed]) in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, grants to expand child care capacity, expanding eligibility for child care assistance under Title XX, adjusting the rules for unemployment insurance to add eligibility for those who have to leave the workforce due to lack of child care availability and adjusting rules for child care licensing to facilitate necessary and immediate capacity expansion.

The Women’s Foundation of Southern Arizona is taking more of a “lead by example,” employer-side approach to addressing this challenge — prioritizing family-friendly, flexible workplace policies within their own organization and centering the need to accommodate staff child care considerations in the decision-making process that informed the foundation’s recently announced decision to close its physical office through July 2021, opting to move the organization over to an entirely remote working model, at least through the next year.

“It was serendipitous that our lease was up last month, and seeing that 50% of our staff have school-age children (including myself), it would have been ludicrous to expect my staff to come into the office 9-5, while still managing home life, and now our children's education,” explained Women’s Foundation of Southern Arizona CEO Dr. Amalia Luxardo. “Our hope is that other organizations and businesses, specifically those that are women-led, follow our lead.”

This sentiment seems to be one shared by a number of women’s funds, as discussions around the potential role of the business community in finding solutions to the child care crisis appears to be an area of particular interest within the network, sparking conversations around how women’s philanthropy might support employers and businesses in their efforts to help employees navigate these challenges. Promoting employer flexibility ([link removed]) will likely be one critical component in finding solutions to the current child care crisis — and, by extension, the larger COVID-related economic crisis.

I’ve been inspired to see so many of our members come together, to collaborate and build upon the collective power, ingenuity and expertise of the Women’s Funding Network to mobilize women’s funds and foundations nationwide to address these issues head on. Together, we’re leading the charge to find solutions and to scale regional successes and effective local strategies to mobilize women’s funders and the wider philanthropy sector for maximum nationwide impact.

Yours for equity and justice,
Elizabeth Barajas-Román
Women’s Funding Network
President & CEO
WFN POLL
Will you, or someone you know, need to step back from work because of school closures?
<a href="[link removed]" target="_blank"> Yes</a>
<a href="[link removed]" target="_blank"> No</a>

WFN MEMBER INITIATIVES
[link removed]

Please join The Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts and Berkshire Community College as they celebrate 25 years since the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women.

Friday, September 11 at 3:00pm

This virtual event will feature a conversation with Silke Staab, Research Specialist at UN Women, Dr. Valerie M. Hudson, Author, Professor, and expert on national security policy and gender, and Dr. Kathleen Szegda, Director of Community Research and Evaluation at the Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts. These prominent experts will speak to progress toward peace, power, and prosperity for women, girls, and thus for communities.

Find tickets and more information here ([link removed]) !
[link removed]

This month and through the fall, Ms. Foundation for Women and Brooklyn Historical Society will be hosting a multi-part virtual series, Women + Power ([link removed]) : 100 Years After the 19th Amendment ([link removed]) , which will reflect on the triumphs and shortcomings of the passage of the 19th Amendment, with discussions on the relationship between gender, power, and the ongoing struggle for equality. The first program in this series, which falls on the centennial of the Amendment's ratification, will explore reclaiming power and agency in women’s bodies of all types, sizes, colors, and experiences.

Women + Power: BODY POWER
Tuesday, August 18, 7:30 pm ET
Free Admission

Register here ([link removed]) !
[link removed]

WNY Women's Foundation will be hosting a virtual edition of their annual event, What She's Made Of, featuring special guests, musicians, and a spotlight on the incredible women of Western New York.

August 17 at 4:30pm

For more information, click here ([link removed]) !
[link removed]

Women's Fund of Western Massachusetts CEO Donna Haghighat wrote a piece ([link removed]) for The Aspen Institute’s Forum on Women & Girls, "25 Years Beyond Beijing: Measuring Progress for the World’s Women and Girls."

OPPORTUNITIES AND RESOURCES
[link removed]
After a successful first season of Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast ([link removed]) , co-hosts Chevon and Hiba will host the first-ever, Facing Race: A National Virtual Conference, the largest multiracial, inter-generational gathering for organizers, educators, creatives, and other leaders.

November 10-12, 2020
Register here ([link removed]) !

Season 2 will come out later this month. Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast features movement voices, stories, and strategies for racial justice.
[link removed]

RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) has released the RAINN App, which offers self-care tips, a mood-tracker, information about sexual violence, and convenient access to the National Sexual Assault Hotline.

You can download it for free today on Apple ([link removed]) and Android ([link removed]) !

For more information, click here ([link removed]) .

[link removed]

Echoing Green is launching a $50 million Racial Equity Philanthropic Fund, to deepen its investment in driving posicie social change and racial equity.

Click here ([link removed]) for more information!

[link removed]

FreeFrom released a new report,"Survivors Know Best: How to Disrupt Intimate Partner Violence During COVID-19 and Beyond." ([link removed]) It is a first of its kind look at how economic abuse impacts survivors; how COVID has exacerbated survivors’ experiences of abuse; and what type of support survivors say they need now and moving forward.

WEEKLY READ
[link removed]

Thursday was Black Women's Equal Pay Day ([link removed]) , the date that Black women have to work into the new year to catch up to what white, non-Hispanic men earned last year. The 2020 wage gap for Black women compared to non-Hispanic white men is $0.62.

[link removed]

Joe Biden has chosen Sen. Kamala Harris to be his vice-presidential running mate. What does this mean for black and South Asian American women? Read more here ([link removed]) .

[link removed]

Read an op-ed ([link removed]) from Michelle Obama and Melinda Gates about the importance of prioritizing adolescent girls in the COVID-19 response.

[link removed]

Way to Win has released a new report, Beyond Trump: A Theory of Political Transition ([link removed]) , which outlines key components of how we can continue to build power for lasting change.

[link removed]

Black women make up only 2.5% of all active physicians in the United States. Is health care finally ready to face racism and sexism? - Fortune ([link removed])

[link removed]

A group of Democratic women leaders is calling out sexist coverage of female Democratic vice presidential contenders. - CNN ([link removed])

[link removed]

Why are African-American professionals moving abroad and staying there? "To lead and perform without feeling the crushing weight of America’s dysfunctional racial dynamics at every moment." - Fortune ([link removed])

[link removed]

Former Rep. Katie Hill released her new book, She Will Rise: Becoming a Warrior for True Equality, where she discusses her resignation. "I am leaving because of a misogynistic culture that gleefully consumed my naked pictures, capitalized on my sexuality and enabled my abusive ex to continue that abuse, this time with the entire country watching." - NPR ([link removed])

[link removed]

A new report from The New School's Retirement Equity Lab (ReLab) finds that the pandemic is forcing many older U.S. workers into early retirement, with women and men of color exiting the labor force at disproportionately higher rates. - CBS News ([link removed])

[link removed]

Read an opinion piece ([link removed]) about the importance of impact investing to shatter the glass ceiling. "In order to support female talent, all global stakeholders need to develop intentional strategies at greater scale of impact that focus specifically on girls."

[link removed]
WATCH: Plaza Construction in New York is smashing industry stereotypes by recruiting women and using inclusive "at work" signs. Only 9% of construction crews in the U.S. are made up of women.

If you have a story to share, please email Megan at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
GIVE ([link removed])
RENEW/JOIN ([link removed])
VISIT ([link removed])

============================================================

Have any news you would like to share with our Network? We'd love to hear from you. Please email ** [email protected] ([link removed])
.

** Facebook ([link removed])
** Twitter ([link removed])
** Website ([link removed])
Copyright © 2020 Women's Funding Network, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you are a member of Women's Funding Network.

Our mailing address is:
Women's Funding Network
57 Post Street Suite 801
San Francisco, CA 94104

** Add us to your address book ([link removed])

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])

This email was sent to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
why did I get this? ([link removed]) unsubscribe from this list ([link removed]) update subscription preferences ([link removed])
Women's Funding Network . 57 Post St. . Suite 801 . San Francisco, CA 94104 . USA