I’m writing to you today, John, to share with you what’s next for Women’s March. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ 

I’m writing to you today, John, to share with you what’s next for Women’s March.

For four years, we mobilized, grew our grassroots base, trained Women’s Marchers to organize in their own communities, and voted in record numbers. It is abundantly clear that the vision and the work of progressive women — above all, Black and Brown women — were strategically decisive in defeating Trump and winning the Georgia Senate runoffs. Together, we have built a feminist force made to last.

There’s still so much more work ahead of us and the first 100 days of Biden’s administration in particular is a major opportunity to pass transformative policies for women. Especially as we continue to deal with the crises of COVID-19, mass unemployment, and the rise of disinformation — it’s critical that our movement keeps fighting together for the change we envision.

So today, we’re excited to share with you our Strategy Memo for 2021. We know that most organizations keep this information private, but you’re an important part of this work, John. We want to let you know what we’re planning to accomplish because that will define our work together.

When you’re done reading our 2021 Strategy Memo below, we hope you’ll make a donation to fund these plans. We have a critical fundraising deadline this Sunday to make sure we have the resources to enact these plans.

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THE CHALLENGES WE FACE:

Our work starts with undoing the damaging policies from the past four years, supporting those who have been hurt the most by the Trump administration, and addressing the disparities that have been exacerbated by the pandemic. Here are some of the key challenges we want to address in our work:

• More than two million women are out of work since the start of the pandemic, in part because they work in service industries that vanished due to COVID.

• Four times as many women as men left the workforce in September because of an inadequate child care system for working mothers.

• There is a dire need for reform in our political systems. Now that Democrats control the White House, Senate, and the House, we have a rare and important opportunity to pass bold action on issues we care about, like climate justice, racial justice, expanding voting rights, and more. But building our feminist future can't happen with Mitch McConnell's obstructionist filibuster in the way, so we must abolish it once and for all.

• COVID has also laid bare our broken health care system. Over 500,000 Americans have died in this pandemic and our already fractured health care system is breaking under pressure. The Trump administration stripped health care from women by preventing Title X funding, reinstating the global gag rule, and taking away ACA provisions that provide health care to women. And even before the pandemic, the U.S. already had one of the highest rates of deaths related to pregnancy and childbirth relative to other developed countries, especially among women of color.

• The internet has become a political battleground, and women are losing. Women, and women of color especially, are being targeted by misinformation and disinformation at alarming rates. We need to make online spaces a place where information is accurate and women are safe.

• Rising up against the forces of white supremacy in our country. On January 6, a violent mob of white-supremacist insurrectionists took over the Capitol. It was a vivid reminder that although Trump is out of office, the white supremacist forces that backed his administration are still active.

WHAT WE LEARNED IN 2020 AND OUR STRATEGY GOING FORWARD:

2020 was a year of great upheaval and pain for so many. Even as we organized two marches to fight Trumpism, we also stepped up to lead conversations around COVID when uncertainty and fear dominated this country. Along with partners like Planned Parenthood, the American Federation of Teachers, National Nurses United, MomsRising and more, we provided expert guidance and support for women across a variety of areas of concern. Over 160,000 of you joined us for our Feminist Futures Political Education Series as we faced issues of white supremacy and feminism, solidarity for non-Black people of color and healing for Black women, among others.

In the month before the general election, Women’s Marchers sent over 13 million text messages to women voters, engaged over 25,000 volunteers, made more than 30,000 phone calls, trained over 650 women to combat disinformation online, and organized two national marches for tens of thousands with a combined 800+ sister marches across the country. We have been an on-ramp for new activists — millions of women who are angry, fed-up, and ready to demand change.

By harnessing the power of everyday women, we can continue taking on big fights — and winning. These are the four main program areas we’re investing in to do that:

Grassroots Mobilization

• There’s no such thing as an off year in politics. We need to train organizers and advocate for change all-year round to make sure our progressive momentum stays strong. Being prepared is key to making sure we win the next election cycle and continue pushing for bold change.

• Connect women together through our Women2Women Organizing Circles so they can fight together at the local level.

Political Education

• Deepen the political knowledge of our grassroots base around key questions at the intersection of racial, gender, and economic justice, in order to shift political discourse and strengthen our impact.

• Build on our cutting-edge work to combat digital disinformation, with a special focus on rapid-response advocacy.

• Expand programs like our webinar series to continue training and engaging everyday activists like you.

• Educate folks about critical issues through high-impact media and ad campaigns.

Movement-building and Leadership Development

• Build grassroots infrastructure and leadership to increase the civic power of everyday women and strengthen capacity to win key goals.

• Continue to strengthen and expand our role as a vital on-ramp into activism for everyday women, providing the skills, training, and opportunities we need to serve as effective agents of change.

• Providing the support and infrastructure for robust distributed women-to-women organizing.

Collaboration

• Strengthen the role of Women's March as a strategic leader, mobilizer, and collaborator in the gender justice space and broader progressive ecosystem.

• Continue to prioritize working in partnership with organizations that share our values and goals, especially to organize against white supremacy.

• Work to advance long-term collective interests over short-term organizational ones, directing resources and skills wherever needed to promote our goals.

This work will be built on the organizing infrastructure we have already established through programs like Women2Women Circles, our Feminist Organizing courses, and Digital Defenders.

KEY POLICY GOALS:

By leveraging our grassroots power in these programs, we hope to move the needle on some of the most pressing issues of our time. This includes:

• Implement a Marshall Plan for Moms: Caregivers need relief as women bear the brunt of multiple crises of childcare, lost jobs and unseen labor in the midst of a pandemic. Mothers need support to provide for their families, return to work and thrive.

• Revive infrastructure: So that women can thrive at home, at work, in their communities, and with their families. We need to rebuild civic infrastructure and fortify the idea of democracy.

• Economic equity: Women’s March will fight to make sure that the wealthy pay their fair share and that long-overdue policies like pay equity and workplace equity, especially for Black and Brown women, are enacted.

• Fight Disinformation: COVID increased the amount of time we spend online exponentially. Women’s March will work to build safer online communities that are equipped to be resistant to disinformation, and will help others build the same resilience.

• Filibuster reform: We need dramatic reforms to Congress to ensure that it isn’t the place where progress goes to die. We will work to end the filibuster in the Senate.

• Cancel student debt: Enable women to pursue higher education without the burden of never-ending debt, especially for those who pursue advanced degrees.

Wins in these areas will ensure that our government values the worth of women’s lives and the worth of our work.

We know that these plans are ambitious — but that’s exactly what this moment calls for as our country faces some of the biggest crises in our history.

Together, we can continue expanding our multi-racial movement to tip the scales towards a more progressive future that serves everyone across race, place, and difference. If you want to support this work and bring our 2021 Strategy to life, make a donation now to help us reach our February fundraising goal this Sunday.

DONATE $3 →

Together,

Rachel

Rachel Carmona
Executive Director
Women's March