Welcome to the weekly newsletter from the Women's Funding Network.

WFN WEEKLY NEWS // APRIL 5, 2022

From the Desk of Mirenda Meghelli

Dear Colleagues:

As the new Senior Manager of Policy and Programs here at the Women’s Funding Network, I am closely following the latest developments from the Senate Judiciary Committee. Yesterday, after a bipartisan group of senators voted to advance her nomination, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson moved one step closer [[link removed]] to being confirmed as the first Black woman Supreme Court justice. As Sherilynn Ifill wrote in her NY Times op-ed [[link removed]], “Judge Jackson comes with unassailable traditional credentials that rival those of the chief justice with whom she will serve.”

Judge Jackson is more than qualified to be confirmed as our next Supreme Court Justice. She would bring her impressive academic and professional experience along with her important lived experience to the Court at a critical time in the nation’s legal history. Her confirmation would be of symbolic importance.

As a fellow lawyer and Black mother, I am deeply moved by what this nomination means for my 5-month-old daughter, Leila, who shares a name with KBJ’s daughter. If Judge Jackson is confirmed, my daughter will not experience a reality where the highest court in the country never had a justice that looked like her.

To be clear, there are many reasons I am excited about the possibility of Judge Jackson’s confirmation, and this includes her hairstyle. Judge Jackson wears a natural hairstyle even though Black women, girls, and people have experienced discrimination for that choice. In fact, the CROWN Act, legislation that bans natural hair discrimination in schools and workplaces, only just passed the House [[link removed]] last month. Before that, in 2019, California became the first state to pass its own version of the CROWN Act, which stands for “Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair.” Since then, over a dozen states have passed similar legislation, including Massachusetts [[link removed]] – passing through the House and Senate just days ago.

Black women, girls, and people across the globe deserve the opportunity to exist in their homes, schools, and the workplace, free from discrimination due to how they look or choose to style their hair.

My latest op-ed featured in Oprah Daily touches on just that: Why Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Locs Are About More Than Just Hair. [[link removed]] Representation matters, and it’s a fight that continues to this day.

I look forward to the historic confirmation of Judge Jackson – and to a world where my daughter can style her hair in whichever way she chooses.

In Solidarity,

Mirenda Meghelli

Senior Manager of Policy and Programs

Women’s Funding Network

Read Mirenda’s Op-ed Featured in Oprah Daily [[link removed]] The WFN Membership Renewal Period

Draws to a Close

Our 2022 membership drive has ended. Thank you to everyone in this great alliance of gender justice advocates and funders, including the individuals and organizations below.

Araceli CamposEquality FundKatie SpencerNational Organisation for Women in Sport Physical Activity and RecreationThe Women's Fund of Winston-SalemRoslyn Dawson ThompsonTuti ScottVictorian Women's Benevolent Trust

If you haven't renewed your membership yet, please be in touch [mailto:[email protected]].

Learn More about our Newest Members [[link removed]] WFM Member News

Urgent Action Fund has used the outpouring of donations and support [[link removed]] to make rapid response grants that support feminist, trans, and non-binary activists in Ukraine with urgent needs and rising security concerns. These grants support evacuation efforts, improved access to resources, medication and security for those who have chosen to stay in Ukraine, and have helped underserved and underrepresented communities, including transgender people, LBGTQI communities, people of color, Roma communities, and others. To learn more about how UAF plans to continue to respond to the changing situation in Ukraine, and the urgent needs of feminist activists, click here [[link removed]].

With its aspirations to become a middle-income country by 2030 and a high-income country by 2050, Cambodia has an outsized need for up-to-date research data to anchor effective policymaking and spur development. But the nascent research culture in this nation of 16 million is still at an early stage compared to its neighbors. The Asia Foundation examines these four key challenges faced by women researchers in Cambodia today [[link removed]], and introduces The Asia Foundation’s SheThinks Network, a project to support women researchers.

Donna Haghighat, CEO of Women's Fund of Western Massachusetts, is featured in Business West, as well as the Greater Springfield Women’s Economic Security Hub in a recent interview: What Are The Barriers To Women’s Economic Security? [[link removed]]

The Women’s Fund Miami-Dade just released its updated Gender Equity Dashboard [[link removed]], highlighting the needs of women and girls at the intersection of gender, race and ethnicity. The Gender Equity Dashboard highlights select metrics that describe conditions for women and girls in Miami-Dade County across their four key focus areas: Economic Mobility, Leadership, Health and Well-being, and Freedom From Violence. This update presents the established metrics through a racial and ethnic lens, includes new Maternal and Infant Health information and captures elected representation at the local, state and federal levels.

At the end of 2021, Women Win launched a Multimedia Contest celebrating all the girls, women and non-binary people we serve with a photo and video contest to make their lives more visible. In this exhibition, you will find the winners and finalists of the contest. To view the exhibition, click here [[link removed]].

To celebrate Women's History Month, The New Hampshire Women's Foundation did an amazing twitter takeover of Representative Chris Pappas, who serves New Hampshire's 1st Congressional District. Check out their thread here [[link removed]] and then contact your own local representatives!

Opportunities and Resources

On International Women’s Day, OutRight Action International launched LBQConnect [[link removed]], a new global feminist program for lesbian, bisexual & queer activists (open to all LBQ women, cis & trans, & to non-binary people who relate to an LBQ identity). The program aims to build a strong LBQ movement to advance human rights for all queer & trans people & to improve the lives of all women.

Vital Voices and Women’s Earth Alliance came together to create Climate and Gender Action Toolkit. Listen to their virtual forum [[link removed]], where they discuss the immediate and urgent need to sustain women-led movements for climate justice.

United Philanthropy Forum has released a new report, The COVID-19 Crucible [[link removed]], that documents the many extraordinary ways in which philanthropy-serving organizations responded to the pandemic and are adapting in a new landscape.

The United Philanthropy Forum and The Council on Foundations asks everyone to participate in the 2022 Grantmaker Salary and Benefits Survey [[link removed]] [[link removed]](GSB). Since 1980, the Council's Grantmaker Salary and Benefits Survey has provided the sector with the most comprehensive data on staff composition and compensation in the United States. As in years past, all survey participants will receive a free copy of the full report and key findings and access to the online benchmarking tool. The survey will be open until May 10, 2022.

What We're Reading

Five more women, including Bessie Coleman and Maria Tallchief, will appear on US quarters next year.

— C [[link removed]] NN [[link removed]]

Why We Should Empower Women Entrepreneurs

— F [[link removed]] orbes [[link removed]]

Feminist experiences of organizing politically across virtual worlds — AWID [[link removed]]

Early puberty cases have surged during covid, doctors say — The Fuller Project [[link removed]]

What We're Watching

Donor Direct Action would like to thank contributors to the Emergency Fund for Ukraine. 100% of the funds they have received have already reached Ukraine. Watch this video to see how your support is helping.

Have a story to share?

Email Ellen at [[email protected]]

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