Black Women Are Saving the World. Let’s Fund Their Efforts.

PUBLISHED 8/27/2024 by

(This essay is part of a Women & Democracy package focused on who’s funding the women and LGBTQ people on the frontlines of democracy. We’re manifesting a new era for philanthropy—one that centers feminism. The need is real: Funding for women and girls amounts to less than 2 percent of all philanthropic giving; for women of color, it’s less than 1 percent. Explore the “Feminist Philanthropy Is Essential to Democracy” collection.)

Black women have been at the forefront of social and political movements, tirelessly advocating for gender and racial justice. Despite their invaluable contributions, they face systemic exclusion and underfunding.

There is an urgent need for greater investment in Black women’s organizations and leadership, emphasizing the transformative impact when Black women are properly resourced and respected as visionaries.

Democracy Is a Set of Complex Questions of Power. Our Nonprofit Structures Our Funding Accordingly.

PUBLISHED 8/27/2024 by

As racial and gender inequality persist, the promise of American democracy will remain a promise unfulfilled.

(This essay is part of a Women & Democracy package focused on who’s funding the women and LGBTQ people on the frontlines of democracy. We’re manifesting a new era for philanthropy—one that centers feminism. The need is real: Funding for women and girls amounts to less than 2 percent of all philanthropic giving; for women of color, it’s less than 1 percent. Explore the “Feminist Philanthropy Is Essential to Democracy” collection.)

The Future of Feminist Funding: It’s Not Just How Much We Get. It’s *How* We Get It.

PUBLISHED 8/27/2024 by and

This essay is part of a Women & Democracy package focused on who’s funding the women and LGBTQ people on the frontlines of democracy. We’re manifesting a new era for philanthropy—one that centers feminism. The need is real: Funding for women and girls amounts to less than 2 percent of all philanthropic giving; for women of color, it’s less than 1 percent. Explore the “Feminist Philanthropy Is Essential to Democracy” collection.

There has never been a more crucial time for envisioning a new philanthropy. Around the world, anti-rights movements are on the rise. In many places, this concerted effort to dismantle the hard-won gains global feminists have made is succeeding.

The anti-rights movement is incredibly well funded. In comparison, the percentage of global philanthropic giving that goes to organizations focused on women, girls or gender-nonconforming people is miniscule.

We must rise to the challenge this new world presents. That means more money—but it also means better money. Feminist movements need our partnership, as we need theirs, and together we can co-create a more just and equitable world.

Feminist Philanthropy Can Do More to Save Democracy—Here’s How.

PUBLISHED 8/27/2024 by

In the push for stronger democracies and gender justice, there is a missing element: a full-throated feminist philanthropy movement.

Feminist philanthropy abides by three distinct tenets: respecting local contexts and knowledge; providing long-term, flexible funding to women’s rights organizations working on systemic change; and supporting women’s leadership at all levels.

(This essay is part of a Women & Democracy package focused on who’s funding the women and LGBTQ people on the frontlines of democracy. We’re manifesting a new era for philanthropy—one that centers feminism. The need is real: Funding for women and girls amounts to less than 2 percent of all philanthropic giving; for women of color, it’s less than 1 percent. Explore the “Feminist Philanthropy Is Essential to Democracy” collection.)

Tim Walz’s DNC Speech Was a Masculinity-Themed Populist Pep Talk

PUBLISHED 8/26/2024 by

Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz introduced himself to the country with a rousing acceptance speech at the DNC. He used blunt, evocative language as one might expect from a man who’s been a high school teacher, Army master sergeant, football coach and politician.

Once he had established himself as a powerful, confident man and assertive leader, Walz was ready to pivot to Kamala Harris’ qualities of leadership and why he supports her, helping her to rebuild her identity as a tough prosecutor. Perhaps more than anything, this is the role that Walz plays on the Democratic ticket. His very presence and persona says to men—including some fairly traditional white men in the Midwestern battleground states—that Kamala Harris is someone they, too, can and should support. 

How Abortion Protects Us From the Choices We Can’t Make

PUBLISHED 8/26/2024 by

I was thrilled to hear DNC speakers say the word “abortion,” speaking up on behalf of reproductive freedom. But I tensed up whenever someone spoke in terms of protecting women’s “decisions” about pregnancy.

There is a lot about pregnancy that happens in the absence of any decision at all, or in spite of the decisions people make—like an ectopic pregnancy, or a spontaneous miscarriage, or pregnancy as a result of sexual abuse. That’s why we must ensure that the law, something we can control, does not cruelly add to families’ experiences of powerlessness, pain and loss.

‘Suffs’ Celebrates 51 Years of Women’s Equality Day

PUBLISHED 8/26/2024 by

This year we commemorate the 51st anniversary of Women’s Equality Day with perhaps more optimistic urgency than ever before.

Amid the buzz, there has been an overt, palpable melding of pop culture and politics. That includes on Broadway, where the two-time Tony Award winning show, Suffs, tells the story of the fight for women’s suffrage—and all the humanity and perfectly imperfect organizing strategies of the cadre of activists who won the right to vote for women—in song.  

How Kamala Harris Is Changing the 2024 Electorate

PUBLISHED 8/26/2024 by

Vice President Kamala Harris has changed the face of the upcoming presidential election, but she also appears to be changing the face of this year’s electorate.

A pattern has existed for decades: When Democrats win the presidency, it is usually because of their support among women. With Harris in the race, the electorate is likely to be younger, more female and more supportive of abortion rights than it would have been with President Biden as the Democratic nominee, polls have found. In the eight days after Biden withdrew from the race and tapped Harris, the motivation to vote among people in five battleground states jumped 42 points. The shift in enthusiasm was even greater among women, but Harris maintained Biden’s level of 37 percent support among men too.

We Must Fight Back Against the Supreme Court’s Attacks on Women’s Equality

PUBLISHED 8/26/2024 by

Monday, Aug. 26, marks Women’s Equality Day 2024. This annual celebration commemorates the certification of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. It’s a reminder that the founding promise of equality in our Constitution was not always available to everyone—and that women have had to fight to be treated as equals to men. That is particularly true for women of color, many of whom could not vote even for decades following passage of the 19th Amendment due to racial restrictions in voting laws.