We’re taking a look back at top press highlights from the Women’s Funding Network in early 2022. These key insights and opinions uplifted topics such as equal pay, equal representation, and supported the efforts of women’s funds and foundations across the globe responding in real time to the crisis in Ukraine.
ICYMI, read through our top press hits for the latest from WFN and our members.
Narrowing of state, U.S. gender wage gaps slow; may widen post-pandemic
“The most recent research has shown that women in the labor force are at a 33-year low following the pandemic,” said Elizabeth Barajas-Román, president and CEO of the Women’s Funding Network. “At this pace, we won’t close that wage gap until 2157.”
Women of the Year: When COVID-19 hit Hawaiian women hardest, Leela Bilmes Goldstein stepped up
Who paved the way for you? “I am so fortunate and honored to be on the board of the Women’s Funding Network,” said Leela Bilmes Goldstein.
Is It 2157 Yet? How Businesses and Policymakers Can Accelerate the Timeline for Equal Pay
A lawyer and organizer working to uphold the human rights of women, children, workers, Latinx communities, and immigrants, Mónica is the founder of Justice for Migrant Women and Co-Founder of both the National Farmworkers Women’s Alliance and The Latinx House.
Verónica Colón Rosario: Unique Challenges for New Women’s Fund
Editor’s Note: This interview is a part of Philanthropy Women’s Feminist Giving IRL series, and features Veronica Colón Rosario, Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Women’s Foundation, one of WFN’s newest members.
Ukraine Donations Go Further and Faster with Women’s Funds
This joint op-ed from WFN President and CEO Elizabeth Barajas-Román and Alexandra Garita, Executive Director of Prospera International Network of Women’s Funds, makes the case: financial support of women and children in Ukraine goes further and moves faster with local Women’s funds.
This story was also re-printed via Ms. Magazine.
Why Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Locs Are About More Than Just Hair
WFN Senior Manager for Policy and Programs, Mirenda Meghelli — a fellow lawyer and Black mother — reflects via Oprah Daily on the impacts of having a role model like Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson with natural hair both in the courtroom and in life.
Let’s Celebrate Black Women After Black History Month Ends by Giving Them More Funding
Less than .02% of more than $67 billion in charitable donations is earmarked for causes that support Black women and girls. At the close of Black History Month, WFN President and CEO Elizabeth Barajas-Román calls on philanthropic leaders to start digging deeper no matter the month.
Without access to safe abortion, Florida women and their families will take an economic hit
This joint op-ed between Marya Meyer, Interim ED of
The Women’s Fund of Miami, and WFN President and CEO Elizabeth Barajas-Román underscores the dire need for reproductive justice. Never before have abortion protections in Florida been so endangered, and never before have have they been this necessary and urgent.
Abortion rights funds brace for impact ahead of court ruling
“Elizabeth Barajas-Román, who heads an alliance of more than 100 funds and foundations called Women’s Funding Network, said many donors have been talking behind the scenes about how to best move money. Abortion rights supporters say the best funding paths involve providing direct funding for women in the short term while also funding advocacy and other efforts to change laws over time.”
This story was also syndicated via the Seattle Times.
Midlands Voices: The economic case for why Nebraska needs abortion access
This joint op-ed between Jo Giles, Executive Director of the Women’s Fund of Omaha, and WFN President and CEO Elizabeth Barajas-Román makes the economic case for why Nebraska needs abortion access.