Author: Marcia Cone

Marcia Coné, PhD, is Chief Strategist and responsible for all Women's Funding Network programs and initiatives. Prior to WFN, Dr. Coné led the Women’s Fund of Rhode Island for more than a decade, during which she developed and spearheaded the organization’s flagship programs and strategic investments. The Fund's transformation to a cutting-edge gender equality think-tank, continuously advocating for policy changes with a gender lens, resulted in more than two dozen legislative wins. In addition, the Fund produced reliable research on women’s representation across all sectors and provided policy recommendations designed to promote equity and strengthen the local economy. Under her leadership, through its Women’s Policy Institute, Women's Fund of Rhode Island led the state advocacy for paid family leave (Temporary Caregiver Insurance), positioning Rhode Island as a national leader in family and workplace policies.

How Women’s Funds Accelerate Gender Equality with 2Gen Approach

2Gen Approach
The Aspen Institute developed a 2Gen approach to improving the lives of women and girls, which the Women’s Funding Network uses to create a cohort of women’s funds applying this approach. (Image Credit: The Aspen Institute)

Editor’s Note: Women’s Funding Network Chief Strategist Marcia Coné is passionate about the Two-Generation (2Gen) Approach to breaking the cycle of poverty for women and their families. Here, she talks about WFN’s efforts to support its members in implementing the 2Gen philosophy and theoretical framework, as well as the work of the 2Gen Advocacy Cohort and their recent wins.

What is a 2Gen Approach?

When we think about poverty, programs are typically targeted to the needs of different members within the family. For example, you might have a child in a Head Start Program, while the parent is getting job training. This is helpful, but the 2Gen approach—which was developed by the Aspen Institute—looks at ways of addressing the family as a whole system and meeting their individual needs simultaneously, through multi-generational programming and policies. Two-generation approaches draw from findings that the well-being of parents is crucial to their children’s well-being and conversely, parents’ ability to succeed in school and in the workplace is substantially affected by how well their children are doing. 

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