Kiersten Marek, Author at Philanthropy Women

Gender Equality: It’s Never Been Just for Women and Girls

Editor’s Note: Racial and gender equality won’t happen without men. The following conversation explores ways to help men and boys join movements for gender and racial equality.

Activist and philanthropist Suzanne Lerner, co-founder and CEO of Michael Stars, engages in a candid discussion with Ted Bunch, co-founder of A Call to Men (ACTM), an organization that she has supported for the past five years. ACTM works with the NFL, NBA, NHL, U.S. military, universities, and global corporations to educate and empower men and boys to become stronger allies for gender equality.

*Suzanne Lerner and Ted Bunch discuss the many ways we can empower men and boys to be drivers of racial and gender equality. (Image credit: Suzanne Lerner)*

We’re finally starting to see real money flow from companies and financial institutions to racial and gender equality initiatives.

Janelle Duray on How Women Can Do Nonprofit Leadership Better

Editor’s Note: This interview in our Feminist Giving IRL series features Janelle Duray, Executive Vice President of Jobs for America’s Graduates.

What do you wish you had known when you started out in your profession?

I always had ambitions to be at the table, but growing up on a family farm in rural Northwest Minnesota I didn’t have much exposure to those who had experiences outside of my own. Grad school brought me to D.C. and in my last semester, I started as an intern at Jobs for America’s Graduates, where I remain today (I know – rare these days to stick around so long, especially at the beginning of their careers). In the beginning, I couldn’t believe I was there and kept wondering “How did I get here?” The city, mission, impact, and access to people in power positions. These new experiences had me second-guessing if my voice is valuable. But I knew that I had experiences that could provide insight.

ERA Coalition Delivers Star-Studded Gala in Pivotal Year for Law

The Living Equality Gala, an event organized by the ERA Coalition, started with Broadway singer Rebecca Naomi Jones singing a rousing rendition of “Ain’t it Good.”

“It is in fact really good,” said Caroline Clarke, who, along with Debra Messing, co-hosted the event. “We are all gathered here tonight to celebrate that for the first time in 99 years, our congress has unflinchingly declared that women’s equality is a priority in the United States of America.”

Honorees and hosts as well as audience members sang “Happy Birthday” to Dolores Huerta as part of the Living Equality Gala festivities. (Image Credit: ERA Coalition)

Both Messing and Clarke discussed the pivotal year we are in for the landmark Equal Rights Amendment, with 2021 being seen as the year that the Amendment will finally be added to the U.S. Constitution.

Fiona McKay: Financial Sector Must Evolve to Prioritize Social Returns

Fiona McKay’s website asks a simple but striking question: What would the world look like if more women controlled the money? It’s a question I often find myself pondering, too, as a social worker, a small businesswoman, a parent, and a gender equality activist.

A person with blonde hair

Description automatically generated with low confidence — Fiona McKay, author of the report, Trailblazing Women in Investment. (Image Credit: Fiona McKay)

McKay isn’t just pondering this profound question, though. She’s actively doing research on the way that gender norms shape our experiences, particularly in the financial sector. She is the author of Trailblazing Women in Investment, a new report that discusses gender lens investing and the barriers that women still face with controlling the money in finance.

Felecia Lucky: Without Us, Rural Communities Had No Access to COVID Funds

Recently I had the opportunity to talk with Felecia Lucky, President of the Black Belt Community Foundation in Selma, Alabama, which serves Alabama’s 12 most financially distressed counties.

Felecia Lucky, President, Black Belt Community Foundation (Image Credit: Felecia Lucky)

Black Belt Community Foundation was officially formed in December 2003 after several years of community advocacy for such an institution. It was established to strengthen these 12 rural Alabama communities and enrich them with more community goods like health care, education, youth programs, and economic development.

As President of the Foundation, Lucky shared with me some of the story of the foundation’s growth and evolution. She traced the origins of the foundation back to another woman leader, Dr. Carol Zippert, who had a vision of how to build community resources through a foundation, bringing philanthropy to an area of the country that hadn’t experienced much of it.

Top Tier Feminist Giver Award: Vote Now for F-GIRL Faves!

We are always looking for new ways to spotlight the talented folks who do the hard work of building a more gender equal world. This year, we’ve decided to launch a new contest to do some of that spotlighting. It’s called the Top Tier Feminist Giver Award, and YOU get to vote for the winners!

PW’s Top Tier Feminist Giver Award 2021 allows the public to vote for their favorite leaders in our F-GIRL series. (Image credit: Katmarek.art)

Twenty-four women were featured in Philanthropy Women’s Feminist Giving In Real Life (F-GIRL) series this past year. We’ve decided to nominate all 24 remarkable women leaders for this contest and have voters choose their top three favorites from now until February 28, 2021. The top three vote-getters will be crowned a Top Tier Feminist Giver by Philanthropy Women and will receive $100 each. Winners will be announced on March 1, 2021 — the first day of Women’s History Month.

Philanthropy, You Should Be Ashamed of Your Greed

Every single one of you on this list who is not giving in the double digits as a percentage of your wealth: you should be ashamed.

If everyone on this list gave at 10% or more of their net worth, what a different world we would be living in. If they gave at 20% of their net worth, we might begin to approach a more just society racially and gender-wise. (Image credit: Chronicle of Philanthropy)

I don’t like to use the shame card. I don’t use it much as a parent, and I don’t use it much as a therapist. But when I look at these numbers, all I can think of is how little regard these human beings appear to have for their fellow human beings. And yet they appear to have no shame about it. In fact, they receive a near constant stream of praise and adulation for the teeny tiny bit that they give of their vast wealth.

Equality Is Good For Business and Business Is Good For Equality

Editor’s Note: The following essay on this pivotal moment in the fight to pass the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) is by Suzanne Lerner, co-founder and president of Michael Stars, and vice-chair of the Fund for Women’s Equality.

The Fund for Women’s Equality, of which Suzanne Lerner is vice-chair, is moving swiftly to ensure the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment. In this essay, Lerner describes the strategy we must all support. (Image credit: Krista Niles of www.KristaJoyNiles.com)

Something extraordinary happened involving the ERA at the end of last week—day two of the new administration.

U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.) announced that the first bipartisan legislation they will introduce for the 117th Congress is their joint resolution to remove the deadline to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)

Biden-Harris Comms Team: To End COVID, Tell Americans the Truth

On day two of taking over the White House, the communications team for the Biden-Harris team sat down with Errin Haines, editor-at-large of The 19th. Haines spoke with the four key women leaders who are now shaping the Biden/Harris message for public consumption. And what is the overarching goal of this new group of self-described “qualified, capable, barrier-breaking” women? To tell Americans the truth, with the underlying belief that if more American know the truth, “they can handle anything.”

Jen Psaki, Press Secretary for the Biden Harris Administration, discussing the work of shaping the administration’s message, what their early priorities are, and how having an all-woman comms team might change how the White House works. (Image Credit: The 19th)

Haines held an hour long rap session with White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, and Chief Spokesperson for the Vice President, Symone Sanders.

Founding Mothers Reflect: America Now Free to Be You and Me Again

It’s a herstoric moment. It’s a historic day. It’s the end of the reign of terror that lasted four years under President Donald Trump. It’s the day that a woman of color ascends to one of the highest roles of leadership for our country.

Ms. Foundation Founding Mothers, from left to right: Gloria Steinem, Letty Cottin Pogrebin, Marlo Thomas, Patricia Carbine. (Image credit: Ms. Foundation for Women)

Many women leaders have been inspired to speak today, to tell of how they are experiencing this massive shift in representation for our leadership, which we believe will lead us to becoming a better country. Here are some great responses and reflections from the Founding Mothers of the Ms. Foundation, all incredibly strong and enduring women leaders who capture the monumental nature of this event with their words. They are introduced by Teresa C. Younger, President and CEO of the Ms. Foundation for Women.

Author: Kiersten Marek