#EmbraceAmbition Convenes to Challenge Gender Norms

The Tory Burch Foundation, a  nonprofit organization empowering women,  is bringing together leaders, activists, and performers for an event billed as The Summit: Challenging Stereotypes and Creating New Norms. The Embrace Ambition Summit (#EmbraceAmbition) will be held on March 5 in New York at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall.

#EmbraceAmbition
The #EmbraceAmbition Summit features an array of leaders and speakers discussing how to challenge gender norms and open up new options for women and girls. (Image Credit: #EmbraceAmbition Summit)

Speakers will include:

  • Tory Burch – Executive Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of Tory Burch LLC, an American lifestyle brand, and Founder of the Tory Burch Foundation;
  • Gloria Steinem;
  • Yola – Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter and musician from Bristol, England;
  • Ashley Judd – Author, actor, leader of the #MeToo movement and founding member of Time’s Up;
  • Tina Tchen – President & CEO of Time’s Up, and formerly executive director of the White House Council on Women and Girls;
  • Sylvia Earle – Founder of the marine environmental organization Mission Blue;
  • Claudette Colvin – One of two survivors of the Browder v. Gayle U.S. Supreme Court Case that ended bus segregation in Montgomery, Alabama;
  • Diane von Furstenberg – Fashion designer, philanthropist and Founder and Chair of her eponymous company;
  • Mellody Hobson – Co-CEO and President of Ariel Investments;
  • Deja Foxx – Founder of @GenZGirlGang, an online community of womxn; and
  • Anne Finucane – Vice-Chair at Bank of America, and Board Chair of B of A’s European Bank.

The Tory Burch Foundation-convened Summit will include stories and conversations featuring female leaders from Hollywood, business, science, entrepreneurship and youth movements who will tackle “challenging stereotypes and creating new norms.” The all-day summit will include performances, including short stories, spoken word, and music.

Attendees will be able to connect with women-owned businesses at the entrepreneur marketplace, visit the Tory Burch Foundation pop-up shop, and network with other attendees. Applications to attend have closed, but anyone can sign up for the free live stream of the event.

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CONVICTED! Weinstein Trial Shows Success of Funding #MeToo

UPDATE: Harvey Weinstein has been found guilty of rape in landmark case for the #MeToo era. Weinstein was convicted of third degree rape of Jessica Mann. The jury in New York also convicted Weinstein, 67, of third-degree rape of Jessica Mann, a former aspiring actress. He was also convicted of criminal sexual act in the first degree against Mimi Haley, a former “Project Runway” production assistant. Read more here.

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Harvey Weinstein heads into court. (Photo Credit: AP, Michael Owens)

(Original article published February 13, 2020) Harvey Weinstein is now on trial, and all the world is watching to see how far the women survivors can get in their pursuit of justice. Women in philanthropy, in particular, are paying close attention to the Weinstein trial, many of them commenting regularly on social media about it, and offering support and thanks for the bravery of the women testifying. There also appears to be a surge in funding for initiatives that get women’s voices on the record about sexual assault and harassment, particularly in the film industry. All of these events are evidence of #MeToo’s indelible imprint on civil society.

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Reviewing the Weinstein Trial: Molineux Witnesses and More

Feb 18 (Reuters) – A Manhattan jury’s verdict in the sexual assault trial of former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein may well hang on the testimony of three women whose accusations were not part of the underlying criminal case.

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Film producer Harvey Weinstein’s tie flutters in the breeze as he arrives at New York Criminal Court during his ongoing sexual assault trial in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., February 14, 2020. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

Deliberations began on Tuesday in the case of Weinstein, 67, who pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting former production assistant Mimi Haleyi and raping Jessica Mann, a onetime aspiring actress.

During the six-week trial, the three other women – costume designer Dawn Dunning, model Tarale Wulff and actress Lauren Young – testified they were enticed into meeting Weinstein for professional reasons and then groped or raped.

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$1K Scholarships for 10 Young Women to Learn Esports Trade

(Feb. 11, 2020) Today the 1,000 Dreams Fund (1DF), a national nonprofit that provides micro-grants that support the dreams of talented young women, announces the expansion of the BroadcastHER Academy (powered by Allied Esports & HyperX) into the first-ever esports and gaming fellowship program for high potential women interested in pursuing careers in the industry – whether in-front or behind the camera. Partners include premier esports entertainment company Allied Esports and HyperX Gaming.

The 1,000 Dreams Fund is providing ten $1,000 scholarships for young women to learn about esports.

“In order for the esports and gaming industry to continue to thrive, a diverse and talented workforce is needed – and women must have a seat at the table,” says 1,000 Dreams Fund Founder and CEO Christie Garton. “We believe that the Academy, with further investment and support by our partners, can become a talent pool for our partners and the industry, while providing a clearer pathway for women who want to thrive in the industry.”

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Technovation Girls Tackles Social Change with 2020 Coding Contest

On January 14, Technovation celebrated the official start of the 2020 Technovation Girls Challenge. The annual competition teaches teams of girls and nonbinary-identifying young people the basics of coding as they work together to build a mobile app that solves a problem within their communities.

Technovation Girls connects young women (ages 10-18), nonbinary, transgender, and gender-nonconforming individuals with coding curriculum and mentorship as they work together to tackle social change with mobile apps. (Image Credit: Technovation)

Over twelve weeks, students will study Technovation’s coding-focused curriculum as they combine their efforts to imagine, design, and build a functional mobile app that targets common issues like domestic violence, assault, climate change, and bullying. At the end of the program, an online panel of judges selects 50 Finalists to present at the annual Technovation World Summit, held this year at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in August.

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NoVo Foundation Announces $10 Million in Life Story Grants

(Jan 28, 2020) The NoVo Foundation is honored to announce the recipients of The Life Story Grants: a $10 million, three-year investment in fifteen projects that open exit ramps and close on-ramps to commercial sexual exploitation across the U.S. 

The Life Story Grants follows the launch of The Life Story: Moments of Change, a survivor-centered examination of 13 moments that can shape — or change — the trajectory of how girls and women enter the sex trade — also referred to as “the Life”.

life story

NoVo remains committed to deepening our understanding of systemic barriers faced by survivors and lifting up the work that will be a catalyst for change. The Life Story Grants aims to support and expand the efforts of underserved leaders across the country and foster collaboration among national and community organizations that seek to address the short-term needs while supporting long-term solutions. Funding for these projects will address how systems such as foster care, healthcare, immigration, housing and law enforcement can shift and respond to survivors and their communities. 

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Vital Voices Teams Up with wiseHer to Grow Women in Business Globally

(February 4, 2020) wiseHer and Vital Voices Collaborate to Accelerate Impact of Women Entrepreneurs Across the Globe

New partnership provides personalized advice and financial support to Vital Voices’ network of social entrepreneurs and women business leaders, expands wiseHer’s global reach

Vital Voices and wiseHer have announced a new collaboration aimed at helping women business owners with mentoring and professional development. (Image Credit: wiseHer)

Framingham, MA: wiseHer, a female-founded global knowledge marketplace that helps women business owners and professionals advance through 1:1 access to expert advice, is proud to announce a new partnership with Vital Voices, a global movement that invests in women leaders who are solving the world’s greatest challenges.

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Melinda Gates Wants Cities to Get Gender.Equality.Tech

New City-Based Initiative to Increase Women in Tech in the U.S. Kicks Off in Chicago

January 28, 2020 Pivotal Ventures, together with Break Through Tech, SecondMuse, and several leading social organizations, announced today a new initiative, Gender Equality in Tech (GET) Cities, designed to accelerate the representation and leadership of women in tech through the development of inclusive tech hubs across the U.S. With a $50 million investment from Pivotal Ventures, the initiative will focus on three U.S. cities over five years – kicking-off in Chicago in January 2020. 

An image of Chicago with words typed over which read Gender. Equality. Tech.
The GET Cities project will invest $50 million in three cities over five years. (Image credit: Pivotal Ventures)

As local tech ecosystems grow, GET Cities looks to engage students from the first college course, to women in the current workforce, to female founders and investors. The initiative aims to create collaborative models that can be replicated in other growing innovation hubs by bringing together key stakeholders to invest and align resources and create shared goals for women in tech across academia, non-profit, government, venture capital, and business sectors in each selected city. The goal is to maximize the impact of local women-in-tech efforts, crowd in other funders, and foster local coordination that can accelerate the pace of change, nationally.

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Jeannie Sager is Women’s Philanthropy Institute’s New Director

The Women’s Philanthropy Institute at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at IUPUI has named Jeannie Sager director. She previously served as director of philanthropy at the Indiana University Health Foundation.

jeannie sager
Jeannie Sager, Incoming Director of the Women’s Philanthropy Institute at the University of Indiana Lilly School of Philanthropy. (Photo credit: WPI)

An established philanthropy leader, Sager brings a wealth of expertise and more than 25 years of nonprofit leadership and development experience in a variety of fields, including higher education, independent schools and healthcare. She has held key executive positions at several large nonprofit organizations.

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WFN Announces Leadership Transition as CEO Steps Down

WOMEN’S FUNDING NETWORK BOARD OF DIRECTORS ANNOUNCES LEADERSHIP TRANSITION 

San Francisco, Calif. ― After six years at the helm of one of the oldest women’s philanthropy organizations in the world, Cynthia Nimmo will be stepping down from her role as President and CEO of the Women’s Funding Network (WFN), effective Feb. 17, Julie Castro Abrams, Governance Chair of the organization’s Board of Directors announced today. 

women's funding network
Elizabeth Barajas-Roman will be the incoming President and CEO of the Women’s Funding Network (Image Credit: WFN)

“I am so proud of what we have accomplished at WFN,” Nimmo said. “We are on a strong trajectory for continued growth and expansion. After 13 years with the organization, the last six as President and CEO, I believe that this is the right moment to create space for new leadership to build off of this momentum and take WFN into 2020 and beyond.”

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