How to Reach Critical Mass for Gender Equality Movements

A remarkable piece recently published in Time Magazine discusses how the “structures that enable sexism are exploding,” with every day seeming to bring new bombshells. Today’s bombshells were Matt Lauer and Garrison Keillor (yes, it’s apparently true). All of this has been made possible by a culture that is finally starting to open up about the nearly ubiquitous harassment of women happening in our homes, schools and businesses.

The Time Magazine article, by Jay Newton Small, explains that when women reach 20 to 30% of the critical mass in an industry, change starts to happen. Women begin to take the risk of revealing their #MeToo stories. Men begin to talk about how they felt pressured to fulfill gender norms with aggressive sexual behavior. People of all genders begin to open up about how their lives were impacted by sexual trauma.

We are moving toward that point in our culture. This is a good thing, because we can evolve toward healthier relationships and less rigid gender norms. We can begin to make real systems change for gender equality, sector by sector, as different parts of society become more gender equal. But this won’t happen without the intentional effort of progressive movements to provide better news and information.

Photo by Samantha Sophia on Unsplash

This is where Philanthropy Women comes in, along with a host of other micropublishers online who are amplifying important information that the mainstream media ignores, suppresses, or just doesn’t get. Philanthropy Women is providing critical news and information to a sector that needs more attention — leaders who are working to make our country more gender equal and inclusive. Many of these leaders have been doing this work quietly for decades, and are now beginning to realize the importance of sharing their vision and strategy.

We want to amplify those leaders in women’s philanthropy, and catalyze new conversations on how to reach critical mass for gender equality. We  want to get more men involved in and talking about feminist philanthropy. We want to host more conversations like the #FundWomen Twitter chats we did recently with WomenThrive and the Women Donors Network, that brought in new voices and helped enrich the conversation in the women’s funding arena.

But we can’t do this without support. We have some funding to keep going, but not enough to grow to the next level. If we are able to raise more for this coming year, we will be able to do more — hire more writers, produce more unique content, host more conversations and events. By funding Philanthropy Women, you are helping knowledge about progressive women’s philanthropy grow, which helps make the movement more powerful and more accessible to others.

We are not a 501(c)3, but we do accept donations from readers and supporters. If you are interested in being a lead sponsor of Philanthropy Women, please contact us.

Related:

Helen LaKelly Hunt: Feminism and Giving in New Relationship Culture

Ten Companies Join UN Foundation to Improve Women’s Lives

World Bank Makes 10 Grants for Preventing Gender Based Violence

Author: Kiersten Marek

Kiersten Marek, LICSW, is the founder of Philanthropy Women. She practices clinical social work and writes about how women donors and their allies are advancing social change.

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