In celebration of Women’s History month, and to honor and recognize the work of thousands of Women United members globally, the Women United Global Leadership Council invites you to join us in our commitment to advance gender equity.
Advancing gender equity and equality is a matter of human rights. As women who work in communities and corporate offices across the globe seeking to make lasting, positive change through the United Way, the Women United Global Leadership Council has committed to advancing gender equity as our central platform.
We represent more than 60,000 Women United members, working with United Way in almost 200 communities to make a difference – whether that’s through charitable giving, volunteering or advocacy.
We believe by focusing our gender equity efforts in the areas of economic security and education, two interconnected domains deeply rooted in United Way’s work, we can make progress for women and girls everywhere.
Economic Security
Women spend 3.2 times as many hours as men on unpaid care work and the burnout for many women has almost doubled in the past year with one in three women having considered leaving the workforce or downshifting their career.
For years, Women United groups across the U.S. have supported childcare programs, volunteered as mentors, and advocated at the state and federal level for fair and flexible leave policies. This year we will continue this work and as a Global Leadership Council, we will also work with partners to offer allyship training for Women United members so we can be more proactive in advocating for new opportunities especially as it pertains to women of color.
We will also be vocal during this midterm election year ensuring that women of all backgrounds register and get out the vote. The decisions made this year can greatly impact the economic security for women across the country. We invite you to join us by voting and helping others in your community register to vote.
Education
Women United has a longstanding history of supporting early grade reading and pre-K programs. We know the difference education can make for girls. Every year we “stuff the bus” with books. We build born learning trails. We fund and volunteer at early learning centers.
Only 49% of countries have achieved gender parity in primary education. We can do better. As a Council, we will work with our global Women United chapters to address these disparities and encourage our members to join us as we advocate for equality in education.
Women United has raised more than $2 billion over the last two decades and volunteered countless hours of service to local communities. Individually we are strong, together we are stronger. We can advance gender equity and make progress for women and girls everywhere.
Join us! You can make a difference in your everyday life. At the end of last year, we launched a “20 in 2022 challenge” to encourage women to serve as mentors by committing 20 hours in 2022 to mentorship. There is still time to sign the pledge!