Promoting the leadership of young women of color as change agents
Leadership and decision making
The context
According to the 2010 census, New York City is home to approximately 800,000 girls and young women ages 9-24. Nearly 75% identify as girls of color (Black, Asian, Latina, Arab, and Native American) and a significant proportion are living in absolute or near poverty. Subject to multiple systems of public scrutiny that punish rather than support, these girls often face cumulative disadvantages, yet their leadership and collective power for social transformation are essential to achieving long-term economic and social equity in New York and beyond.
The project
The New York Women’s Foundation’s Fund for Girls and Young Women of Color seeks to improve the social and economic conditions of over 6000 girls and young women of color (including trans women and gender non-conforming youth) in New York City every year, by advancing the practice of gender, racial, and economic equity within community-based institutions, in philanthropy, and the city.
The Fund aims to do this by creating an ongoing shared learning approach among local funders of gender, racial, and economic equity initiatives; building the capacity and networks of grassroots organizations centering girls and young women of color, and contributing to shifting the narratives and communications on these subjects.
Fondation CHANEL is partnering with over twenty other Foundations under the leadership of the New York Women’s Foundation to expand the work of The Fund for Girls and Young Women of Color to reach over forty grassroots organizations serving more than 6,000 girls and young women of color across the city.
The partner
The New York Women’s Foundation (NYWF) is a cross-cultural alliance of women catalyzing partnerships and leveraging human and financial capital to achieve sustained economic security and justice for women and girls.
Key indicators
number of young women and grils reached
6000
Number of organizations working to advance the leadership and life outcomes of young women and girls
40