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REPORT BY

ANDREA FLYNN

MAY 22, 2017

How Racialized and Gendered Rules Are Holding Women Back

JUSTICE DOESN’T TRICKLE DOWN

ABOUT

THE MS. FOUNDATION FOR WOMEN

The Ms. Foundation for Women is a nonprofit public foundation created to deliver funding and other strategic resources to organizations that elevate women’s and girls’ voices and solutions across race and class in communities nationwide. Since 1972, the Ms. Foundation has been working to identify and support emerging and established groups poised to act when and where change is needed. Our grants—paired with capacity building, networking and other strategic opportunities—enable organizations to advance grassroots solutions and build social movements within and across three areas: Economic Justice, Reproductive Justice and Safety.Our work is guided by our vision of a world where power and possibility are not limited by gender, race, class, sexual orientation, disability or age. We believe that equity and inclusion are the cornerstones of a true democracy in which the worth and dignity of every person are valued.

THIS REPORT IS A JOINT PUBLICATION OF THE ROOSEVELT INSTITUTE AND THE MS. FOUNDATION FOR WOMEN.

ABOUT

THE ROOSEVELT INSTITUTE

Until economic and social rules work for all, they’re not working. Inspired by the legacy of Franklin and Eleanor, the Roosevelt Institute reimagines America as it should be: a place where hard work is rewarded, everyone participates, and everyone enjoys a fair share of our collective prosperity. We believe that when the rules work against this vision, it’s our responsibility to recreate them.We bring together thousands of thinkers and doers — from a new generation of leaders in every state to Nobel laureate economists — working to redefine the rules that guide our social and economic realities. We rethink and reshape everything from local policy to federal legislation, orienting toward a new economic and political system: one built by many for the good of all.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The author is grateful to Marybeth Seitz-Brown and Emily Battistini for all of their work researching, drafting and editing this report.

The author would like to thank the following individuals for participating in interviews during the early stages of this process:

Radhika Balakrishnan (Rutgers University); Carol Burnett (Mississippi Low Income Childcare Coalition); Anika Campbell (Center for Frontline Retail); Tina Campt (Barnard Center for Research on Women); Tannia Esparza (Young Women United); Laura Jimenez and Ena Valladares (California Latinas for Reproductive Justice); Ravina Daphtary (All* Above All); Saru Jayaraman (Restaurant Opportunity Centers United); Ramona Ortega; Sebrina Owens-Wilson (Partnership for Working Families); Dr. Krystal Redman (SPARK Reproductive Justice Now); and Diana Salas (Women of Color Policy Network).

And she would also like to thank the following individuals who provided valuable insights and recommendations during the review process:

Mimi Abramowitz (CUNY); Amani Nuru-Jeter (University of California Berkeley); Joelle Gamble (Roosevelt Institute); Rakeen Mabud (Roosevelt Institute); Alyson Silkowski (Ms. Foundation for Women); and Saba Waheed (UCLA Labor Center).

ABOUT

THE AUTHOR

Andrea Flynn

is a fellow at the Roosevelt Institute, where she researches and writes about issues that impact women and families. Andrea is a co-author of the forthcoming book

The Hidden Rules of Race: Building an Inclusive American Economy

(Cambridge University Press). Her writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The New Republic, Cosmopolitan, Salon, The Hill, and Women’s eNews. Andrea received her MPA and MPH from Columbia University.

COVER PHOTO CREDIT:

ANN NGUYEN