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Center for Race & Gender Equity

YWCA Greater Pittsburgh’s Center for Race & Gender Equity provides training, organizes events, engages in advocacy, and builds community around the vision of a world in which all women and girls, especially women and girls of color, have equitable access to personal and professional opportunities, free from racial injustice.

2020-2021 Advocacy Priorities

Our advocacy plan supports the mission of YWCA Greater Pittsburgh by engaging in strategic initiatives that empower women, especially women and girls of color. We bring attention and focus on the ways they are marginalized so that we can influence the systemic policy change needed to advance race and gender equity locally, statewide, and nationally.

To protect and improve affordable, quality early care programs, services, and policies that empower women, children and the families we serve.

To strengthen funding, including legislative appropriations, for programs and services that prevent homelessness for the women, children and families we serve.

To inform and educate our community about the racial justice issues that impact the women, children and families that we serve, with an emphasis on women’s economic empowerment and civic engagement.

Action Conversations on Race

On the third Wednesday of every month, YWCA Greater Pittsburgh’s Center for Race and Gender Equity presents Action Conversations on Race, a panel discussion dedicated to racial justice. Featuring local experts and leaders in fields such as equity and diversity, policy change, and advocacy, these conversations are designed to build community and create change.

Our April 21st Action Conversation focuses on Racism as a Public Health Crisis. Join us at 12pm on Zoom for this engaging community discussion.
Learn more and register here.

Racial Justice Education

The Center for Race & Gender Equity provides equity and diversity training in a range of topics to corporations, nonprofits, schools, community groups, and more. We develop and deliver educational workshops and programs for individuals of all ages and backgrounds.

If you’re interested in learning more about our Racial Justice Education, please contact Barbara Johnson at bjohnson@ywcapgh.org

Voter Empowerment and Registration

YWCA is committed to educating eligible voters about registering to vote, protecting voting rights, and accessing accurate voter information. Activities include National Voter Registration Day advocacy, providing assistance updating and applying for voter registration, and explaining dates and requirements related to upcoming elections.

2021 STAND AGAINST RACISM: Racism as a Public Health Crisis

As a part of the national 2021 YWCA Stand Against Racism, our April Action Conversation on Race will feature a dynamic examination of the underlying causes of race-based health disparities and action steps to create equity. This month's special guest speakers are Wellness Practitioner, Lovie J.J. Foster, Director of Behavioral Healthy & Community Wellness at Northside Christian Health Center, Dr. Cathy Sigmund, and Assistant Dean for Diversity, Inclusion and Social Justice at University of Pittsburgh's School of Dental Medicine, Adriana Modesto Vieira.
Wednesday April 21 at 12pm on Zoom

Following Governor Wolf’s directive, YWCA Greater Pittsburgh’s operations remain largely virtual.  As we adapt to our modified schedule, appointments are required.  Our Homewood-Brushton Early Child Development Center is open, with special precautions in place to limit the spread of COVID-19. Our Pre-K Counts classrooms in Homewood and Braddock Hills will open in the fall. Click here to view our family welcome packet for more information. Please check our website frequently for service updates and sign up to receive our monthly newsletter. For a list of local resources, please follow this link.

If you are in need of immediate assistance, please contact United Way’s PA 2-1-1 Southwest by texting your zip code to 898-211, visiting pa211sw.org or by dialing 2-1-1.

If you need immediate assistance through the Resource Center, please complete our online application by clicking the button below.

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For over 150 years, YWCA Greater Pittsburgh has worked to improve quality of life for women and strengthen the fabric of our communities. In 1970, YWCA USA proclaimed its one imperative: “to thrust our collective power towards the elimination of racism, wherever it exists, by any means necessary.” 50 years later, eliminating racism and empowering women is more than a salient and timely mission. It is a revitalized call to collective action aimed at promoting racial justice, reducing race and gender disparities, and deliberately addressing the challenges and celebrating the triumphs of living at the intersection of race and gender.

The One Imperative: to thrust our collective power towards the elimination of racism, wherever it exists, by any means necessary.

Our strategic direction builds upon the strong legacy of YWCA Greater Pittsburgh’s previous leaders and members as we innovate and lead to secure a better future. We boldly embrace the YWCA mission and a renewed commitment to racial justice based on the following assumptions:

1) Eliminating racism and empowering women requires deliberate action.

We understand that moving forward in our imperative involves both legislative and systemic changes. As a community, we must also move beyond acknowledging disparities exist and towards dismantling the framework that perpetuates these disparities. YWCA Greater Pittsburgh’s advocacy platform promotes specific policies and systemic change for gender equity and racial justice.

2) Promoting racial justice requires a collective approach.

We are committed to building strong, strategic partnerships to be deliberate in our efforts to eliminate racism and empower women. This is a multi-faceted and cross-sectoral strategy. YWCA Greater Pittsburgh is actively engaging with the corporate, nonprofit, civic, and academic sectors to ensure women and people of color are treated with dignity and respect and children, youth, and adults are provided with access to opportunities.

3) As long as racial and gender disparities persist, YWCA will work collaboratively to reduce disparities and address their impact.

While we work towards eliminating racism and empowering women (an “upstream” approach), we also recognize that existing disparities were birthed in historical injustices. Race-specific and or disparate impact policies that have negatively affected housing choice, wealth accumulation, and educational attainment, among others, have led to present day income and neighborhood disparities. YWCA Greater Pittsburgh is committed to ensuring women, children, and families can meet basic needs and move towards financial stability. Our services to support these efforts will continue and be made more accessible. Examples include:

4) Promoting racial justice and empowering women is not a “one and done” or “checklist” effort.

We are engaged in a movement that provides short-term and long-term strategies for achieving our collective goals.

We approach all of our programming through a racial justice lens and assist our partners to do the same. YWCA Greater Pittsburgh has an educational platform to address racial justice and move towards anti-racist practices. In addition to these offerings, we are also looking internally at our programs and services to bring a racial justice and women’s empowerment lens to everything we do. Our Center for Race and Gender Equity will lead these internal and external efforts.

5) Understanding the challenges and triumphs at the intersection of race and gender is paramount to fulfilling our mission.

We strive to amplify the voices of those committed to racial justice and gender empowerment. This includes ensuring that the voices of those with lived experiences are valued and are shaping decisions being made. YWCA Greater Pittsburgh will continue to build community partnerships to present a narrative of strong women who thrive in the face of challenges. We also remain committed to removing the obstacles that hinder advancement for women, particularly women of color. Specifically, our Center for Race and Gender Equity aims to be a premier resource for understanding and addressing disparities at the intersection of race and gender. The Center recently launched:

  • Monthly YWednesday Conversations on Race for 2020-2021.

These conversations highlight issues of race and gender intersectionality and offer concrete actions that can be taken to promote racial justice. (You can watch our June 5 and July 15 Conversations at our Media Center and register for upcoming Conversations here.)

  • Short issue pieces that inform on intersectional disparities from a historical and data perspective.

These provide short-term and long-term strategies to address these disparities.

Angela Reynolds, Ph.D.
CEO, YWCA Greater Pittsburgh
July 9, 2020