With Roe v. Wade on the cusp of being overturned, access to reproductive rights is being threatened across the United States. How can philanthropy be most effective right now?

To explore this question, we spoke to Noreen Farrell, a civil rights attorney and the Executive Director of Equal Rights Advocates. Farrell is a nationally-recognized leader on gender justice and the architect of several high-impact campaigns improving the lives of millions of women and families. Through her work at ERA, she fights for gender civil rights in workplaces and schools across the country and has argued cases before the Supreme Court.

The implications of restricting abortion rights are farreaching, Farrell said. There is a direct causal relationship between abortion and women’s future economic and social participation. Studies referenced by the Brookings Institute reveal that abortion legalization increased women’s education, labour force participation, occupational prestige, and earnings — especially for Black women.

Here’s what Farrell had to say.

Elika Roohi: Tell us about the work of Equal Rights Advocates.

Noreen Farrell: Equal Rights Advocates fights for gender justice in workplaces and schools across the country. Since 1974, we have been fighting on the front lines of social justice to protect and advance rights and opportunities for women, girls, and people of all gender identities through groundbreaking legal cases and bold legislation that sets the stage for the rest of the nation.

Read the full article about philanthropy supporting abortion access by Elika Roohi at Alliance magazine.