The transition of these months has also been one of tributes, as Black History Month transitioned to Women’s History Month. 2021 brought these months together in a way I personally had not felt before. The past year has brought with it a greater awareness of social, health and economic issues, and while accompanied by a welcomed tide of calls for positive change, progress remains slow.

Here are few ways that we can stand in solidarity with women toward a better future:

  • Be courageous. As a nonprofit leader, this courage can take the form of creating space for conversations that you know are complicated and for which you may not know the answers or outcome.  Nonprofit leaders grappling with this equity issue congratulate themselves on being better than the corporate world. Comparisons of this nature are no longer sufficient; we must create opportunities at our nonprofits for women, especially women of color, to be elevated and promoted. Nonprofits must set out a transparent path for their equity evolution.
  • Celebrate and recognize the community of women. The pandemic has shown a spotlight on the inequalities and inequities that still exist for women today. Women have been disproportionality impacted by loss of income, through increased health risks due to service-oriented sector roles and burdened by cultural and social expectations surrounding lockdowns and virtual schooling.
  • Support programs that address gender and racial inequalities and inequities. We need to support programs that go beyond the obvious and look deeper into the solutions sought by women themselves. Nonprofits need to listen to and empower local communities and work with them to address the underlying issues that create and reinforce inequalities and inequities rather than treat the symptoms alone.

Read the full article about celebrating and supporting women by Patricia McIlreavy at Forbes.