The mission of the Women’s Foundation of California is to strengthen and support the economic wellbeing of women and families in California. Reproductive health and rights have always been central to that mission.
Did you know that having a child is one of the leading triggers for poverty for women? It’s heartbreaking that such a beautiful life event could cause so much pain and suffering.
In order to strengthen the reproductive health, rights and justice movement in California, we’re planning to award $250,000 to leading reproductive justice organizations in our state.
Since 1979, we’ve invested over $2 million in this movement and we’ve trained 36 reproductive justice leaders through our Women’s Policy Institute. Today, these inspiring women are leading major advocacy campaigns on behalf of women and we’re humbled by their passion, drive and vision.
Why fund reproductive justice in California? And why now?
Our timing is critical. In the past three years key funders have shifted their priorities and are no longer funding reproductive justice in California. As you can imagine, this has had a negative effect on a number of community-based organizations.
At the same time, conservative organizations are continuing their efforts to roll back the reproductive rights we have worked so hard to win. So now is the time to increase, not withhold, funding for this work.
We want California to remain a leader in advancing and protecting women’s reproductive rights. We want women in California to have access to contraception and safe and legal abortions. And we want to work with our funder colleagues to support this movement in our state. Read Ally Ang’s recent blog post about reproductive justice being a race issue.