Advocacy

YWCA is on a mission, and we fight for your rights and strive to amplify your voice. 

We’ve been at the forefront of the biggest issues of the day for 135 years: from voting rights to civil rights, from affordable housing to pay equity and from violence prevention to health care reform. We carry on this long tradition of social action and advocacy to advance our mission — and you are a crucial part of this work. Your voice is critical as we advocate for policies that bring us closer to eliminating racism, empowering women, and ensuring peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all.

Racial Justice & Gender
Equity ↘

We advocate against oppression based on gender or race, and fight for equal protections. We fully participate in the YWCA Racial Justice educational series each year, expanding its impact through hosted discussion after each module. In 2024, we will launch a year-round program of facilitated discussion around race, policy, and opportunities to develop an anti-racist mindset. We’re also engaging with legislators to pass critical laws and bills to protect women against violence, pay inequities and more.

Reproductive Justice & Women’s Health ↘

We advocate to ensure all women have autonomy over their bodies and access to critical health care. This includes driving awareness of all reproductive care options, breast cancer education, rallies to support abortion rights, and connecting to our legislators to ensure unimpeded access to healthcare and reproductive care for women.

Voter Engagement ↘

We register and educate voters to ensure they understand the issues and the power of their vote. We partner with high schools for education and pre-registration, and facilitate voter registration at community and senior centers. In 2023, the YWCA Berkeley-Oakland became a polling center and will continue to do so in 2024 and beyond.

Menstrual Equity ↘

We provide resources, education and opportunities for women to take control of their menstrual health. Outreach includes middle school and foster care center workshops that cover biology from adolescence through menopause and period product drives to fill the “period poverty” gap.

Community Education ↘

We use outreach to understand and meet the unique legal, policy, and educational needs of multiple cohorts in our community. From hosting film and discussion series to workshops, we focus on critical and emerging needs. Topics have and will include Know Your Rights, LGBTQ+ Allyship, Redistricting Impact, Black History and more.