Girls' Equity Grant Program
Creative Ideas for Providing Girls of Color an Opportunity to Learn
These grants, targeted at local and state organizations in both New York and Massachusetts, are supporting efforts to ensure that female students of color have a fair and substantive opportunity to learn.
In the past eight years, Schott has engaged in a significant body of work on the crisis facing Black males. With these grants, Schott is complementing that work and continuing to strengthen its gender equity efforts which it began more than a decade ago.
Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM)
DRUM - Desis Rising Up and Moving is a multi-generational, membership led organization of over 1,400 low-wage South Asian immigrant workers, youth, and families organizing to win immigrant rights, quality public education, civil rights, and economic justice. YouthPower! builds the leadership and power of low-income immigrant South Asian youth particularly young women and girls, ages 14-21, to win more equity and dignity in public education and policing policies for youth of color in New York City. The program uses three strategies: (1) Base Building in under-resourced schools with high immigrant populations to recruit youth membership; (2) Leadership Development programs throughout the year run by youth that raise political consciousness and train youth in community organizing; and (3) Campaign Action by youth to advance Immigrant Safe Zones in public schools and to win the Dignity in Schools Campaign. YouthPower’s long-term goal is to be a social justice leadership center for low-income youth in the South Asian community who have little access to this, to build unity among all youth of color in New York City, and to help build power of low-income youth of color as a vital force in social justice movements.
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Girls for Gender Equity
Girls for Gender Equity (GGE) is an intergenerational organization committed to the physical, psychological, social and economic development of girls and women. Through education, organizing and physical fitness, GGE encourages communities to remove barriers and create opportunities for girls and women to live self-determined lives. GGE believes that widespread violence against women and girls points to deeply rooted gender discrimination that must be tackled as a peace-building and human rights priority. Under the auspices of Title IX of the Education Amendment (Civil Rights) and its ten points, GGE develops youth leadership throughout the city, adding young people’s voices to the discourse surrounding public education, safety and the allocation of resources in NYC schools.
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Girls Inc. of New York City
Girls Inc. delivers life-changing programs that inspire girls to be strong, smart and bold. Research-based curricula, delivered by trained professionals, equip girls to achieve academically; lead healthy and physically active lives; manage money; navigate media messages; and discover an interest in science, technology, engineering, and math. Girls Inc. of NYC is a member of the network of independent Girls Inc. affiliate organizations located in 350 cities across the United States and Canada.
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The Girls’ Initiative Network
The Girls’ Initiative Network works to improve positive outcomes for high risk and system-involved girls, through increased use of gender-responsive program strategies. The Network convenes a learning community of 84 girl-serving agencies across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, to strengthen gender-responsive practice in the community and to advocate for policy change to institutionalize a gender-responsive approach in public-supported services. Peer networking, support, and community trainings and conferences are essential network activities. The Girls’ Initiative promotes gender-responsive programming as an “opportunity to learn” strategy to support the academic and career success of girls of color in Massachusetts. When communities and public agencies support girls to overcome these non-educational challenges, we help girls of color lay a stronger foundation from which to engage in and benefit from the educational resources available to them.
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Sociedad Latina
The young women of the Youth Community Organizing program of Sociedad Latina are leading a campaign called Learn Us to Teach Us to improve Boston Public Schools. As young women of color, our organizers envision a classroom that respects and values the diverse backgrounds of the students in the classroom. YCOs are advocating for teachers to receive professional development on issues of race, culture, gender and their intersection with students' identity and background as well as curriculum revision that is inclusive of diverse cultures and honors the contributions made by men and women of color. The young women of YCOs are holding gender dialogues that supports other girls of BPS to explore these complex issues of identity and provide the skills to advocate for systemic change.
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Teen Voices
How can education be improved to cultivate girls’ strengths and optimize their growth? How can we, as a society, ensure that all girls have the educational opportunities they need to achieve their dreams? Teen Voices and the Wellesley Centers for Women (WCW) teamed up to answer these questions. WCW documentary maker Linda Charmaraman interviewed high school girls working as editors at Teen Voices and their adult advocates to illuminate the challenges faced by girls of color in current educational systems. Through these interviews, dissemination of video clips online, and the creation of girl-generated articles on related topics, we aim to spark conversations and raise public awareness about issues of educational access, especially for girls of color. Our ultimate hope is to support the development of effective strategies that overcome barriers, close the achievement gap, and enable ALL girls to reach their full potential.
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