Tell Us Something Good

We’ve had 60 days of action items, and 40 days left in #our100days. Thank you for sticking with us so far! By engaging your friends, colleagues and communities to join us in performing a daily action to make lasting change, you’ve made our communities better, especially for women and girls. Now it’s your turn…

Here’s what we’re doing today:

Tell us what our next daily action item should be and we’ll add it to our list. You can Tweet or Facebook us, or send us an email at communications@wawf.org with your suggestion.
Need a little inspiration? Check out what we’ve done so far and listen to the #our100days Playlist on Spotify for a little encouragement. We can’t wait to see what you come up with!

Sample Tweet:

Our next daily action item for #our100days should focus on ______. #our100days

 

Healthy Families

In December 2016, the D.C. Council approved the nation’s most generous paid family and sick leave legislation, which covers private-sector workers.  On a federal level, the situation is quite different. The U.S. is the only industrialized nation without paid sick leave. This has negative implications for all Americans, but low-wage workers — the majority of which are women, are hurt the most. No one should have to choose between taking a sick day or caring for an ailing family member and losing a job.

Thankfully, some of our lawmakers are trying to change this on the federal level. Congress has reintroduced the Healthy Families Act, which would ensure that every citizen would have at least seven days of sick leave.

Here’s what we’re doing today:

Add your name to this petition or share your thoughts on social media about what the Healthy Families Act could mean for Americans, especially working women and their families. If you live in the District, tell us how DC’s leave program has impacted your life.

Sample Tweets:

Join me in making sure sick leave for working families gets passed. bit.ly/2ndAQRW #our100days

Thanks to DC’s Family and Sick Leave Law, _______. #our100days

If every American had sick leave, then _______. #our100days

 

Fashion for All

The average American woman wears between a size 16 and 18 in clothing, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at magazine covers, runway shows, or TV commercials. Not surprisingly, many retailers ignore the fierceness of a significant portion of the consumer population.  Fortunately, there are brands like ELOQUII that celebrate body positivity and design trendy clothes for women sizes 14 through 24.

Here’s what we’re doing today:

Save the date! Come join us for sips, sweets and style at ELOQUII’s new Pentagon City location on March 25. It’s shopping for a cause at its best! A percentage of the sales will support our work on the economic security of women and girls.

Sample Tweet:

I’m shopping for a cause at @ELOQUII Pentagon City on March 25! A % of the sales will support the @TheWomensFndtn’s work. #our100days

 

Getting to Zero

As a nation, we’ve made great strides when it comes to our understanding of HIV and AIDS, thanks to the tireless work of HIV activists, health workers, and sympathetic lawmakers. Due to advances in technology, individuals with HIV and AIDS are able to lead relatively healthy and productive lives.  We’re all looking forward to the day when HIV and AIDS is a distant memory, but for now, 1 in 4 people living with HIV in the U.S. is a woman.  The numbers are higher in theDC region, where 30% of the affected population are women.

Here’s what we’re doing today:

Educate yourself, your family, and your friends about how HIV affects women by listening to WJLA’s segment for National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (March 10). Also, be sure to follow The Red Pump Project on social media to see the innovative ways they promote HIV awareness through fashion and fun.

Sample Tweets:

Join me in following @RedPumpProj to learn more about the impact of HIV on women and girls of color. #our100days

I learned so much about how HIV affects women in & around #DC thanks to this segment from @ABC7News. bit.ly/2n7Nt1s  #our100days

 

Share Your Story

As women, every day can be a constant struggle against oppressive forces that we encounter in our daily lives. We are continuously fighting for equality when it comes to pay, health care and safety. While it feels like the work we do is never ending, let’s take time to celebrate the empowering moments we’ve experienced and lift up these powerful stories!

Here’s what we’re doing today:

Using social media (#our100days), share a personal narrative of when you felt empowered as a woman.

Sample Tweet:

As a woman, I felt most empowered when ________ #our100days

 

Stop Violence Against Women

One in three women suffer physical or sexual violence during their lifetime, and half of female murder victims are killed by partners or family members, according to U.N. Women.

Here’s what we’re doing today:

Find and share a statistic or fact about violence against women that you didn’t know about and share it with your friends and family on social media using #our100days.

Sample Tweets:

According to @RAINN01 females ages 16 – 19 are 4 times more likely to be victims of sexual assault. #our100days

According to @OneInFourUSA one in four college women report surviving sexual assault. #our100days

 

The Book Gap

Studies have shown that each child from a middle-income family is likely to have 13 age-appropriate books. In low-income families, however, there is only one book for every 300 children. Without access to books, children are less likely to enter kindergarten ready to learn.  Children who enter kindergarten prepared are on a path to reading proficiently by 3rd grade – and are 4 times more likely to graduate high school.  Learn more about early care and education in our region.

Here’s what we’re doing today:

Take some time to gather up gently used books, and then bring them to Turning The Page’s Carpe Librum Store. 
 
Also, find out if your kids under the age of five are eligible for free, new books sent to you through the mail from the DC Public Library and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.  You can sponsor a child to get a year of free books here.

Sample Tweets:

Join me in closing the literacy gap by sponsoring a child through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library! bit.ly/2n7nO8E #our100days

If you live in DC and have children under the age of 5, sign up for Books from Birth! bit.ly/2mXlkcF #our100days

 

Supporting Casa Ruby

This weekend Casa Ruby, a DC-based drop-in center and advocacy organization for transgender women, was vandalized and one of their staff assaulted. According to their staff, this is the third time in less than two weeks that the center has been targeted. Washington Area Women’s Foundation stands in solidarity with Casa Ruby and condemns such hate crimes and the continued harassment and violence often directed at trans women of color.

Here’s what we’re doing today:

Let’s show our support for our transgender sisters and organizations like Casa Ruby. Make a donation to Casa Ruby to help them purchase a replacement door and hire a security guard to protect staff and clients. Share the news story from NBC News about the recent national wave of vandalism and violence aimed at LGBTQ centers. Additionally, this week you can participate in the #ProtectTransWomen Day of Action Rally at Freedom Plaza on Wednesday, March 15th at 6pm. We are stronger together!

Sample Tweets:

I’ll be there for the #ProtectTransWomen Rally this week at Freedom Plaza. Will you? bit.ly/2ngVkKn #our100days

Make a donation to @CasaRuby today and help them provide a safe space for LGBTQ people in DC. bit.ly/1Nj9MW6 #our100days

According to @NBCNews, there’s been an increase in anti-LGBTQ violence and vandalism. nbcnews.to/2n2v6KM #our100days

 

Purchasing Power

The retail industry is the largest sector of employment in the US.  It’s female dominated in many ways; 73% of all retail purchases in the U.S. are made or influenced by women, and about half of the workers in America’s retail industry are women.  So far so good, right?  Not quite.  The gender gap in retail is particularly grim with a woman earning 68 cents for every dollar her male counterpart makes.  In a similar vein, women are underrepresented on executive teams and boards of retail companies.

Here’s what we’re doing today:

Listen to and share out to this fabulous Stuff Mom Never Told You podcast on the history of women in the retail sector.

Sample Tweets:

Check out this fascinating podcast on the history of women in the retail industry, courtesy of @MomStuffPodcast bit.ly/2m97HTB  #our100days

This podcast by@MomStuffPodcast will change how you view the world of retail forever bit.ly/2m97HTB #our100days

 

Inequality in Art

Can you name five male artists? You probably can do this easily – Da Vinci, Picasso, Van Gogh, Pollock, Degas, and dozens more come to mind, even if you aren’t an arts aficionado. But can you name five women artists? If you can’t, it’s not due to the lack of female visual artists. Although there have been scores of talented female artists throughout the ages, many have been excluded from museums, galleries, and textbooks. This informative Huffington Post article discusses gender discrimination in the visual arts and how the National Museum of Women in the Arts is tackling it with the #5WomenArtists campaign.

Here’s what we’re doing today:

Let’s get schooled on female artists. Take a trip to DC’s acclaimed National Museum of Women in the Arts and get inspired by talented artists from various movements, centuries, and nationalities. Even if you can’t make it in person, get lost in the virtual collection highlights. Let us know your favorite female artists. Hopefully by the end of this exercise, you can name more than five!

Sample Tweets:

Five inspiring female artists are ______ ,______ ,______ ,______ and ______. Check them out! #5WomenArtists #our100days

I saw amazing pieces by talented female artists at the National Museum for Women in the Arts #5WomenArtist #our100days