In December the Young Women’s Advisory Council highlighted the intersection of gender, politics and economic empowerment.
Women currently hold less than 20% of Congressional seats and voter turnout is steadily declining. In response to this national endemic, community partners representing government sectors came to speak with the Young Women’s Advisory Council (YWAC) about the importance of voting, the political process, civil courts, and the increasing power of executive branch stakeholders. Linda Matys O’Connell and Zaida Govan from the League of Women Voters, Jiacheng Yu from the Committee for Public Counsel Services, and Brenda Oppermann, Founder of GameChangers 360 and senior advisor, researcher and program manager for military and civilian organizations spoke about gender and power politics.
In light of the 2017 United Nation’s Women’s Economic Empowerment Principles Forum focusing on the role of the private sector in implementing these goals and the MA State Treasurer’s Office’s commitment to women’s economic empowerment through their partnership with Citizen’s Bank we heard from private sector partners, including PeoplesBank, about banking, savings, credit scores and student loans. When women are empowered to participate fully in economic life across all sectors, it yields stronger communities and improves qualities of life.
Stay tuned for January when the young women use their empowerment tools to begin their community projects and implement their visions for change.
