Happy International Women’s Day! 20+ Ways to Invest in Women and Girls of Color

Happy International Women’s Day! As a non-profit professional who works at an organization that centers the voices of girls and women of color (WOC) in social justice settings AND as a budding social entrepreneur who supports organizations serving and led-by WOC, I love any and every opportunity to talk about why we should and how we can invest in this group. I’d actually argue that the collective well-being and power of women and girls of color are the linchpins of a healthy society. Not to use an oft problematic development principle but in the words of former UN General Secretary Kofi Annan, “There is no development strategy more beneficial to society as a whole — women and men alike — than the one that involves women as central players.” Though women of color embody this principle in so many ways — they are on the frontlines of social justice movements, are the fastest growing population of entrepreneurs, are some of the most civically engaged, and with girls of color even voicing their desire for leadership roles, they are often the most marginalized as well — with low economic net worth, high infant and maternal mortality rates, and they are representative of the fastest growing prison population. That said, what better way to start upending these dichotomies than to invest in girls and women of color this International Women’s Day. Below you’ll find 20+ ways to offer your support… And guess what? Not all of them require monetary contributions. Check out the list below and let me know what you think. Happy International Women’s Day!

Donate Your Money

1. Donate to women of color led organizations.
2. Look up community organizers’ PayPal accounts and thank them for their labor.
3. Support black women running for office by donating to Higher Heights.
4. Donate to black women’s colleges like Spelman and Bennett .
5. Support black women artisans and businesses generally — The next Uptown Underground Market is in June!

Donate Your Time

1. Volunteer with organizations led by and serving girls and women of color.
2. Serve on the board of a WOC-led organization. Evoluer House is looking for Board Members.
3. Hire black women as full time staff not consultants or contract workers — unless they desire that flexibility.

Donate Other Resources/ Offer up your support in other ways!

1. Advocate alongside women laborers and other marginalized groups.
2. Organize or attend a protest the next time a WOC is killed by the police, interpersonal violence, or the community.
3. Donate space to WOC-led organizations.
4. Love the content created by bomb WOC podcasts like 2 Dope Queens and Another Round? Subscribe and give them a million stars!
5. Developing an app? Work with Black women technologists at ReBoot Safety and Qeyno Labs.
6. Support other Black women technologists like Katherine Finney and Arlan Hamilton — both WOC striving to make capital more accessible to other WOC entrepreneurs.
7. Donate school supplies to a woman of color teacher.
8. Follow the lead of #1000BlackGirlBooks Creator, Marley Dias, and donate books with girls of color as lead characters to your neighborhood school.
9. Empower girls and young women — Mentor them; connect them with your network; and share your knowledge.