As we near the close of the first month in the new year, my leadership intention for Washington Area Women’s Foundation is clear: to deepen our impact throughout our continuum of support, from birth to the boardroom, for women and girls in the Washington, DC region.
The data continues to confirm what many communities already know. Even in one of the most resourced regions in the country, women, particularly women and girls of color, face persistent gaps in educational opportunity, economic mobility, health outcomes, and leadership representation. Early access to stability, care, and opportunity directly shapes outcomes decades later, including who holds decision-making power in communities, workplaces, and government.
This work is made even more urgent by the current national landscape. This administration has blatantly threatened the well-being of women and girls through actions including efforts to eliminate the Women’s Bureau at the Department of Labor; the loss of more than 300,000 jobs for Black women; allowing Affordable Care Act tax subsidies to expire, thereby increasing care costs; enacting historic cuts to Medicaid that disproportionately impact women and children; shuttering reproductive health clinics through freezes to Title X funding and the defunding of Planned Parenthood; and reducing public health infrastructure that supports healthy pregnancies and families. These decisions widen gaps that philanthropy and community-based solutions have been working hard to close.
That is why our approach centers on long-term, coordinated investment rather than one-time solutions. When we invest early and consistently, we do more than improve individual outcomes. We strengthen families, workplaces, and the regional economy as a whole.
This year, I am committed to striking a balance between not being reactive or distracted, staying firmly in our lane and doing that work well, and knowing when and how to partner to protect and advance progress for women and girls. We will continue advancing strategies rooted in data, proximity, and partnership, ensuring that women and girls in our region have real pathways to safe birthing experiences, education, leadership, and economic security.
That is what Birth to Boardroom looks like in practice, and that is the work I am committed to moving forward.