YWCA Glendale and Pasadena
Policy Advocacy Agenda & Priorities 2021-2022
Participation in mission-driven advocacy efforts is a standard of affiliation with YWCA USA. YWCA Glendale and Pasadena delivers direct social services and advocates for just and equitable public policies that will help change conditions that give rise to the need for our services. YWCA core advocacy issues reflect our mission and the values of our organization.
Prevent Gender-Based Violence and Support Survivors
Women and girls of all ages, income levels, racial and ethnic communities, sexual orientations, gender identities, and religious affiliations continue to experience violence in the form of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, stalking, and trafficking. As the largest network of domestic and sexual violence service providers in the United States, YWCA works for practical solutions to protect survivors, hold perpetrators accountable, and eradicate all forms of gender-based violence.
Eliminate policies and practices that criminalize people of color
YWCA is committed to ensuring that everyone is afforded equal opportunity and equal protection under the law. Too often, however, stereotypes, biases, and racial power dynamics are embedded in our laws and public policies. They are also reflected in the use of racial profiling, heightened surveillance tactics, targeted enforcement strategies, and other practices that increase policing of certain racial and ethnic communities (but not others) and criminalize people of color. YWCA is on a mission to advance equity, safety, and racial justice for women and girls of color cross justice, education, health, and other systems with documented racial disparaities.
Expand opportunities for women’s successful workplace participation
Equal pay, workplace fairness, and access to high-skill and high-wage jobs are essential to women’s economic advancement in the 21st century. As breadwinners, caretakers, and essential drivers of our nation’s economy, women should not have to choose between their livelihood and their health, their family, or their safety. Yet far too many women and families, particularly women and families of color, must make this choice every day. We want to ensure safe, fair, and inclusive workplaces that expand opportunities for women, women of color, LGBTQ+ people, and historically marginalized communities.