Advocates For Women

Improving the Lives of Women

Advocates for Women has been working toward improving the lives of women for more than a decade! In our work to lift up and advocate for women we focus on:

  • Reproductive Justice
  • Equal rights
  • Gender-based violence
  • Economic and social disparities
  • Intersectionality and marginalization

We are galvanized by the Supreme Court’s betrayal of women and marginalized peoples. They have decimated access to reproductive health care for a wide swath of the nation. While Washington State has strong protections, we must be there for our sisters and brothers in other states. Now more than ever the full participation and leadership of and by women is essential to addressing local, national, and global disparities and injustices, particularly those suffered by women.

Focus on Reproductive Justice

We proposed a Congregational Stand that states: Reproductive Justice is a Fundamental Human Right (see the final text here). This Stand is based on the proposal by the Sister Song Collective that all people have the right to bodily autonomy, to bear or not bear children, and to raise their children in a safe and healthy environment. Imagine how securing these rights will transform the world! After a year of educational events, the proposed Stand was voted on at our Congregational Meeting in May 2023 and was unanimously approved! We are looking forward to providing you opportunities to promote Reproductive Justice for all!

Find out about our program on Reproductive Justice 

All of our events to educate the Congregation prior to the vote on the proposed Stand are now complete. You can see a complete list in this article. 

Recent donations

We are excited to announce two major recipients of our pledge funds for 2022-2023.  They are:

Wins in the 2023 Washington Legislature

Our wins included timely bills to end abortion cost-sharing, to protect our health data from snooping, and to protect providers of abortion and transgender care from out-of-state harassment. We were sad that the Keep Our Care Act, which addresses the takeover of health systems by religious entities, did not reach a vote.

We had good success with bills on gender-based violence, including increased consequences unauthorized disclosure of intimate images and better protections against firearms in domestic violence. While bills allowing more childcare centers and increased assistance for prenatal drug exposures passed, more substantial bills aimed at financial assistance for families saw little success. You can see more details of the Reproductive Justice Bills we supported in this document.

Meetings For Work and Play

Each month, September through June, we meet via Zoom (first Mondays at 7 pm) or in person (first Sundays after Services) to plan and reconnect with one another. Check our calendar or email Advocates For Women for the latest details. We work collaboratively in standing groups (such as those that organize our book discussions or state lobbying efforts) and in planning groups that are dedicated to a single project. We use a democratic decision making model.

Throughout the year we gather (on Zoom or in person) for some fun times together, such as “Whatever Makes You Happy” happy hours and Cafe Connections. Although we don’t have business meetings In July and August, we do have one or two social get-togethers. Community is important to our success!

Our Work

We seek to help women locally and globally by

  • raising money or acquiring products for non-profit organizations which help women (see Fundraising for Women for details)
  • raise awareness among ourselves and the congregation about challenges facing women (see Advocacy and Awareness for more)
  • advocate for women at the local, state, and national level (see Advocacy and Awareness)

Upcoming Events

To learn about our upcoming events, check out our calendar.

News

 

For More Information

Contact: Advocates For Women