Celebrating history (and making more progress) for women

It’s Women’s History Month, a time to mark the progress women have made, and what’s still needed, to achieve a world where women and all people can live free from violence, with real opportunities to prosper and thrive. 

We have made much progress since FUTURES was launched 35 years ago, a time when women earned about 66 cents for every dollar a man earned, and domestic violence was still thought of by many as a “private matter.” FUTURES has worked since then to shape public policy’s response to violence, change social norms, advance economic security and opportunity for women, engage boys and men in violence prevention, and more.  

Often, progress is made incrementally. But we look for innovations that have the potential to be transformational. I want to share a few things we’re especially excited about right now. 

Economic Innovation

When Congress passed the CHIPS and Science Act, it was widely hailed as a bipartisan triumph that would provide a badly needed economic boost to our country. Now, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo has mandated companies that benefit from CHIPS must provide affordable child care, an innovative use of federal resources to ensure women can access these high-paying jobs and leverage public dollars to help companies address the childcare crisis.  

This Women’s History Month, we’re hailing leaders like Secretary Raimondo – innovative women with their finger on the country’s pulse who are helping vulnerable families become economically stable. She understands, as we do, that when you advance economic opportunity, you strengthen families and communities, and help prevent violence. And at FUTURES, we’ll continue to advocate for a recovery that centers the needs of women, survivors, and families so that we can build an economy that works for all.

Building a Culture of Hope 

Too many people believe that violence is inevitable. But we know violence is preventable. That’s why we’re building the Courage Museum, a design lab for the deep, transformative human change needed to prevent violence before it happens.  

Award-winning women filmmakers and educators are among the world-class architects, designers, scientists and subject matter experts who are creating an immersive experience that features changemakers throughout history who have acted with courage to create change. The experiences of women and girls in all their diversity will be central to the stories we are telling. 

Once it opens in 2025, the Courage Museum will be unlike any other place – a tribute to those who persevered against gender-based violence, hate crimes, childhood trauma, and gun violence, and a thought-provoking, transformational laboratory for social norms change. 

Vote for FUTURES!   

Do you want to support us to continue making history? We are proud and grateful that CREDO has selected Futures Without Violence as one of the beneficiaries of its generous grant during Women’s History Month. Please, take a moment to vote for us at this link, so we can benefit from their support for our critical work. 

Thank you, as always, for sharing and supporting our work.