Happy 5th birthday... to us!
By: Sam Barrett
It’s our 5th birthday! Women4Change is celebrating 5 years of educating, equipping, and mobilizing Hoosiers to create positive change for women. Our vision has always been for women, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, or sexual orientation, to achieve equity in employment and earnings; in healthcare; and in political, civic, cultural, and corporate leadership. We have accomplished amazing things in the past 5 years as we work towards this goal, and today we want to celebrate our accomplishments, reflect on the history of Women4Change, and talk about our future!
Women4Change was founded by Rabbi Sandy Sasso and Jennifer Nelson Williams in 2016, when they were deeply disturbed by the breakdown in civility witnessed during the heated presidential campaign. After the election, they decided to do something to help restore civil discourse in our society. When more than 800 people showed up for the first meeting of Women4Change, they knew they were onto something big. Soon after, they established a steering committee and board of directors to develop a strategic plan for the organization moving forward. From then on Women4Change has been working to create a more educated, safer, and equal future for women and all Hoosiers.
Women4Change has been able to accomplish so much in the past five years. Thanks to people from across the state we were able to provide Hoosiers with new education programs, launch a Get Out The Vote campaign and engage countless partners, supporters and volunteers in the work of improving the lives of Hoosier women. Most recently, the gerrymandering report we produced in conjunction with Dr. Christopher Warshaw was recognized across the state and in the halls of power as authoritative, non- partisan and important to the process.
Women4Change is also equipped with amazing staff, board of directors, supporters, and volunteers. Rima Shahid is just one of the great additions to this organization. She is Women4Change’s first executive director and has been helping to educate, equip, and mobilize Hoosiers to create positive change for women since 2017. Rima has been with Women4Change since the beginning and has shared in many of Women4Change’s accomplishments.
“There are a few things that I am incredibly proud of; one is having an incredibly dedicated, hardworking, powerhouse board. Second would be having a dedicated staff that works tirelessly day in and day out to advance the mission of Women4Change. Every semester we have a wonderful group of interns that help us achieve our mission, and a large, hardworking, diverse group of volunteers. Being a staff of now 3 and a half people, 3 full time, one part time, there is no way that we could achieve all that we have with just 3 and a half people, and so the work of Women4Change is really accomplished by board, staff, interns, and volunteer partnership.” Rima said.
Rima also spoke on why she believes that Women4Change is so valuable to Indiana communities; “Over the past year and a half so many Americans, so many Hoosiers, have faced the loss of employment, the loss of life, confusion, frustration, a renewed call to social justice, and racial justice. What data and studies show is that if you want to create systematic change you have to look at the lens of the intersection of gender and race, and that’s what Women4Change does. We know when you impact the life of a woman, you don’t just impact the life of that one woman. You don't just impact the life of her family, you don’t just impact the life of her community, but you impact the overall state. While the economy is down, and inflation is high, and people are now talking about paid family leave and other components of how to make sure that women especially are not being forced out of the workplace, these are issues that we have been advocating for since our inception. Women4Change didn’t just start talking about racial and social justice in 2021, or in 2020, we have been talking about this since our inception, since 2016. You can count on us to continue to not only show the disparities between men and women, but also between women. Because women of color, and the LGBTQIA+ community is highly impacted, and more impacted by every single issue, and these are the conversations that are so often overlooked or not included.”
Women4Change has been a very valuable and important part of education, discussion, and action on social and racial issues in Indiana over the past 5 years. We hope to continue to educate, equip, and mobilize Hoosiers to make positive changes in their communities, state, and country for many years to come!
