Today marks Women’s Equality Day, honoring the date in 1920 when the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution granted women the right to vote. However, we know that right did not extend to all women, including Black women, immigrant women, and Trans women. There’s still much progress to achieve for all women. In San Diego, several organizations are working toward the advancement of women’s rights, safety, and equity. Highlights include:
An initiative of the Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego, JWF is a network of women that pool funds to collectively enhance the lives of Jewish women and girls in San Diego and Israel. Since it began in 2002, JWF has granted over $1m address needs such as domestic violence prevention/intervention, support for isolated seniors and the food insecure, as well as promoting positive self-esteem in teens. Find out more here: https://jcfsandiego.org/funds-foundations/jewish-womens-foundation/
Girl, Inc. of San Diego County inspires underserved young girls to be “strong, smart, and bold” through research-based programming aimed at enhancing all aspects of their lives – academics, social life, gender, and physical well-being. Activities are provided at no cost to participants and include career exploration in fields where minority women are underrepresented such as science, technology, engineering and math. Find out more here: https://girlsincsd.org/
The League of Women Voters aims to encourage women to stay informed and actively participate in government through education on major public policy issues. Formed from the suffragette movement, this grassroots organization supports every member with opportunities to learn, educate, and act for public policy. Supporting the League gives women greater possibilities for civic engagement and helps develop them into leaders. Check out their website here: https://my.lwv.org/california/san-diego/about
Through its virtual and place-based exhibits, the Women’s Museum of California shares the collective and individual stories of women. Exhibits such as “Women Activists” and “Women in U.S. Politics” feature LGBTQ+ women, Black women, indigenous women, and women of color. Learn more here: https://www.womensmuseumca.org/
These organizations are only a few working towards creating a more just, equitable, and diverse society in San Diego and across the country. It’s evident that the path toward equality needs to be intersectional and involve all identities of women. It needs to be intergenerational, a partnership between young women leading the work and older women who’ve been doing it for decades. By following these formulas, we can realize the ultimate goal of making equality inevitable.
Stacie and Jeff Cook understand commitment. They live it.
Black, Jewish and Queer. These three identities weave the fabric of who I am, but it took a long time to believe that they could exist together.
Lee and Toni Leichtag established the Leichtag Foundation in 1991 following the sale of their business. Lee and Toni were lifelong entrepreneurs with a passion for innovation and for supporting talent. They believed that only with big risk comes big reward. Both born to families in poverty, Toni to a single mother, they strongly believed in helping those most in need and most vulnerable in our community. While they supported many causes, their strongest support was for young children and the elderly, two demographics who particularly lack voice in our society.
Lifelong Baltimoreans, Rabbi George and Alison Wielechowski and their sons, 11-year-old Lennon and 9-year-old Gideon, are more than pursuing the good life in Southern California. Having moved to San Diego more than three years ago, they are fulfilling a lifelong dream.
You would think that as the executive director of San Diego LGBT Pride, Fernando Zweifach López Jr., who uses the pronoun they, has done all the coming out they possibly can. A queer, non-binary individual who has worked for many years on civil rights issues, López also speaks openly and often about their father’s family, Mexican-American migrant workers who tilled the fields of rural California.