White House Commits $100 Million to Empower Low-Income Women of Color

Thirty leaders from foundations across the U.S. gathered at The White House Friday for a daylong forum on “Advancing Equity for Women and Girls of Color.” The forum focused on issues that plague women and girls of color and highlighted the launch of “Prosperity Together,” a $100 million, 5-year funding initiative aimed at improving economic conditions for low-income women, specifically women and girls of color.

A report last year by the White House Council on Women and Girls identified issues for women of color including the lack of economic opportunities, vulnerability to violence, and health care disparities, which affects their well-being and quality of life. The council, along with Wake Forest University’s Anna Julia Cooper Center, unveiled a series of plans to resolve them.

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In hopes to help the effort for women of color, The Anna Julia Cooper Center and 24 other American colleges and universities, seminaries, research programs, and institutions will conduct more research on women and girls of color. The director of the center, Melissa Harrris-Perry, said combined, these institutions made voluntary commitments of $18 million for the next 5 years to conduct and share this data.

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