Social and Racial Justice
The YWCA’s commitment to racial and social justice is one of the common threads that unites YWCAs across the country.
The Right to Vote Is Under Attack—We Must Stand Together
The women who fought for the vote more than a century ago need us to fight back against legislation that would make it harder – and for some, impossible – to exercise that Constitutional freedom now. We must stand together in opposition of bills that would disenfranchise millions of Americans from their ability to participate in our elections.
Bills like the SAVE America Act and Make Elections Great Again Act further the myth of non-citizen voting, which unfairly targets voters of color and is extremely rare, and would make it much more difficult for millions of Americans to vote.Instead of solving problems that don’t exist, we need elected leaders to focus on how solutions to barriers that continue to disenfranchise millions of Americans.
Learn more: https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/why-myth-noncitizen-voting-persists
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Bills like this could prevent millions Native Americans who don’t have a passport – which is expensive to get – or access to a birth certificate from voting because many Tribal IDs would not be accepted forms of identification. Native Americans need more access – not less – to voting.
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A bill that could disenfranchise countless numbers of survivors of domestic and sexual violence who have had to change their names for their own personal protection. Survivors have already endured and overcome the pain of being silenced by abusers. Our election laws should lift their voices, not continue the pattern of abuse.
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Survivors of human trafficking – a crime in which it is very common for perpetrators to withhold key identification documents from their victims, often to never be returned – could be further silenced by laws like the SAVE America Act, which would require a very narrow set of accepted documents – like passports and birth certificates – in order to vote.
This Women’s History Month, as a proud part of the YWCA network, we honor the legacy of the women who came before us and reaffirm our commitment to continue carrying the torch of democracy.
NATIVE WOMEN’S EQUAL PAY DAY is November 18, 2025
Equal Pay Days recognize the current status of the gender wage gap across different groups of women which are calculated each year based on Census and other economic and workforce data. These dates represent the dates that women across racial and ethnic groups, disability, sexual orientation, and parenthood would have to work in the current calendar year to earn what a white, non-Hispanic man working year-round, full time made the previous calendar year.
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Colonial legacies of state-sanctioned violence, genocide, and cultural erasure continue to contribute to higher rates of poverty and unemployment in Native communities, and Native women experience a strikingly severe gender wage gap.
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Compared to non-Hispanic white men working full time, year-round, Native women earn just 58 cents to the dollar.
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In addition to the gender wage gap, the motherhood wage gap compounds disparities for Native women.
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56% are the breadwinners for their families, yet Native mothers earn approximately 50 cents to the dollar compared to white, non-Hispanic men.
You Can Help by Advocating for:
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The Paycheck Fairness Act of 2025 (PFA): This legislation would close critical loopholes in the Equal Pay Act of 1963, which made it illegal for employers to pay unequal wages based on gender and formally established the policy of equal pay for equal work. PFA would strengthen that existing landmark law.
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H.R.17 - 119th Congress (2025-2026): Paycheck Fairness Act | Congress.gov | Library of Congress
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S.1115 - 119th Congress (2025-2026): Paycheck Fairness Act | Congress.gov | Library of Congress
Resources for talking points: Legislation Summaries - Equal Pay Today
Learn more by visiting American Progress: www.americanprogress.org/article/breadwinning-women-are-a-lifeline-for-their-families-and-the-economy/
Equal Pay Days recognize the current status of the wage gap.
LGBTQ+ Equal Pay Day is unique from other recognized constituency-based Equal Pay Days. Calculating the wage gap requires an intersectional approach, since there is less government data collected from LGBTQ+ people. This in part, may be due to discrimination - which has escalated with the recent passing of legislative actions against LGBTQ+ individuals. The discrimination and bias LGBTQ+ people face in education, employment, housing, and health care, along with other factors contribute to LGBTQ+ people experiencing higher rates of poverty.
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The YWCA Helena believes pay equity is a vital component for LGBTQ+ individuals to live and contribute to a healthy community.
“We envision a world of opportunity. We commit ourselves to the work of racial justice. We will get up and continue to do the work until injustice is rooted out, until institutions are transformed, until the world sees women, girls, and people of color the way we do – equal, powerful and unstoppable.”
– YWCA USA
Equal. Powerful. Unstoppable.
Federal Legislative Priorities
Informed by YWCA’s rich 160-year history and by the expertise of our nationwide network, YWCA advocates for practical solutions that meet the needs of women, girls, and marginalized communities to advance our intersectional mission to eliminate racism and empower women.
With local YWCA associations across 45 states and the District of Columbia, YWCAs are on the frontlines providing child care, gender based violence, housing, and other programs and services to as many as 2 million women, girls, and families in a typical year.
YWCA Helena stands
with Transgender Montanans​
Our voice is a crucial part of this work.
Your voice is a crucial part of this work.
YWCA Helena stands strong in its mission to bringing us closer in ensuring peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all. We endeavor with you to raise the voice of those who are silenced. We've included a resource to help you interrupt language and behaviors that exclude transgender and queer individuals.
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