AAPI Civic Engagement Fund and Groundswell Fund Collaborate on a Groundbreaking New Report - Ahead of the Majority: Foregrounding Women of Color
Los Angeles, CA – Today, the AAPI Civic Engagement Fund and Groundswell Fund jointly released a new report, Ahead of the Majority: Foregrounding Women of Color, which finds that women of color are poised to play a pivotal role in the 2020 elections, shaping policy through a variety of civic engagement activities and contributing to the changing makeup of the American electorate. Since 2008, the population of women of color has increased by 18% while their voter registration rates have jumped by 25%. Their overall rate of civic engagement has also increased, demonstrating women of color’s influential role in setting the nation’s policy agenda.
"With the 2018 Midterms, the nation witnessed a sea change in American politics led by women of color,” said EunSook Lee, Director of the AAPI Civic Engagement Fund. “This is a story of Black women on the frontlines of democratic demands for progressive change and social justice, turning out to the polls, made more impactful by the participation of Latinas and Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women. The data points to the potential for substantive policy change when strategies and resources are centered on women of color."
"Ahead of the Majority examines the unprecedented and often ignored role of women of color in the 2018 Midterm elections,” said Taeku Lee, Managing Director of Asian American Decisions. “By focusing on Black, Latina, and AAPI women (and, where data are available, Native American women), the report fills two critical gaps: first, the story of women of color as an emerging force to be reckoned with takes center stage and, second, the report takes a fresh new look at existing data sources along with original data we collected in the 2018 American Election Eve Poll."
“2018 marked a milestone for women of color reaching their potential as a powerful electorate,” said Vanessa Daniel, Executive Director of Groundswell Fund. “We urge fundinginstitutions and donors to reassess their funding and investment decisions to recognize the growing value of women of color in setting the nation’s policy agenda. We encourage philanthropy to course correct on their historical underinvestment by supporting more women of color-led, and serving, organizations...