Friday, July 10, 2015
NoVo Foundation Looks to Girls As Change Agents
Girls and young women of color have made important gains in education, health and economic security in recent years. There is cause to celebrate increased graduation rates, higher participation in post-secondary education, reduced rates of teenage pregnancy, and even lower rates of unemployment. However, philanthropy must not assume that their progress means society has effectively addressed the persistent and pervasive nature of the challenges faced by women and girls of color.
Girls of color still lag behind their peers in their performance on standardized tests, and in far too many cities across the country they are more likely to be suspended from school or become involved with the criminal justice system. Furthermore, even when they perform well in school, education simply does not pay the same dividends for women and girls of color—even when their credentials qualify them for full-time, year-round work. For example, Census data reveals that white women make more than African-American and Hispanic women regardless of what degrees they have obtained....