Girls for Gender Equity

Girls for Gender Equity (GGE) is a leading inter-generational organization that centers the voices and experiences of young women and LGBTQ/GNC youth of color within the racial and gender justice movements of the 21st Century. Our constituents are cis, trans, and gender nonconforming young people of color ages 11-24 underserved communities from all five boroughs of New York City. Annually GGE serves over 600 youth, 90% youth of color and 50% from immigrant families. Through local and national presentations, panels, workshops, convenings, events, press conferences and in the media, GGE reaches over 7,000 people. At the forefront of GGE's strategy is the belief that young people are ... read more Girls for Gender Equity (GGE) is a leading inter-generational organization that centers the voices and experiences of young women and LGBTQ/GNC youth of color within the racial and gender justice movements of the 21st Century. Our constituents are cis, trans, and gender nonconforming young people of color ages 11-24 underserved communities from all five boroughs of New York City. Annually GGE serves over 600 youth, 90% youth of color and 50% from immigrant families. Through local and national presentations, panels, workshops, convenings, events, press conferences and in the media, GGE reaches over 7,000 people. At the forefront of GGE's strategy is the belief that young people are catalysts for change, cultural creators and innate leaders when we as adults create the conditions for them to thrive. GGE authentically engages young people through youth/adult partnerships where they lead solution-oriented strategies to shape their schools, communities, families and their own lives. The young women and LGBTQ/GNC youth we serve experience a range of living situations from foster care, poverty, substance abuse, sexual violence and incarceration. They make up the majority of those frequently suspended from school and to whom harsh discipline is applied yet they do not have access to counselors or social work services. Our youth development model is designed with the recognition that the young people we serve come to organizing and advocating for systems change while they are also seeking to navigate these systems for their survival. They are the most affected by the systems we work to change therefore we believe that they ought to be the architects of strategies to reform the systems impacting them. Through education and outreach, GGE trains youth, educators and decision-makers. GGE employs a multi-prong approach of education, direct service, community advocacy and organizing that increases youth leadership and strengthens resources within communities through our core programs. * Sisters in Strength Youth Organizers (SIS) is a two-year, paid youth-organizing program for 15 young women of color in the 10th and 11th grades where they learn and practice community-organizing skills. Participants design and lead workshops on topics such as sexual harassment prevention and school push-out, speak on panels, conduct participatory action research and create media. * Urban Leaders Academy (ULA) is an after-school program designed to help 150 low-income, middle and high school students in Brooklyn, ages 11 - 18, achieve academic excellence, social and emotional growth and maintain healthy lifestyles. Through a social justice framework, ULA youth think critically, build their capacity to be agents of change and act to change systems of oppression. * Young Women's Advisory Council (YWAC) of the NYC Young Women's Initiative is an advocacy and civic engagement program for 26 young women and TGNC and LGBQ youth of color residing in all five boroughs, ages 14-24. YWAC advances the lives of young women of color through engaging in participatory governance in NYC, advising the city administration and philanthropic entities and working with the community. YWAC also works with national movement leaders to inspire adoption of young women's initiatives in other localities throughout the country. * Community Organizing (CO) GGE targets NYC schools based in underserved communities of color as sites to mobilize and collectively work toward gender, race and class equity. Campaigns and coalitions include our current campaign - "School Girls Deserve," "Dignity in Schools Campaign - #CounselorsNotCops," "Coalition for Gender Equity in Schools" and "Breaking the Silence: Prioritizing Opportunity for Girls of Color in NYC."