YWCA Madison’s Race & Gender Equity programs support people, communities and organizations in transforming relationships, cultures and structures towards intersectional racial justice, collective healing and liberation.

For more than 18 years, the Race and Gender Equity department at YWCA Madison creates opportunities for deep racial justice learning and unlearning, as well as offers collaborative consulting services for transformative change that centers, deepens and broadens racial justice, equity and belonging within organizational systems and cultures.

Our services invite people, communities and organizations to embrace the need to develop an ongoing racial justice practice that is rooted in both:

  • Recognizing, unlearning and dismantling beliefs, behaviors and practices that perpetuate racism, harm and inequity.

  • Identifying, learning and strengthening beliefs, behaviors and practices that co-create equity, healing and belonging.

Our philosophy and method of service across our programming is holistic (whole person and systems capacity building), experiential (content, skill building, embodied, as well as emotional based learning focused on the development of ongoing practice), collaborative (co-creative partnership, community of practice and shared accountability) and restorative (healing centered practices for conflict transformation).

Racial Justice Programs

The Black Thought Project transforms public and private spaces into sanctuaries for the expression of Black thought.

Collaborative consultation services to center, deepen, and broaden racial justice, equity and belonging within organizational systems and culture.

Amplify Madison Funded a combination of professional development, organizational collaboration and community engagement for teams of women.

Each year, YWCA Madison hosts a Racial Justice Summit that brings together community stakeholders to work on eliminating barriers that foster racism.

Gender Equity Programs

Connect with resources and opportunities for racial justice learning.

Women of Distinction Leadership Awards were established to increase community awareness and appreciation of the diverse contributions of women.

Learning experiences to support development of a foundational understanding of the system of racial inequity, and what we can do to transform it.

Stand Against Racism provides the opportunity for communities across the United States to find an issue or cause that inspires them to take a stand.