An advocate shares her motivation behind being a part of women's movement
Amanda Sousa(Left) collecting a signature to support paid sick days at the 2016 Chicago Equal Pay Day Rally. Image courtesy of Women Employed
CHICAGO - Amanda Sousa from the women’s nonprofit, Women Employed, shares with The Real Chi the purpose behind a women’s movement and how it can be influential in a pandemic.
As a manager of engagement for Women Employed, Sousa informs and empowers people as she engages with supporters both online and offline to help them understand issues of gender inequity that Women Employed is working to address. She empowers supporters to contact their legislators and educate their networks and communities. After organizing for over five years, she said she loves her job and it feels great to be a part of the change that Women Employed is making.
“It's important for everyone and especially young people to be involved with politics and advocacy because we have the power to shape our world," she said.
Women Employed's goal is to influence the systems that have a tremendous impact on women's economic equity, especially for women of color and women in low paid occupations.
Sousa recalled one of her proudest moments working at Women Employed was in 2016 when the organization led the fight to win paid sick time for half a million workers in the city of Chicago and Cook County. The laws went into effect in 2017 and made it possible for workers to take time off when their loved ones are sick or when they are experiencing sickness themselves without worrying about missing a day's worth of pay. They advocated because people were in fear of their position being terminated, getting their hours cut for taking time off to take care of family or even their own well-being. Looking back on her work from that time, Sousa said, "That was a really proud moment to get to see all those years of advocacy come to fruition with that law passed in Chicago and Cook County."
There was motivation behind creating an organization such as Women Employed. Sousa said, "Women Employed was founded in the '70s by young women experiencing gender discrimination and harassment in their workplaces in downtown Chicago. They decided that they weren't going to stand for it anymore." In the women activist’s opinion, women often get the message that they should be nice and play by the rules and not make noise, but women's voices are powerful, especially when they join together.
Image courtesy of Women Employed
Currently, Women Employed conducts a virtual series called “Working Lunch Series: Centering Women of Color for Lasting Change.” It was a discussion amongst leaders who are women of color operating organizations in Chicago. The program was publicly live-streamed on Facebook and through a Zoom Webinar to help educate, confirm, uplift, and provide insight into what a women's movement looks like.
Guest Speakers at the event. Image courtesy of Women Employed
The ladies discussed how they would reconcile with their responsibilities as leaders to continue moving their work forward while being a part of the movement. In addition to that, how can they make sure the urgency they feel as leaders right now is not temporary.
The reason behind these discussions and why Women Employed gave them the name “Working Lunch Series: Centering Women of Color for Lasting Change” is to recognize the women of color who have been leading the work around gender and racial equity for so long that it often goes unnoticed.
“We were really intentional about holding space for women of color together and dialogue to foster solidarity and support in these lived experiences, while also educating and forming allies so that they can advance,” Sousa said. “Issues [that] interact with racial inequities have an even greater impact on women of color, as well as to empower them to take action."
The dialogue was also used to explore other moments in history to reflect other activists who accepted their own call to action by forming a movement to address the inextricable link between racial and gender equity. For example, the program began with a clip of author Eddie Glaude discussing race relations in the United States. Sousa said, "Our CEO felt like starting the event with this particular clip from Eddie Glaude would set the tone to have an honest and productive conversation about the movement we're in." Then Cherita Ellens, chief executive officer of Women Employed recited an Ida B. Wells's quote, "The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them. To move forward, we must speak truth without being labeled as divisive."
For those who are interested in receiving more updates about Women Employed next two events upcoming please check out their website to register in advance to join in on the discussion.