SDG 5 Initiatives and Projects
Read Madeline’s stories on Feminism Explained, founded by the co-host of our SDG Podcast, Olivia Martin-Johson. Feminism Explained is a student-run newsletter celebrating feminism. As a monthly columnist, Madeline writes articles about topics including gendered inequalities in healthcare, women in the workforce, economic, women’s incarceration, Miami housing rights, care work, immigration, Indigenous women, gender and environmental health, and more.
Women’s History Month 2022: Honoring South FL Caregivers
Women’s History Month 2022: Honoring South FL Caregivers. In honor of the 2022 Women’s History Month theme, “Providing Healing, Promoting Hope,” Social Impact Movement and Feminism Explained celebrated the contributions of caregivers to South FL. They amplified their voices through a panel discussion highlighting their caregiving roles, the impact of the pandemic on their work, and how to improve their work conditions. The panelists were Nicky Dawkins, a reproductive health doula based in Miami, FL, Gabina Julian, a member leader of WeCount!’s Domestic Worker Organizing Committee, and June Barrett, an Executive-Board Member of Miami Workers Center.
Caregivers have been and will always be fundamental to keeping families alive and powering our economies. To address maternal mortality faced disproportionately by people of color, doulas need more support from the healthcare sector, and to protect and dignify domestic workers, we must pass a Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, which was introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Pramila Jayapal in 2021. The Covid-19 pandemic demonstrated how important these caregiving roles are and why we need to invest in their protection and work.
As the Co-President of Leading Women of Tomorrow at George Washington University (GW), Madeline organized the second annual Women’s Org Fair at GW
Madeline and the Executive Board of Leading Women of Tomorrow organized the second annual Women’s Org Fair at GW, following last year when GW Leading Women of Tomorrow organized the first-ever Women’s Org Fair in GW history. The event included 34 GW student organizations that serve women and underrepresented genders and nearly 200 attendees.
The organizations that participated are diverse and include those working to increase leadership and foster personal/professional development for women on campus, support LGBTQ+ STEM students, build communities for women studying medicine, computer science, cyber security, international affairs, advance women, girls, and LGBTQ+ rights within the security space, support Black women who are in pre-health disciplines, a multicultural dance team, and more.
LatinX Heritage Month: Featuring Alexa Rodriguez, the Trans-Latinx DMV Director of the TransLatin@ Coalition
As the co-president of Leading Women of Tomorrow at George Washington University, Madeline and the rest of her team organized a Latinx Heritage Month event to celebrate the contributions of Elizabeth Rodriguez from Trans-Latinx DMV, an organization that supports members of trans-Latinx, Black, and Indigenous communities in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia (DMV) area. Elizabeth shed light on struggles and obstacles faced by HIV-positive people and members of the trans community as well as the work Trans-Latinx DMV relating to advocacy, leadership development, economic development, personal and professional development, and community organizing.
Champions for SDG 5 (Gender Equality) must direct their advocacy efforts using a feminist, intersectional lens and center the needs of members of our communities who face intersecting forms of marginalization and discrimination. The CDC reports that based on interviews conducted in 2019 through early 2020 with 1,608 transgender women living in Atlanta, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Seattle, 42% of respondents with a valid HIV test result had HIV. 62% percent of Black transgender women and 35% of Hispanic and Latina transgender women had HIV, compared to 17% of white transgender women. Trans women of color are disproportionately impacted by HIV.
Madeline Ley
SIM SDG 5 Ambassador
Madeline Ley is majoring in Political Science and minoring in Public Health and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at the George Washington University and is currently studying women and politics in the course PSC 2225 by Professor Nicole Bartels.
