YWCA Statement on the Biden Administration’s First Day Executive Actions

YWCA applauds the incoming Biden Administration’s executive actions today, each of which are critical steps to addressing the deep challenges facing our nation in the areas of the COVID-19 pandemic, racial justice, climate change, the economy, and government integrity.As an organization committed to eliminating racism and empowering women, we get up and do the work every day to advance justice in communities big and small across the nation. These first executive actions by the Biden Administration are essential to advancing YWCA’s intersectional mission to eliminate racism and empower women. We are particularly pleased by the Biden Administration’s initial steps to advance racial equity in our nation, such as by moving forward on DACA, issuing a racial equality executive order, repealing the Muslim travel ban, and rescinding the Trump Administration’s executive order on the Census. The Biden Administration will also revoke President Trump’s damaging executive order limiting the ability of organizations such as YWCA from implementing important and needed diversity and inclusion training. We released a statement with our nonprofit partners to urge the Biden Administration to rescind this harmful executive order on his first day in office and we are pleased to see him delivering on this critical ask. You can read our joint statement here. In addition, the Biden Administration’s actions to aid in our economic recovery – particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic’s disproportionate impact on women and women of color – are critical for the families the YWCA network serves.Today, the YWCA network came together to watch history – and herstory – made as President Joseph R. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were sworn in to become our 46th president and 49th vice president of the United States, and we’ll continue to come together to advocate for the women and families we serve and to advance justice in our communities, until justice just is.###About YWCA USAYWCA is dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all. We are one of the oldest and largest women’s organizations in the nation, serving over 2 million women, girls, and their families.YWCA has been at the forefront of the most pressing social movements for over 160 years — from voting rights to civil rights, from affordable housing to pay equity, from violence prevention to health care reform. Today, we combine programming and advocacy to generate institutional change in three key areas: racial justice and civil rights, empowerment and economic advancement of women and girls, and health and safety of women and girls. Learn more at www.ywca.org.