What is the Gender Equity Network?
GEN is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization actively growing and cultivating a collaborative group of other nonprofits, volunteers, public officials, coalitions of underserved and underrepresented communities, government agencies, and concerned citizens. Together we are GEN, working towards lived equity for all instead of lived disparity.
What does the Gender Equity Network do?
VISION
A compassionate world resistant to & unaccepting of sex and gender-based discrimination within:
- public discourse & policy
- personal & family relationship dynamics
- research & data
- services & resources
- family law & child custody
- civil & human rights
- criminal justice
- health & wellness
- education & training
- workforce & economic opportunity
- the lived experience of future generations.
MISSION
To achieve lived gender equity, identifying and eliminating gaps & barriers that cause or contribute to ongoing disparities.
We have established six primary strategies to achieve our mission:
1. Increasing public awareness of sex and gender-based inequity, encouraging grassroots activism for lasting social change.
2. Identifying and eliminating public policies which encourage or perpetuate sex and gender discrimination.
3. Collecting and disseminating evidence-based, peer-reviewed, non-partisan research and data.
4. Working to ensure the equitable availability & distribution of services & resources to all.
5. Highlighting and eliminating institutionalized sexism within education, social services, labor, healthcare, and government systems.
6. Working in defense of basic human and constitutional rights, advocating for legislation that ensures equal application of the law within family court and criminal justice systems, regardless of identity, setting or circumstance.
VALUES
COURAGE: Facing sex and gender-based discrimination requires enormous fortitude. It also requires courage to challenge power structures and the status quo. We honor all who silently live with these disparities, those who quietly challenge them, & those able to publicly speak truth to power.
COMPASSION: All individuals share the equal human right to access, utilize and benefit from available resources & opportunities. To be an ally for equity requires acceptance that unjust and prejudicial discrimination in the treatment of different categories of people is harmful – regardless of who the victim and perpetrator are, are perceived to be, or identify as.
COLLABORATION: To achieve our vision, diverse individuals & organizations from all sides must work closely together. We encourage active participation with a spirit of compassionate, open-minded, respectful and proactive discourse.
EVOLUTION: Discrimination often reflects evolving cultural norms, so disparities shift over time. True parity requires a willingness to regularly review data and discuss inequities, reallocating resources as needed currently – not just historically.
JUSTICE: Equity for the marginalized must not come by subjecting others to injustice. We must endeavor to resolve the much harder issue: the elimination of lived disparity for all.
OUR AREAS OF FOCUS
We have cultivated several main topics which serve as the center of our programs and partnerships. These each house a significant number of related sub-categories.
Education & Workforce Opportunity
Family Court & Child Custody
Future Generations
Abuse Victim Resources
Criminal Justice
DNA & Genetics
Health & Wellness
