By Sarah Blugis, Communications Intern and Rachel Linn, Communications Associate

IWPR partnered with over 50 local, state, and national organizations for Status of Women in the States: 2015. Using Status of Women data, policymakers and advocates reach out to the media and raise awareness about women’s needs in the states and communities to advance the interest of women and their families.

The Seattle-based Women’s Funding Alliance is using findings from the Status of Women in the States to focus attention on women’s leadership and economic opportunity in Washington State. In addition to giving interviews to NPR affiliate KPLU and The Seattle Times, Women’s Funding Alliance staff traveled throughout Washington to share the data with employers, policymakers, program providers, funders, and advocates.

The Women’s Fund of Southeastern Massachusetts localized IWPR’s data for counties in their area, highlighting poverty rates in nearby cities, and held a press conference with the Mayor of New Bedford, MA. The group also sat down with local editorial boards to present data from the Status of Women in the States report, resulting in stories about the gender wage gap in the Fall River Herald and an interview with WBZ News Radio.

In Utah, the local YWCA issued a press release that generated media coverage on local TV, the local NPR affiliate KUER Utah, and in the Salt Lake Tribune. The Permanent Commission on the Status of Women in Connecticut has also used the data to attract coverage from the Hartford Business Journal, WTNH TV, FoxCT.com, and CTnews.com.

In Pittsburgh, the Women and Girls Foundation of Southwest Pennsylvania uses the Status of Women in the States report to inform their advocacy and grantmaking strategy. Their annual GirlGov program is designed to provide local girls with the opportunity to learn, first hand, about civics, government, philanthropy, community involvement, women’s history, and leadership. IWPR’s data on women in political leadership in the state was used to contextualize the importance of the program in a segment on WESA, Pittsburgh’s NPR affiliate. The Women and Girls Foundation have also presented findings to their board of directors and donors and hosted briefings for members of the media, policymakers, and advocates to increase investment in women and girls’ health, education, and economic security in the region.

IWPR hopes that its partners across the country will continue using the Status of Women in the States report and accompanying interactive website (statusofwomendata.org) to inform their own advocacy, educate their communities, and advance the status of women in their states and the country overall.

To view more of IWPR’s research, visit IWPR.org