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mission
Statement

The Women’s Diversity Network (WDN) aka WDN Resource Center connects and mobilizes women and gender-expansive people of different backgrounds to create positive change through unity and collective work.

The goals of the WDN are:

Educating our communities about issues and policies that challenge our unity
Advocating collectively to breakdown barriers for improved inclusion and advocacy for all
Celebrating our diverse backgrounds

In order for us to realize these goals, the WDN engages in activities, create events and promote actions that:

Identify and provide services needed by women and their families
Investigate and research issues of concern to women and their families
Advocate for public policies at all levels of government that address women's issues

aboutus

Long Island is an exceptionally diverse place but still incredibly segregated. Many of the organizations have shared goals and are doing parallel work, but have been

working separately. The Women’s Diversity Network aims to bring organizations and community members together to create positive changes through a more unified sisterhood.

WDN Founder, Shanequa Levin realized the need for a diversity event as she often found herself to be the only Black woman surrounded by White women, or the room would be full of Black women with no White women in sight. After the 2016 election, this segregation became more evident. Shanequa was ready to make change, but did not want to repeat past mistakes made in regard to diversity in the

feminist movement. Shanequa’s solution was to create a platform where we could celebrate our diversity and take time to get to know one another so we could become more comfortable with each other, and use our collective power to stand up for injustice. She discussed her idea with her trusted colleagues and received the support and encouragement needed. In February 2017, the Women’s Diversity Network was born. In March of 2018, we held a sold-out event.

WDN is now comprised of many women and gender-expansive people from various communities and groups who are committed to WDN’s mission and goals. WDN has become a social movement organization practicing transformative justice processes based on group leadership where marginalized lives are centered.

Mission Statement

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HEALTH Equity

Maternal & Infant Health, in particular Alarmingly High Maternal Death Rates:

Women in the United States are dying from childbirth-related complications, regardless of race, economics or location at an alarming rate. The United States’ maternal mortality rate ranks 47th among developed nations, and it’s even worse for women of color. African-American women are three times more likely than other women to die from childbirth-related complications.

WEALTH EQUITY

$26.5 billion dollars are lost on Long Island due to the racial wage gap. One of the causes of this is because Black women are paid the lowest, as are Latina women, particularly when compared to their white counterparts. Consequently, they are often forced to work more than 1 job to make ends meet. Black women are also often the heads of their households and tasked with footing most of the bills. Wealth inequities contribute to continued systemic racism and indicate a need to invest in communities of color.

RACIAL EQUITY

Racial Bias & Systemic Racism, in particular Policing & Community Safety:

Nation-wide systemic racism has shaped our criminal justice institutions toward discriminatory practices, building inequitable policies into their very foundations. Across the country, we have filled prisons with Black and brown people, and expanded policing and incarceration while defunding the very systems and programs that would address the root causes of “crime.” Long Island has an infamous history of racial segregation and the hyper-policing of Black and Latinx communities. For too long, our communities of color have been the victim of these practices while we fail to repair the harm caused to those left behind.

Gender EQUITY

Historically, society often deems females, transgender people, and nonbinary people as “weaker” or less important than males. Women, transgender people, and nonbinary people face gender wage gaps, occupational segregation, and are under-represented in political and economic decision-making processes. WDN is committed to empowering women and other marginalized groups, and to fighting for gender equality at home, in our communities, and in the workplace. We strive to empower women in all aspects of life.