Over the course of its history, the YWCA embraced the dual challenge of racism and sexism. Member associations came to realize that the work of eliminating sexism required that they work on racism. This section focuses on transformation in organizational culture by:

• Describing parallels between race and gender dynamics
• Identifying group dynamics that support Mission values
• Formulating conclusions and solutions for overcoming organizational roadblocks to change

The United States Supreme Court has held that there is a compensatory purpose at work in an all-female organization whose purpose and programs are designed to enable its members to overcome the limitations imposed by a male dominated society. There are four strict criteria that must be met before the doctrine can be applied in support of a single-sex membership policy.

The four criteria are:

1. Members of the gender who benefit from the single-sex classification must actually have suffered gender-based discrimination.
2. The gender-based classification must have been adopted with the intention of helping members of the sex (women) which have been disadvantaged.
3. The sex-specific program cannot be based upon or perpetuate stereotypes about the disadvantaged group.
4. The sex-based program must be substantially and directly related to the proposed compensatory objective.

First, examine your association's policies and the stated reason for development of the program. Does this program, perhaps in conjunction with another program or several other programs, address the issue of domestic violence? Are the greater numbers of domestic violence program participants women or men? Do the greater number of financial and other resources for domestic violence programs support your members or associates? Your program rationale, implementation and results will tell the story of whether this program meets the YWCA Mission, or some other good but non-YWCA defined mission.

If the program provides historical perspective about societal barriers to girls' and women's aspirations and preparations for the world of work, that is a valid basis for the learning that takes place during the girls' field trips. If teachers, parents and other adults provide a learning experience for boys during the day about the value of gender equity, there is no reason why these different learning experiences should be considered discriminatory. Perhaps the girls and boys might share accounts of their day as part of a debriefing of the overall experience with YWCA staff and other involved adults.

Again, the question is what the rationale is for this program. Historically, there have been many misguided notions about what girls and women are or are not physically capable of doing. Health and sports programs must have a Mission-based rationale for being offered by the YWCA. Ask yourself how this program meets the needs of your membership. How is your membership (or a certain portion of your membership) empowered by the program? How are girls who are members or registrants impacted by the program? Is there a girls basketball team? Does it have a comparable budget for coaching staff and equipment? Are the numbers of girls served comparable to or greater than the number of boys served?

Historically, YWCAs did not establish childcare centers in the first instance in order to meet children's needs. Out of necessity for economic survival, women left fanning communities for big cities during the Industrial Revolution, because they needed jobs outside of their homes. During working hours, self-supporting and other needy mothers needed a decent place where their children could be cared for, which led to the widespread YWCA response. Preventing pauperism by offering childcare and advocating a minimum wage for workers so women could earn a living wage was and continues to be a fundamental YWCA approach to meeting its Mission: coupling program and advocacy to achieve institutional societal change. It's worth noting that some of the early centers were interracial, which put the YWCA way ahead of where many other groups were willing to go.

=> THIS IS THE 21ST CENTURY! MEN MAY SERVE AS YWCA STAFF, CAN ATTEND PROGRAMS AND PARTAKE OF YWCA SERVICES,... WHY CAN'T THEY SERVE ON THE BOARD? I JUST DON'T GET IT.

Recall that men (and boys) may not be YWCA members but may join us as associates. (Not associate members - for membership has its privileges - but associates.) Only members may be elected to the governing, policy-making body of the YWCA, because they are the ones who have a vested interest in the achievement of the Mission. The board of directors comprised of YWCA members demonstrates that women have the necessary intelligence and skills to own and operate the association. YWCA associates (men) who wish to offer their time and talents (and money) may serve as members on an advisory board that reports to the board of directors and on ad hoc committees or task forces appointed by the board of directors.

The YWCA is a women's membership movement whose work to empower women and girls necessarily requires it to work to eliminate racism.

"How do we locate the connections between racism and sexism? There are many direct parallels, in both theory and practice, between these two systems of domination. A good working definition of sexism is the subordination of women's social, cultural, political and educational rights as human beings, and the unequal distribution of power and resources between women and men based on gender. Sexism is a sub-social dynamic, like racism, in that the dynamic is used to subordinate one part of the population to another.

Sexism and racism are not inherited traits. They are learned behaviors within a social framework. They are perpetuated once again by stereotypes, by myths, by irrational fears rooted in a false sense of superiority of those who are dominant."

As a membership movement of women, we have inherited a legacy begun by groups of Protestant women who were concerned with the needs of women and who were critical of the church and society which failed to fully nurture them and advocate for their rights as citizens. As the membership grew to become fully inclusive, women of additional denominational and other faith backgrounds, as well as women who professed no faith but shared common values, joined in the work of addressing important women's issues and concerns of their day while seeking a more just social order. As women, we believe we can enable ourselves to take leadership in the struggle for peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all people.

Early on, we were challenged to find a sense of community among white women and women of color that would allow for the expression of different and distinctive experiences and concerns. The YWCA has a long and distinguished history of work to address the issues of race in the life of associations and the larger society. There have been many acts of courage born of the conviction of the worth of every person. Nevertheless, the practices of institutional racism within and without the associations have presented profound obstacles to full participation by all women in the movement. The internal organizational struggles to remove these barriers are matched by the external struggle to be a force in society to overcome institutional barriers to a full life for all people. Thus, our struggle for racial Justice seeks to ensure that our membership is truly inclusive; that our inclusivity reflects the potential of our collective power; and that, out of necessity, our power is informed by our vision of peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all people.