Meeting the challenges of 2025

As the YWCA World Service Council (WSC) begins a new year, there are formidable challenges to face. Conflict still rages in Ukraine and the Middle East, there is food insecurity in dozens of countries, and massive displacement continues from increased climate crises like the fires in Southern California. World YWCA General Secretary Casey Harden reminds us that “we cannot ignore the rising racism, xenophobia and disregard for international law and human rights, and the human rights norms established or set as a north star for humans. We cannot ignore that the results of global elections that continue to put in place leaders who will further roll back hard-won gains.” Most of all, she states “we cannot ignore that, for too many girls, young women, and women, the oppressions they face daily are not new.”

It has been the tradition of the World Service Council (WSC) to prioritize funding for the World YWCA young women’s leadership cohort. Known for its pulse on the state of women throughout its 100 YWCAs around the globe, the World YWCA articulates its premier programming to meet the moment in its mission to build leadership skills around advocacy for equity in all phases of life thus moving the World YWCA forward in its ambitious 2035 goal to engage 100 million women and girls transforming power structures to create justice, gender equity and a world without violence and war.

Meeting the challenges of 2025 The World YWCA’s messaging has been key in informing YWCAs around the world what women are facing in their countries. It has provided a series of Bullet and Dove webinars with young women discussing how they cope in conflict countries. She Speaks is another platform that raises young women’s voices about the hardships they are experiencing. In partnership, the World YWCA co-created a series of tools that have already had a resounding impact in the hands of women and young women leaders. These resources are adaptable to various contexts and support those of any gender, culture, and religion across the lifecycle of changemaking. So far, these have included:

During 2025, the WSC will be exploring a new vision that would create a global solidarity fund…one that would be a YWCA alumni association/group/network with intergenerational leadership that oversees programming, activities, and advocacy occurring across borders. Supported activities would include cultural exchange travel opportunities and exposure to contemporary YWCA efforts.

In order to meet the challenges mentioned above the WSC strives to recruit new members – women who share the WSC global vision and mission. Those interested are able to join and donate via this website.

Young Women’s Leadership focus of WSC’s 103^rd Annual Meeting

The virtual annual meeting of the World Service Council was held Oct. 20. WSC Co-chair Mildred Morrison opened the meeting by briefly commenting on the history of the WSC and briefing attendees on the work of the Council over the past year: holding an in-person meeting of the WSC in collaboration with the YWCA USA’s June conference, participating in World YWCA zoom meetings, and raising $95,000 to mainly to support the World YWCA’s young women’s cohort program. She also memorialized four of WSC Trailblazing leaders who passed away. (see separate article).

The highlight of the meeting featured reporting by two members of the World YWCA’s Young Women’s Leadership Cohort, Amara Killen from USA, and Yvonne Ogollah from Kenya. Their conversations were facilitated by Anne Marie Schwerin, CEO of YWCA Walla Walla. Both young women praised the life-changing training provided by the World YWCA, and discussed their work with other women in the cohort along with the work they are doing in their own countries.

CSW 68 focuses on funding for gender equality

The YWCA USA Delegation at UN CSW68

The 68^th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68) delivered robust commitments by UN Member States to strengthen financing and institutions to eradicate women’s and girls’ poverty.

Globally, 10.3 per cent of women live in extreme poverty today, according to the report presented by the UN Secretary-General to the Commission, and progress towards ending poverty needs to be 26 times faster to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

The outcome document (or Agreed Conclusions) recognizes that women and girls living in poverty become ‘shock absorbers’ in times of crisis, and that further efforts are needed to increase resources to address women’s and girls’ poverty.