Stronger Together: The Power of Coalition Building with Women of Color

From the creation of the term “women of color” in 1977 by Black women to represent solidarity, to congresswomen of color banding together to push through progressive legislation on our behalf, coalitions are essential to accomplishing goals and priorities for our collective wellbeing.

At She the People, we believe in solidarity with all women of color to build a politics and democracy centered around love, justice, and belonging. We believe that women of color are the future of this country and fight for our voices to be heard both by our leaders and as elected leaders ourselves. Last summer, we held a 10-state Listening Tour to hear from women of color all over the country about their needs, dreams, and experiences that shape their priorities and level of engagement in the political ecosystem. We gathered data on women of color as a political bloc to show our power in numbers and because there is none that currently exists.

Women of color are often the deciding factors in elections and have historically brought to light important issues and much-needed policies that benefit all Americans in the long run. This multiracial coalition of women of color is crucial to continue progressing the United States forward in a way that cares for all people, regardless of who they are. Here’s what we found on the importance of building coalitions with other women of color:

Coalitions are needed but difficult to maintain because of differences between different racial and ethnic groups.

Like with any group, not everyone sees eye to eye. However, when you add the layers and intersections of race, gender, class, and sexuality into the mix, it can make maintaining unity difficult, especially if everyone has varying priorities. For example, Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) people are overwhelmingly more likely to identify as Democrat, but Vietnamese Americans are more likely to be Republican (She the People, 2022). With Latina voters, those of Puerto Rican and/or Mexican descent are more likely to identify as Democrats than people of Cuban descent (She the People, 2022). Women of color are not a monolith, and no single racial group is the same either. 

Despite all our differences, coming together with a collective goal of creating a thriving world goes against what white supremacy wants from us–division and conflict. As one California woman we spoke with said, “By design, they want us to fight each other. They want us to say no Latinx people, no Asian people, no Black people. And what we need to do as a community [is to say] we all are impacted by these things in different ways.”

A “Politics of Care” is needed where people’s situations, relationships, goals, and vulnerabilities are heard and honored.

Overwhelmingly, women of color in our Listening Tour felt that even when participating in political ecosystems, many often feel silenced and/or dismissed. One woman in New York told us, “Trusting and listening to Black women is what we say all the time. And no one listens to us.”

Politics of care is an approach to political thought and action that utilizes best practices from social movements and different traditions to “theorize and practice care as an inherently interdependent survival strategy, a foundation for political organizing, and a prefigurative politics for building a world in which all people can live and thrive” (Woodly et al., 2021). Because prioritizing care is traditionally viewed as a “feminine” virtue, the approach tends to be more likely to be accepted by women, especially women of color. 

“[We should be governing from a politics of care] where we just really focus on the individual and bettering them… when people are more empathetic, we make a lot more progress,” a woman from California shared with us. 

A politics of care would take into account the complexities of each person’s situation and craft a solution based on such, usually without judgment and condemnation as well. It humanizes our experiences and uses empathy to bring about change.

Women of color are aware of the power of building coalitions in order to receive much-needed, tangible support and to move forward certain agendas and priorities.

In our Listening Tour, more than half of the women of color surveyed (57% and 59%, respectively) still believe in working together, “bridging diverse groups across race and gender to achieve change.” As one woman in Nevada said, “[Forming coalitions of women of color] just sounds natural. Because for so many of us, that’s like what our ancestors have always done, really gathering community together to make something work and really looking out for each other.”

We also see the power of women of color coalitions with elected officials, particularly in Congress. There is “The Squad,” a group of primarily progressive women of color in the House of Representatives, which includes Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY), Ilhan Omar (MN), Ayanna Pressley (MA), Rashida Tlaib (MI), and Cori Bush (MO). Summer Lee (PA) and Delia Ramirez (IL) are also new, progressive Representatives in the 118th Congress. We also recently watched Reps. Ocasio-Cortez, Pressley, Bush, Tlaib, and Pramila Jayapal (WA) speak up in Congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s defense as she was wrongly removed from her House Committee Assignments due to racism and Islamophobia, many of them citing far-right Republicans’ history of targeting women of color in the House of Representatives.

How we can continue to support women of color in building coalitions together 

Our Listening Tour revealed both the frustrations and optimism women of color are feeling in today’s political climate. If we want to continue uplifting women of color in their power, here are a few solutions to support us as a political bloc: 

• More research on women of color as a collective is needed–data and insights will show our specific needs, motivations, and expectations. At She the People, we are building a Women of Color Data Lab, the first of its kind, to house data and research (such as this Listening Tour) on women of color as a group.

• Increase access to high-quality, in-depth voter education from sources willing to break down the basics of the democratic process, candidates, and issues adjacent to the election. Roughly a third of women of color voters say “I find it hard to learn enough about the candidates and the issues so I can make a decision on who to vote for.” 

• Create a nationwide and state-level approach to elevate our voices and stories to create political power. With the rise of disinformation, particularly on women of color candidates and leaders, it is vital now, more than ever, for us to change the narrative with the power of our stories and voices. 

• Provide additional funding opportunities to support thriving community organizers in their work, plus explicit and guided support from funders for women of color leaders. Money is a significant barrier to entry due to inflation, high costs of living, student loan debt, and the nature of election funding for those interested in running for office. We highly encourage funders to consider supporting women of color organizers, candidates, and organizations.

• Host a regular forum for funders, capacity builders, and civic engagement organizations to discuss the inclusion of women of color in the political ecosystem. As one of the fastest growing groups in the nation, currently making up about 1 in every 5 voters, women of color must be at the table to provide our perspectives.

Join us as we continue to build power for women of color to lead America to a new political era.  To access our full report for your own work and organization, you can download it here. 

Stay tuned for updates on our Women of Color Data Lab, and let’s keep building, together!