2020: Relentless Optimization For Equity
I want to shout from a rooftop that 2020 will be the year that all women are finally respected as full human beings with purpose, dreams, brains and a commitment to humanity. I want the world to witness the United States as a leader in demanding justice and right-setting of our planet’s crises. I have been impatient with our country for decades. In the midst of my angst, I am grateful that I have had the opportunity to professionally take on work that I believe contributes to moving people forward in a healthy way.
The most used word in 2018 was feminism. I bet the most used word in 2019 was intersectionality (yet most searched word was exonerate!). In 2020 we must coin a phrase or word whose meanings eliminate othering while healing racism and sexism at the same time. Belonging… finally!
Systems change assumes that people are willing to share power which in turn means they have listened to those impacted and have felt compelled to stand up for change. Or maybe they just found a selfish return on investment for change. I’ll take it either way. Rewriting public policies and laws are often part of the shift and these take time, often years. So, we start where we can — with ourselves and our daily actions, our choices and the use of our familial and communal voices. We also look at our financial resources and make statements with every investment, gift, and purchase.
Growing up, our family mantra was “Waste not, want not,” and my mother was adamant about keeping us away from the lures of hyper consumerism. Thankfully, that comes naturally to me now as an adult. 2020 is the year to truly examine choices we make that can keep our planet alive for generations to come. As I always ask my clients, “How much is enough?”
2020 needs to be the year we truly comprehend what the 13 Grandmothers are saying about our influence on the generations to come and our commitment to healing and regeneration. In 2020 we must internalize the ideas of john a. powell’s othering & belonging to build communities of permanence and love. I imagine Ellen Degeneres’ message of kindness showering over us all. I wish the brilliance of Rachel Maddow to be truly understood and embedded into the minds of independent or undecided voters. It is time for climate justice, economic access and affordable housing to be fundamental human rights. We must make a civil society with ethical voting actions and laws, where all experience reproductive freedom and body autonomy, love is celebrated as love no matter the gender or identity of people…. This is what consumes me every day. Thankfully, my partner loves me and my reincarnated Alice Paul self.
My 2020 goals and resolutions list mandates that I call you to engage in protecting and mobilizing the right to vote for all in a fair and just election that puts an ethical, truth-telling human in the Oval Office. At the same time, I am steeped in matriarchal thinking and being. My latest publication “Money, Gender, and Power – A Guide to Giving With a Gender Lens” is available, and I am proud to have authored a piece with Slingshot Fund that illuminates the basic premises that we must course correct in order to shift the dynamics for women in leadership and beyond:
First — women need to get in the game of money. Second — society needs to embrace matriarchal leadership. Third — white cisgender heterosexual men need to consider the price for holding on to the reins of money and power.
When I produced the inaugural Women & Money : Making Money Moves that Matter event in 2019, I aimed to create a space where women from a wide variety of sectors could connect and explore being more expansive and intentional with their approach to spending, giving and investing their money. The data point on philanthropic giving to girls and women reaching an all time low of 1.6% in 2019 makes me despondent. This is another datapoint that shows how people say they embrace feminism, but they do not invest in feminism. If anyone reading this truly wants to invest for a balanced, humane world, contact me for a list of 10 fierce leaders, 10 great NGOs, 10 female founders — all making critical influential change with an intentional feminist lens.
Graphic by Lucille Wenegieme, Kleos Creative
Using your time to engage in the census to ensure it is inclusive, to mobilize voters (Movement Voters Project) and strengthen voting rights, to work to end Citizens United, to mobilize states to pass the Equal Rights Amendment (NOTE: this was written before the beautiful people in Virginia legislature voted to make it the 38th state to ratify the ERA), to speak up on platforms you have about your values, to divest from fossil fuels by simply changing your bank (Rainforest Action Network), or to find a women leader you respect and thank her for her work — any of these actions will have short and long term impact!
2020 is my 40th high school reunion — wow! To reflect on an experience that happened four decades ago in my past begs that I ponder even more on the urgency of each and every day. Truthfully, I am a relentless optimist and as a quintessential Virgo; I have advice for all problems and challenges. My bottomless supply of energy and creative juices propel me to jump headfirst on any endeavor I am committed to — that is the only way I know how to be in this world that permits my body and mind to sleep deeply at night.
My work in 2020 is 100% focused on shifting the paradigm around gender, race, money and power. Thankfully I will co-create or be part of many platforms to do this work: delivering workshops on Gender, Money and Power (Slingshot), showcasing resources here on my new website, being part of partnerships and producing a resource book on Gender Lens Investing with Tides, and continuing my role as Interim CEO. Join me where you can and follow me on Twitter @TutiScott to stay in touch as I create time and space to write the book on feminist shifts we can all make for a better world.