Study: Women give more to racial justice initiatives than men

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Single women were more likely to support the racial justice efforts of 2020 than single men or couples, a new study shows.

Driving the news: “Women Give 2022,” a report released yesterday by The Women’s Philanthropy Institute, shows that 48.2% of single women supported the protests, while 40.9% of single men did, and 40.3% of partnered couples did.

• Black households supported the protests at the highest rate (69.7%), followed by Asian Americans (48%), Hispanic/Latino (46.9%), and white households (37.1%).
• The report also found that 23.5% of all households gave either time or money to racial justice in 2020.
• Only 14.2% overall gave money.

Why it matters: For one, there’s the gap between “supporting” and giving money and time.

• But more than that, the study is the first to explore attitudes toward the racial justice movement through a gender lens, the authors say.
• Not only does it reveal that nonprofits and other racial justice organizations could probably tap into more money from people who voice support, it shows who’s more likely to give: people who also are from historically marginalized groups.

“That’s part of why women connect so powerfully with this work around racial justice: they give to causes where they see themselves,” says Dianne Chipps Bailey, Bank of America’s national philanthropic strategy executive and the chair of the Women’s Philanthropy Institute Council.

• WPI held a two-day meeting in Charlotte this week to discuss the findings and more. Bailey is a longtime Charlottean and nationally renowned philanthropist.

She says that for all the attention our city gives big corporate donations, like those from Bank of America or Atrium Health, 86% of gifts in the country come from individuals and families.

• “There’s an increased recognition in the power of everyday donors to do good,” she said yesterday. “We can do this as a community of everyday donors.”

Between the lines: The report, funded through a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, defines racial justice organizations in three ways: those led by people of color, those located within historically marginalized communities, or those whose missions reference advancing equity or making a difference in communities of color.

Interestingly, the study also showed how the general public defines racial justice causes and organizations:

• 61.1% said social movement organizations like Black Lives Matter or Say Her Name.
• 50.3% said organizations that promote racial equity, like Color of Change.
• 32.4% said minority-owned businesses.
• 27.8% said HBCUs.
• 18.3% said bail funds.

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