The Empowerment Project

Today on the blog we had the pleasure of publishing an excerpt from a new book called 'Music Mavens: 15 Women of Note in the Industry', by Ashley Walker and Maureen Charles. The book is part of Chicago Review Press’s “Women of Power” series, a timely, inclusive, international biography series that profiles 15 contemporary women who are changing their field while empowering others to follow their dreams. In ‘Music Mavens’, 15 extraordinary women reveal how they turned their passions into platforms and how they use their power to uplift others. In this excerpt, the authors introduce Broadway orchestrator, music director, producer, and orchestra founder @MacyjSchmidt, who is making her mark not only with her orchestrations but by hiring female-identifying musicians of color and showcasing their talents. Macy is the founder of @TheBroadwaySinfonietta in response to inequities she had witnessed as a woman of color working in musical theater. "Theater orchestration is a predominantly male profession, and as in many industries, men have historically mentored other men. Macy compiled a list of people who had orchestrated a Broadway show over the previous 20 years—190 in all. She found 90.5% were white men, 5.8% were BIPOC men, 3.7% were white women, and none were BIPOC women," reveals the excerpt. "All too often she’d seen highly qualified female musicians of color passed over for opportunities on Broadway. So, in the midst of the pandemic, 23‐year‐old Macy Schmidt became an agent of change. She founded and assembled The Broadway Sinfonietta, “an all female‐identifying, majority women‐of‐color orchestral collective showcasing the excellence of BIPOC women musicians on Broadway and beyond.” Read how Macy forged a path for herself, earning a glowing review in the New York Times and making the Forbes 30 under 30 Music List this year via the link in our bio! 🎼🎻 . . . Photo by @rebeccajmichelson 📸 #broadyway #MusicMavens #MacySchmidt #Broadwaysinfonietta #orchestra #womenofcolor #change #music #musician #talent

We all remember hearing the horrific news about the shooting in Las Vegas in 2017, at the Harvest Music Festival. The largest mass shooting in US history, we just passed the 5 year anniversary on Oct 1st, when many of the survivors went back to the site to remember the loved ones lost. For Los Angeles-based survivor @ashleyhoff123, sharing her experience on social media was part of her healing process, posting images of herself from the tragic night accompanied by emotional anecdotes of what it meant to escape such a horrific event. Ashley also happens to be a successful Hollywood producer and development executive, having worked on major TV series such as ‘The Case of: JonBenét Ramsey’ (CBS), ‘JFK Jr. and Carolyn’s Wedding: The Lost Tapes’ (TLC), ‘Catfish’ (MTV), ‘Who Shot Biggie and Tupac’ (Fox), and ‘Fight Like a Girl’ (WWE/Quibi/Roku). Ashley is the producer behind the new @paramountplus original docu-series '11 Minutes', telling stories of courage and survival through first hand accounts. 58 lives would be lost and over 800 people injured. Although it is hard to watch, here's what Ashley told us about what she hopes viewers will take away after watching '11 Minutes': "As media, we have the power to record history. We also are the only people with the power to rewrite it or write it correctly. I often felt like the narrative shared surrounding that night focused on the worst person there. That isn’t the history I remember and cling to. As I ran out of that field, I remember bearing witness to some of humanity’s most incredible moments. That is what I wanted people to remember. ’11 Minutes’ is hard to watch, but I believe it tells the story of a night when people truly showed up for one another, putting their lives on the line for each other in one of our nation’s darkest moments." Click the link in our bio to read more of Ashley's survivor story, and how she balanced her roles as a survivor AND producer in the making of '11 Minutes'. ❤️ . . . #producer #11minutes #lasvegas #harvestfestival #gunviolence #gunreform #documentary #TVseries #trauma #history #healing #hope #humanity #storytelling #survivor #mustwatch #powerful

It’s DAY 2 of our founder @ashadahya’s Kickstarter campaign! We are supporting her as she raises money to finish post production and animation on her short film called SOMEONE YOU KNOW which profiles 3 women who had later abortions and the barriers they faced along the way. While the campaign is running we’ll be introducing you to the people featured in the film as well as those who are making it happen behind the camera! First up is one of the featured storytellers - Valerie Peterson. Valerie was raised on the Southside of Chicago, and grew up Pentecostal, where she didn’t know much about abortion. Today she is a corporate professional based in Texas. Val unexpectedly got pregnant a few years ago after her two daughters were almost adults themselves. Valerie came around to the idea of having a third child later in life despite being a high-risk pregnancy. But at a 15 week scan, she learned some devastating news that would change all her plans… Read more of Valerie’s story on the Kickstarter page and make a donation via the link in our bio. Swipe to see a screenshot of Val being interviewed, and her animated character created by @animarcita and her team! 🎥🎬 . . . #SomeoneYouKnow #shortfilm #documentary #kickstarter #crowdfunding #storytelling #abortion #director #producer #roevwade #reproductiverights

We're excited to feature our founder @ashadahya's new Kickstarter campaign on the site today! Aside from being our badass, fearless founder, Asha is also a director and producer, raising money to finish a new short documentary called 'SOMEONE YOU KNOW'. This is a story about overcoming barriers and the need to ensure abortion care can be accessed at all stages of pregnancy. 'Someone You Know' profiles 3 women - Valerie Peterson, Sharon Lagos and Mindy Swank - who had abortions later in their pregnancy. Their complex, intimate and heartbreaking experiences will be illustrated by animated scenes. The film also features We Testify founder Renee Bracey Sherman, and Dr. Meera Shah the Chief Medical Officer at Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic. For the next 30 days she is hoping to reach as many people as possible who are looking to support and amplify independently-made films that are centering the voices of abortion storytellers and championing access to abortion. Given the data showing that 1 in 4 people in America will have an abortion before the age of 45, there is a good chance that this issue impacts, you or Someone You Know. Yet there are no abortion services in at least 89% of U.S. counties, and the number of facilities offering later abortions is even more limited. Additionally, there are only a handful of states providing abortion after the first trimester. The reality of living in a post-Roe America means we are going to see a lot more devastating outcomes, especially for the most vulnerable. The goal is to complete the film and use it as a tool for advocacy and fostering empathy. The anticipated release date will be June 24, 2023, the one year anniversary of Roe b Wade being overturned. Please consider donating to Asha's Kickstarter campaign. Throughout the next 30 days we will be sharing all her updates and info about the campaign on our social media so stay tuned! Head to the link in our bio to donate today! 🎥🎬 . . . #kickstarter #campaign #crowdfunding #shortfilm #womeninfilm #documentary #reproductiverights #bodilyautonomy #filmmaking #storytelling #ashadahya #someoneyouknow #voices #stories #socialimpact #instagood #best #share

⚡️“Don’t you EVER give up on YOU!”⚡️ We wanted to end the week on some inspiration, and who better to deliver this into our very souls than @thesherylleeralph from her iconic Emmys speech! #repost from @todayshow: In an emotional speech, the legendary @thesherylleeralph has us feeling truly inspired. #Emmys #AbbottElementary 📸: Getty Images #inspire #friday #sherylleeralph #iconic #motivation #blackwomen #dream #believe #dontgiveup #weekend #instagood #best

Many of us have heard these three words: Black Panther Party. Some know the Party’s history as a movement for the social, political, economic, and spiritual upliftment of Black and indigenous people of color – but to this day, few know the story of the backbone of the Party: the women. It’s est. that 6 out of 10 Party members were women. While these remarkable women of all ages and diverse backgrounds were regularly making headlines agitating, protesting, and organizing, these same women were building communities and enacting social justice, providing food, housing, education, healthcare, and more to the people. A new photo book, ‘COMRADE SISTERS’ (Out October 9, 2022) is the first book to tell the story of the women of the Black Panther Party, feat. images from photojournalist @stephenshames who was a 19-year-old college student when he first met the BPP in 1966. Stephen was given unprecedented access to take photographs not only of the protests and rallies, but also behind-the-scenes moments that provide a more nuanced portrait of the women Party members with their families and serving their communities. One of the women featured, who was an early party member, is Ericka Huggins, who writes in the book's introduction that the primary motivator for the women of the BPP was LOVE: "If the government won’t take care of its people, we will do it ourselves. We will serve the people, body and soul. These women were mothers, sisters, aunties, cooks, housecleaners, churchgoers, middle and high school students, students at HBCUs, teachers, artists, factory and retail workers, poets, dancers, writers and musicians, all called by the model of the BPP. We were young and full of love for all people." See more images from 'Comrade Sisters' via the link in our bio! 📸✊🏾 . . . #comradesisters #blackpantherparty #movement #Blackwomen #freedom #socialjustice #photography #activism #politics #best

Today on the blog we're featuring an inspiring post from Yana Spencer, a journalist and women’s right activist who runs Tamu Bakery – a social enterprise which empowers women and girls, who have been affected by gender-based violence, through baking therapy. Yana shared some insights about what she learned about women's empowerment in the region: "I moved to the Middle East five years ago, having previously lived and worked on women’s empowerment projects in South-East Asia, Europe, Africa and the Balkans. I was ready to roll up my sleeves and begin some hard work. According to the World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Report 2022, it will take 115 years to close the gender gap in the Middle East and North Africa; so my expectations of female power in the region, both inside the home and beyond it, were low. Back then, little did I know of the journey I was about to embark on – meeting warm and hard-working women, determined to smash the glass ceiling, who would teach me some important lessons," she writes. Hard work, seizing entrepreneurial opportunities and building female networks are some of the main lessons she learned along the way but one of the most eye-opening lessons was the women insisting on the right to choose. "According to UNICEF, every year 700,000 girls are forced into child marriage in the MENA region. Although the tradition of arranged marriage is very much alive in the Middle East, there is a clear distinction between forced and arranged marriages...After attending a few wedding ceremonies, and interviewing my friends and their families, I have learned that arranged marriages often work, as do love matches, and both can also fail and end in divorce. The most important word here is ‘choice’." You can read more about what Yana discovered about women's empowerment in the Middle East via the link in our bio. Perhaps there is something all of us can learn! "I am happy to see women claiming their choices – in marriage, education, work, and personal development." 📿🧆💖 . . . #arabwomen #empowerment #education #network #choice #marriage #entrepreneur #middleeast #womensrights #opportunity #hardwork #instagood #WCW #femaleempowerment

Today on the blog, journalist Katarzyna Rybarczyk contributes an insightful post about trafficking in India, and the patriarchal culture that exacerbates it. "Although it is difficult to measure the exact scale of the issue due to its hidden and illegal nature, thousands of women and girls are trafficked through India every year, according to government statistics. There are many forms of human trafficking but the trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation and marriage are the prevalent ones. Still, regardless of the reason, trafficked women are sold to men who then use them as sex objects and domestic workers," she writes. Katarzyna spoke with Shafiqur Rahman Khan, a founder of @empowerpeoplein, a Delhi-based NGO working with trafficking survivors, who told her that almost every area in India is dealing with the problem of trafficking of women, and many of them are targeted because of their ambitions to break free from the patriarchal ties that bind them. "Who are victims of trafficking? Girls with aspirations who try to break the cycle of poverty, get a job, earn money, choose their own partner," Khan says. But "rescuing a girl requires more than organizing a raid on their oppressor’s house," added Khan, explaining to Katarzyna that the work Empower People do can literally make a huge difference in the life of a trafficking survivor. When working with survivors, it is necessary to support them throughout the reintegration process and monitor whether they are being treated fairly after returning home. And, maybe even more importantly, anti-trafficking orgs have try to help them rediscover their identity, encourage them to speak up, teach them about their rights, help them tell their stories. "The only way to prevent trafficking is providing girls with opportunities." said Khan. To read more on how Empower People are working to enable trafficking survivors regain financial independence and break the cycle of poverty and victimization, head to the link in our bio. ⛓ . . . #trafficking #India #victim #survivor #girls #ambition #opportunity #patriarchy #culture #identity #speakup #womensrights