#WOMEN

HELPING
WOMEN
THE GIVING GUIDE
POVERTY IN MEMPHIS In “What is Design Citi-
zenship,” Elizabeth Reznik
states, “designers have
both a social and a moral
responsibility to use their
visual language training
to address societal issue
(12). With this sentiment
in mind, the designers of
this text wanted to create
a document to accomplish
two goals:
1) to inform the general
public of Memphis about
poverty in Memphis, espe-
cially as it effects women
and children in Memphis
--most acutely, African
American women and chil-
dren, and 2) to inform the
general public of Memphis
about Giving Tuesday, a
day established by The
United Nations Founda-
tion and the 92 Street Y
to encourage individuals
to give--rather than buy--
on the Tuesday following
Thanksgiving, as well as
to introduce the general
public to local organiza-
tions that support women
in poverty in Memphis.

Figure 1 is a fact sheet

about Poverty in Memphis
we created for convey
Memphis poverty facts at a
glance. The image of two
women with raised power
fists conveys our attitude
toward women’s empower-
ment, explored more deep-
ly on the next page.

Figure 1.

One
WOMEN IN POVERTY According to the 2019 Memphis Poverty Fact Sheet, compiled by Dr. Elena
Delavega, University of Memphis School of Social Work, and Dr. Gregory
Blumenthall of GMBS Consulting, 28 percent of adults and 44 percent of
children in Memphis live in poverty, an increase from previous years and
more than twice the national average. Poverty rates for “non-Hispanic
blacks” are higher than others, at 28%.

The economic circumstances of women who are head of household with

children is particularly acute, African-American women within this group be-
ing most effected. According to The Urban Child Institute, over 70 percent
of Memphis children are African-American, and 60 percent of children live in
single-parent households; however, we were unable to find data stating the
number of single-parent households where the head od household was a
woman, and how this broke down across race. We recommend a study for
these findings, as the women are burdened both by a the wage gap and the
bulk of childcare. Furthermore, it is often dificult for a single woman raising
a child or children on her own to find the time, support, and affordable
childcare needed to pursue education or ca-
reer advancement.

We do know, according to US Census Data,

that the largest group living below the poverty
line in Memphis are women between the ages
of 25-34 at 13.4 percent. The census breaks
groups down across two genders, male and
female, and into age categories that span
roughly ten years. Although we were not
able to piece together the numbers to get a
clear picture of women in poverty in Memphis,
these numbers point to a need for action.

The image that we chose for our campaign,

seen in several iterations in figure 2--to be
used for stickers, on posters, or in anyway
users see fit--was sourced from Canva and
is based on Dan Wynn’s iconic 1971 pho-
tograph of Gloria Steinem and Dorothy Pit-
man Hughes. This image is testement to
our committment to viewing our struggle as
women through an intersectional lens that
supports actionable compassion; we believe
in women’s self-determination, given access
to resources.
Figure 2

TWO
 #GivingTuesday, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, was established in 2012 by the
92nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation to promote a spirit of charity and
GIVING TUESDAY goodwill during the holiday season. Rather than an official holiday, the organiza-
tion’s website characterizes itself as a movement, harnessing the power of hashtag
activism.

The Giving Tuesday web-

site includes a toolkit with
the Giving Tuesday logo
and other images to be
adapted as components
of media around a particu-
lar cause.
Figure 3
Here are three of the images that
are part of the Giving Tuesday
Toolkit, including an image that
serves as a useful reminder of
the date Giving Tuesday falls
on this year, 2019. We suggest
using #GivingTuesday in con-
junction with our own #women-
helpingwomen, as well as hash
tags used by organizations you
might give to, to highlight your Figure 4
cause and encourage others to
give, as well.
The banner below could be used to create a bumper sticker or a full-sized
banner and could be coupled with our own banner, figure 8 on page 7. We en-
courage individuals to use the images and ideas found in this document freely
and to adapt them to their own needs, in line with our investment in allyship
and supporting self-determination through collective action.

Figure 5
Three
LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS According to United States census data, “Poverty rates for blacks in fe-
male-householder families decreased to 31.7% in 2018, a year-toyear
decrease of 2.7 percentage points. The 2018 poverty rate for related black
children under age 18 in female-householder families was not statistically
different from 2017.” While the first number is hopeful, the second tells that
there is more work to be done to end the cycle of poverty in black communi-
ties.

Ultimately, while we believe in the need for systemic change, we also un-
derstand that these changes do not occur overnight and that grassroots
support and coalition building is required in the meantime.

Figure 6 Figure 7
Here, we suggest two organizations, whose logos are shown here in figures
6 and 7, to donate your time or money to in support of women and children
living in poverty in the Memphis Area on #GivingTuesday.

The first is the Women’s Foundation for Greater Memphis. According to their
website: “Founded in 1995, The Women’s Foundation for a Greater Mem-
phis (WFGM) is a 501 (C)(3) non-profit organization committed to improv-
ing the wellbeing of economically vulnerable women and families annually
through philanthropy and grant making initiatives, leadership, and collabo-
ration. WFGM has played a major role as a backbone organization aligning
people, resources, and coordinating community-based services through the
two-generation approach to reduce poverty in Memphis.” To learn how to get
involved, go to their website: http://www.wfgm.org

The second is United Way of the Mid-South, http://www.uwmidsouth.org.

United Way is a national organiztion whose local chapters draw connections
between location specific data and actual resources to help individuals help
themselves through poverty by provided direct financial support, as well as
services such as free tax preparation.

FOUR
MAKING AN IMPACT While there is no one solution to poverty, understanding its root causes and
the demographics most effected is key to forging a path toward a solution.
There are many factors that play into why someone may be poor including
intergenerational poverty, lack of access to education, the gender wage and
investment gap, etc.

The Living Wage Calculator created in 2004 by Dr. Amy K Glasmeier, Mas-
sachusetts Institute of Technology, defines a living wage as, “the hourly rate
that an individual in a household must earn to support his or herself and their
family. The assumption is the sole provider is working full-time (2080 hours
per year).” The living wage in Shelby County for someone with no children
in a single-adult household is $11.06. (Minimum wage is $7.25.) After taxes,
the salary equivalent is $20,184. According to the Department of Health and
Human Services, the poverty threshhold for a single-parent household with
two children is $24,250.

The first step we can take toward empowering women in poverty is raising the
minimum wage for all. Per data from the Institute for Women’s Policy Re-
search, if women received equal pay: “Providing equal pay to women would
have a dramatic impact on their families. The poverty rate for all working
women would be cut in half, falling from 8.0 percent to 3.8 percent. The very
high poverty rate for working single mothers would fall by nearly half, from
28.9 percent to 14.5 percent.”

Figure 8

FIVE
 Works Cited

1. “Coverage Archives.” Women in the States, https://statusofwomendata.org/cov

erage/.

2. Delavega, Elena, and Gregory Blumentha. “2019 Memphis Poverty Fact Sheet.”
Sept. 2019.

3. “Demographics.” NCCP, http://www.nccp.org/profiles/TN_profile_7.html.

4. Hartmann, Heidi, et al. “The Economic Impact of Equal Pay by State.” 2015.

5. Holtzman, Tessa, and Ariane Hegewisch. “The Impact of Equal Pay on Poverty
and the Economy.” Institute for Women’s Policy Research, 1 June 2019, https://
iwpr.org/publications/impact-equal-pay-poverty-economy/.

6. “Human Development Reports.” The 2019 Global Multidimensional Poverty In-

dex (MPI) | Human Development Reports, http://hdr.undp.org/en/2019-MPI.

7. “Living Wage Calculator.” Living Wage Calculator - Living Wage Calculation for
Shelby County, Tennessee, https://livingwage.mit.edu/counties/47157.

8. “Partnership for Women’s Prosperity.” Women’s Funding Network, https://www.

womensfundingnetwork.org/initiatives/pwp/.

9. “The Urban Child Institute.” Urban Child Institute, http://www.theurbanchildinsti-

tute.org

10. U.S. Census Bureau. “Poverty Rate for People in Female-Householder Fami-
lies Lowest on Record.” The United States Census Bureau, 13 Sept. 2019, https://
www.census.gov/library/stories/2019/09/poverty-rate-for-people-in-female-house-
holder-families-lowest-on-record.html.