140 Years of Improving Racial, Gender and Social Equity

Our Mission, Impact and History

YWCA Boston Mission

YWCA Boston is dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women, and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all.

YWCA Boston Intended Impact

YWCA Boston will incrementally reduce systemic racial and gender disparities and improve social cohesion in Boston neighborhoods where health, educational and safety inequities are most significant. Working across racial, religious, gender and economic divides, we will:

Continually identify and measure disparities and/or social cohesion gaps in public health education and safety in Boston neighborhoods.
Work with beneficiaries, direct service providers, leaders and organizations to:

Change individual thinking, behaviors and actions
Increase access to and use of public services
Improve institutional activities, practives andpolicies that perpetuate disparities that affect Boston's most vulnerable populations
Develop partnerships with key individual and at crucial leverage points to affect institutional and systemic change

Click here for YWCA Boston's Theory of Change.

YWCA Boston History

We are an organization of firsts. We were the first YWCA in the United States, established by leaders in the abolition and suffrage movemet to address critical social justice issues of the time. We were the first organization in Boston tackle professional and economic empowerment for women, and among the first to fight for racial and gender equality.