DCAEYC Attended the State of Women and Girls Breakfast on March 26

On March 26, the DCAEYC team attended the State of Women and Girls Breakfast and Panel Discussion hosted by the Washington Area Women’s Foundation, a gathering that brought together leaders and changemakers from across the region for an important conversation about the issues shaping the lives of women and girls today.

Moderated by Michelle Rice, President of TV One and CLEO TV, the panel featured Doni Crawford, At-Large Councilmember for the District of Columbia, Rebecca Epstein, Executive Director of the Center on Gender Justice and Opportunity at Georgetown Law, and Jennifer Iverson, Executive Director of Child Resource Connect. Together, the speakers explored the complex systems that continue to shape opportunity, safety, equity, and well-being for women and girls, especially Black and Brown women and girls.

Throughout the discussion, panelists reflected on the structural barriers that continue to limit access and outcomes across sectors. The conversation touched on adultification bias, harassment, trafficking, school pushout, generational poverty, inequitable access to services, and the ways broken systems continue to reinforce one another. Education, housing, public safety, health care, and economic opportunity were all discussed as deeply connected issues that cannot be addressed in isolation.

The panel also emphasized the need for long-term, sustainable progress. Rather than continuing cycles of rebuilding, re-explaining, and reacting, speakers called for stronger systems, more accountable leadership, and solutions shaped by both data and community voice. The role of local decision-makers, including councils, mayors, and other institutional gatekeepers, was highlighted as central to meaningful forward movement.

For DCAEYC, the conversation reinforced what we know from our own work in early childhood across the District. Stronger outcomes for children are directly connected to the well-being, stability, and support of the women who shape their lives every day, including early childhood care professionals, family members, and community leaders. When women are unsupported, inequities deepen across generations. When women are supported, children and communities are stronger.

As DCAEYC Executive Director Berna Artis shared, “This is not an issue just for those of us who have children. It’s an issue for our society.” Click here to read her full statement.

That reminder captured the urgency of the conversation and the responsibility we all share in moving it forward. Building a stronger future for children and families means confronting the conditions that continue to limit safety, opportunity, and stability for women and girls.

We thank the Washington Area Women’s Foundation for convening this important event and for continuing to create space for dialogue, reflection, and action across our region.