Here in Washington, we fight to expand the right to vote, not suppress it. That’s why we’ve been one of the leading states in the nation on voting by mail. But we still have work to do, as the right to vote is withheld from the 10,000 people in our state who are out on community supervision following their jail sentence. 

America's system of mass incarceration has greatly exacerbated the racial and gender inequities across our nation. Black and immigrant women are in the sights of the overlapping prison system, deportation system, and widespread sexual assault. This month's reading list focuses on these women who are incarcerated, and elevates their stories in their own voices.

YWCA's Health Access programs work to increase wellness and safety in our community and reduce systemic barriers that drive inequities in health care access, chronic disease, and life span. We talked with Kiasha Gamble and Maisy Lane from YWCA's Health Access programs about how the healthcare system prevents us from achieving racial equity.

Medical racism is the systematic and wide-spread racism against people of color within the medical system. It includes both the racism in our society that makes Black people less healthy, the disparity in health coverage by race, and the biases held by healthcare workers against people of color in their care.

Current news and updates about the impact of the public health crisis on YWCA's programs. Last updated: July 20, 2020 at 3:26 p.m.

This month we're exploring how our healthcare system can perpetuate inequity. Below we've compiled a reading list written entirely by Black women focusing on the intersection of race, gender, and health in a variety of circumstances, including living with a disability, working as a Black doctor, and navigating the mental health system.