Ms. and Feminist Majority Foundation Announce $350K Gift from Craig Newmark Philanthropies to Enhance Coverage of Gender Gap in 2020 Elections

Women Vote2020 initiative to highlight women's voting power and impact

January 9, 2020 – Ahead of the 2020 U.S. elections, Feminist Majority Foundation and Ms. magazine announce a $350,000 gift from Craig Newmark Philanthropies to launch Women Vote 2020. The initiative will enhance Ms.'s election coverage and engage young voters, especially women on college campuses, through an expanded civic education campaign.

Through Women Vote2020, Ms. aims to enhance coverage of women's and men's voting trends to help explain the gender gap and women's voting positions. Ms. will commission original polling and analyze third-party polls to identify and report on trends. The results will become briefings for journalists, pundits, women's rights leaders and grassroots activists. This on-going reporting will help the Feminist Majority Foundation and Ms. create an echo-chamber for narratives on women's voting interests and provide a feminist lens through which to look at the issues being discussed during this election cycle.

"Analyzing women's views on policy positions provides a tremendous opportunity to highlight the ways that women differ from men on core issues and approaches to solving the problems that shape our country's future," said Katherine Spillar, executive editor of Ms. "More in-depth reporting on the gender gap and the underlying causes offers a powerful tool for making women's viewpoints visible, compelling candidates to address feminist concerns and demands for equality."

According to recently released reports from Tufts University, voter turnout by students at U.S. colleges hit historic levels in 2018, doubling from 19 to 40 percent. Of particular note, women college students turned out at a higher rate than their male counterparts (39 .6 to 35.4 percent). Nevertheless, the overall turnout among college voters remains lower than other age groups.

The Feminist Majority Foundation will promote voter education on college campuses with the goal of increasing young people's participation ahead of the 2020 elections. The campaign will work with faculty, students, and college administrators to:

• Ensure that students' constitutional right to register and vote where they are in school is not infringed;
• Secure access to voting locations on college campuses; and
• Inspire a record student turnout during early voting as well as on election day.

"Trustworthy and in-depth reporting on women's issues is necessary to ensuring that young voters are informed on the subjects that are important to them," said Craig Newmark, founder of craigslist and Craig Newmark Philanthropies. "Women Vote2020 will encourage attention to the topics that will drive women's voting decisions next year, and that work is mission-critical to promoting civic engagement."

2020 will be one of the most important elections of the past several generations, and the Feminist Majority Foundation and Ms. will be on the frontlines to help ensure that women's issues of today receive the attention and reporting that they deserve.

ABOUT FEMINIST MAJORITY FOUNDATION
Founded in 1987, the Feminist Majority Foundation has specialized in recruiting and training young feminists to encourage future leadership for the women's rights movement in the U.S., with an active network of over 600 college and high school groups in 47 states and the District of Columbia.

ABOUT Ms. MAGAZINE
Founded in 1972, Ms. is the oldest popular source for feminist news and information in print and online through MsMagazine.com. Published by Feminist Majority Foundation since 2002, Ms.'s emphasis on in-depth reporting and feminist political analysis, its cross-generational appeal and connections to feminist activists and leaders in the U.S. and globally, makes Ms. a critical resource to inform, engage and activate feminists in the 2020 elections.

ABOUT CRAIG NEWMARK PHILANTHROPIES
Craig Newmark Philanthropies was created by craigslist founder Craig Newmark to support and connect people and drive broad civic engagement. It works to advance grassroots organizations that are getting stuff done in areas that include trustworthy journalism & the information ecosystem, voter protection, gender diversity in technology, and veterans & military families. For more information, please visit: CraigNewmarkPhilanthropies.org.