Equity Rises

Equity Rises: A top priority for Ploughshares Fund

When Ploughshares Fund launched the Women’s Initiative in 2017, the need was urgent and clear.

“If we are to solve the world’s biggest problem of nuclear weapons, we must include more women and more diverse perspectives,” the foundation announced at the time. “Conversations about nuclear weapons have historically been dominated by the singular perspective of men and taken place behind closed doors. But nuclear war is a threat to everyone – generations of men, women, children and the very planet itself.”

The Ploughshares Fund Women’s Initiative grew to be much more than a conversation changer.

In four years, the Women’s Initiative validated and catalyzed new gendered thinking among funding partners in the nuclear policy field. It championed the contributions of women working in the field, supported data-rich studies that explored third-rail issues such as sexism and racism, changed the way panelists are elevated on public platforms – and reached gender parity in Ploughshares Fund grantmaking.

“In looking forward and in listening to the voices and concerns of those working in the nuclear policy community today, it was clear that there is a need to expand our scope with one that aligns with the value of bringing multiple perspectives to the peace and security table,” said Dr. Emma Belcher.

As a key strategic component in her first year as president of Ploughshares Fund, Belcher is proud to announce Equity Rises as the new, evolved and expanded name and approach for the Women’s Initiative.

“Equity Rises aims to increase equity and justice in nuclear policy by empowering diverse voices, cultivating inclusive spaces and collaborating with new partners inside and outside the field,” said Cara Marie Wagner, senior program officer at Ploughshares Fund.

Programmatically, Equity Rises will serve as a core, structural component of the Ploughshares Fund mission to eliminate the threat of nuclear weapons, by expanding its scope of inclusivity to gender, race and disability.

“Equity Rises reflects the underlying values, scope and scale our community needs for deep, transformational and systematic change,” said Terry Greenblatt, senior advisor at Ploughshares Fund, who, along with Wagner, was instrumental in launching the Women’s Initiative.

Building off of the momentum and progress by the Women’s Initiative, Equity Rises will continue to disrupt assumptions on how and who has a say in the matter of making the world a more safe and secure world for all.

GIVE TO EQUITY RISES

Latest News and Analysis on Ploughshares Fund Equity Rises, formerly known as the Women's Initiative.

  • Expert: If You Want North Korea to Give Up Nuclear Weapons, Start by Ending the Korean War

    Korea expert and Women Cross DMZ founder Christine Ahn believes the United States needs to dramatically reshape its strategy on North Korea in order to rein in Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program. For the last thirty years, Washington orthodoxy has held that the Kim regime must first...

    July 23, 2020 - By Ploughshares Fund
  • The Women’s Initiative: Creating Impact and Transformation

    Changing the conversation around nuclear weapons is fundamental to fulfilling the Ploughshares Fund mission. Just as important is ensuring that women’s voices are actually heard in these conversations. As a sarcastic Russian male diplomat best illustrated, when asked to explain his...

    May 15, 2020 - By Ploughshares Fund
  • The Anthropocene Pandemic

    The coronavirus pandemic is not only a public health issue, said former NASCAR driver and environmental activist Leilani Münter. It’s also a showcase for the threats posed by the strain humanity is putting on the planet. Case in point: while we still don’t know the exact source of COVID-19, we...

    May 12, 2020 - By Ploughshares Fund
  • The Consensual Straightjacket In The News

    Laicie Heeley is the author of a fantastic new article in Newsweek, a piece that illuminates and validates the critical need for the Ploughshares Fund Women’s Initiative. The article, Has the Lack of Women at the Top Helped Cripple America's Response to the Pandemic? reflects on women, decision...

    May 6, 2020 - By Ploughshares Fund
  • COVID-19, Iran and US National Security

    The pandemic has hit Iran hard, a combination of government incompetence and US sanctions that block Iran’s access to medicine and medical supplies.  “Iran is one of the epicenters for the [COVID-19] disease,” said Ariane Tabatabai, a Middle East expert and adjunct senior research fellow at...

    April 6, 2020 - By Zack Brown
  • We're All In This Together

    If there was one thing Liz Watson emphasized, it was the need for urgency. “We need ventilators. We need masks. We need personal protective equipment,” she said. Without these basic necessities, the US runs the risk of a healthcare worker shortage as those on the front lines fall prey to the...

    March 30, 2020 - By Zack Brown
  • The WiLL to Win

    The discussion began, as it often does, with the budget. Caroline Dorminey and Corey Greer joined Ploughshares Fund to talk about their efforts to shift the conversation on national security. Dorminey and Greer are with Women’s Action for a New Direction (WAND), an advocacy organization aimed at...

    March 16, 2020 - By Zack Brown
  • Cynda Collins Arsenault

    Cynda Collins Arsenault is the founder of Our Secure Future: Women Make the Difference, which is part of the opera­tion foundation, One Earth Future. She is co-founder, Board Chair and Presi­dent of Secure World Foundation, and co-founder and member of the boards of the Arsenault Family...

    March 12, 2020 - By Ploughshares Fund
  • The Diplomat's Big Win

    It started with an invitation to lunch. Ambassador Hamamoto had only just arrived in Switzerland as the United States’ representative to the United Nations in Geneva. She was still feeling out her new role when Kofi Annan, former UN secretary-general, asked to chat over a meal. “And I’ll never...

    March 9, 2020 - By Zack Brown
  • The Ploughshares Fund Women’s Initiative

    The Ploughshares Fund Womens Initiative works to increase the voices and roles of women in national security and to ensure their ability to craft and influence US nuclear policy. Today, 13,500 nuclear weapons rest in the hands of a few powerful men who have unchecked...

    March 3, 2020 - By Ploughshares Fund