2021 VIRTUAL GALA CO-HOSTS AND LEAD SPONSORS
2021 VIRTUAL GALA HIGHLIGHTS
On October 28, 2021, friends and supporters of the National Women’s Law Center came together to support our mission, celebrate our victories in the fight for gender justice, and leverage our collective power to achieve the future we deserve, the future we’re fighting for.
Thanks to generous sponsors and donors, we raised funds to support the Law Center’s work to advance gender justice in the courts, in the states, in the press, in our movement, and in Congress and our federal government. To view a list of our lead sponsors, please click here. To view the digital program, please click here or see below.
Throughout the event, we heard from advocates and influencers who highlighted the courage and perseverance of all those working behind the headlines to achieve gender justice. Padma Lakshmi, television host/producer and New York Times best-selling author, joined us to talk about how the pandemic is affecting hospitality workers. Amber Stevens West, actor and mother of two, was in conversation with a child care provider on what’s next to rebuild that sector. June Diane Raphael, actor and author, was joined by an abortion rights activist to discuss what’s on the line and why abortion, actually, is central to our equality and freedom. Qian Julie Wang, New York Times best-selling author and civil rights litigator, interviewed a student about investments we’re making in young people today. And, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Charles Schumer provided remarks about how the Build Back Better agenda is urgently needed to transform the lives of women and families, as well as their visions for a more gender just future. The program also featured two musical performances by MILCK.
Watch the 2021 Virtual Gala program below!
The National Women’s Law Center Annual Gala is one of D.C.’s most notable gatherings of policymakers, influencers, and thought leaders working at the intersection of law, policy, and culture change. With over 1,000 attendees from the women’s, civil rights, corporate, philanthropic, and legal communities, the gala shines a light on the most pressing gender justice issues of our time, including Title IX, sexual harassment and violence, reproductive rights and health, equal pay, access to high-quality child care, and economic security for women, their families, and their communities. The extraordinary evening offers a unique opportunity to hear from changemakers across sectors who are fighting to build a country that is equitable for all women, girls, and those across the gender spectrum. Though our event will remain virtual again this year the experience will still be the same: to bring the most conscientious and committed gender justice champions together, mark how far we’ve come, and shine a light on the path forward.
Forty-nine years ago, the National Women’s Law Center was created to promote the fundamental belief that women and girls have the right to live, learn, and work with safety, dignity, and equality. Since then, our work has tackled the most urgent gender justice issues and advanced legal, policy, and cultural changes to last generations. Against the backdrop of a national reckoning with racial injustice, paired with a global public health disaster that saw women predominantly on the front lines, the Center’s decades-long work is paving the way to move our country from relief to recovery to prosperity.
Resources raised through this event are an investment in the Law Center’s work to break down the barriers that harm everyone—especially those who face multiple forms of discrimination, including women of color, LGBTQ people, and low-income women and families.
2020 VIRTUAL GALA HIGHLIGHTS
On November 12, 2020, friends and supporters of the National Women’s Law Center came together to support our mission, celebrate our victories in the fight for gender justice, and leverage our collective power to achieve the future we deserve, the future we’re fighting for.
Thanks to generous sponsors and donors, we raised over $1.2 million to fund the Law Center’s work to advance gender justice in the courts, in the states, in the press, in our movement, and in Congress and our federal government. To view a list of our lead sponsors, please click here.
Throughout the event, we heard from leaders in the gender justice movement like Senators Cory Booker and Mazie Hirono, whose words paid tribute to two social justice icons we lost in 2020, Congressman John Lewis and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and called our movement to uphold their legacies. We also heard from youth advocates like Q Garcia, a Brick by Brick fellow, and Angela Calderón, a co-author of We Are Not Invisible, whose passion to shine a light on the stories of LGBTQ+ and Latina students embodies the Law Center’s mission to fight for Justice for Her and Justice for All. We were uplifted by the words of actors & activists Tiya Sircar, Hilarie Burton, Melissa Barrera, Amber Stevens West, and Logan Browning and professional soccer player Allie Long, who reminded us that this fight belongs to all of us. And we danced along as the powerful music of the Resistance Revival Chorus brought our community together in song when we could not be together in person.