YWCA USA Statement in Response to 2026 State of the Union

YWCA USA calls on the administration and Congress to reckon honestly with the state of American families — and to act with urgency on the issues that determine whether women, children, and communities can live with safety, dignity, and hope.

The true State of the Union is not one of universal prosperity. It is one in which the one million women, children, and families served by our network of associations struggle to pay bills, find safe housing, and care for their loved ones. It is one where the heaviest burdens fall on women, children, and families of color, who continue to face systemic racism, economic inequity, and policies that deepen longstanding disparities. It is one where families live in fear fueled by immigration enforcement that has fractured families, neighborhoods and taken lives, and they face relentless threats — including proposals like the so-called Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, SAVE America Act, and the Make Elections Great Again (MEGA) Act — a group of bills that would disenfranchise Americans of their Constitutionally guaranteed right to vote, disproportionately harming tens of millions of voters who have changed their names, including married women and survivors of domestic or sexual violence, and would make access to voting even harder for communities of color.

The lives of women, children, and families are not abstractions. They are the measure of whether this nation is truly living up to its founding promise. When those with the least are denied safety, stability, and full participation in our democracy, that is not prosperity. It is a failure of our moral promise, and it is unacceptable.

“YWCA was founded on the belief that every person deserves safety, dignity, and the opportunity to thrive,” said YWCA USA CEO Margaret Mitchell. “For 167 years — through wars, recessions, periods of economic growth, and 32 presidential administrations — our national network of local associations has served this country without regard to race, gender, or background. As America approaches its 250th year, we know that race and gender continue to shape who has access to opportunity and who bears the brunt of injustice. That must change. We urge the President and Congress to meet this milestone — and this moment — with the seriousness it demands.”

YWCA USA is an independent, nonpartisan organization committed to eliminating racism, empowering women, and advancing peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all. We will continue to speak out — and to act — until every life — especially those too often marginalized because of race, gender, or circumstance — is valued, protected, and treated with dignity.