Women of Color Leadership Project

Women of Color Leadership Project (WoCLP)

The NWSA Women of Color Caucus (WoCC), Program Administration and Development Committee (PAD), and the Women’s Centers Committee (WCC) jointly sponsor the Women of Color Leadership Project (WoCLP) in conjunction with the PAD and WCC Pre-Conferences. The WoCLP is an annual (one day) pre-conference initiative designed to increase the number of Women and Non-Binary People of Color students, staff, and faculty members within the field of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality studies and Women’s, Gender, and Equity centers and, consequently, to have an impact on the levels of participation and power by folks of color in the field, NWSA as a whole, with emphasis on engagement in PAD and WCC.

Women of color in women’s studies, ethnic studies, or related fields may apply if they aspire to leadership within women’s studies or NWSA. Applicants may include advanced graduate students, faculty, and current program administrators who wish to be more involved in program or Association leadership.

Participants of the 2023 cohort of the Women of Color Leadership Project

Participants of the 2023 cohort of the Women of Color Leadership Project (Baltimore, MD USA); Photographed by Enrique Muchacho

Supporting Women and Non-Binary Change Agents 

    This leadership development initiative began nearly 25 years ago, under the leadership of Layli Maparyan, and has since provided a space of mentorship and kinship for over 605 Women and Non-Binary People of Color from across the United States of America, Canada, Asia, and Europe.

    NWSA members rightfully noted the absence of Women of Color in leadership positions across the field (Program and Department Chairs of Directors, Women's,Gender, and Equity Centers administrators, NWSA elected leadership positions, etc.) and advocated for strengthened opportunities for Women of Color epistemologies, ways of being and resisting, leadership, and activism be integrated throughout the Association. Therefore the Women of Color Leadership Project (WoCLP) was established in 2000 as a joint initiative of the National Women's StudiesAssociation with support from our  Program Administration and Development (PAD) Committee, and theWomen of Color Caucus (WoCC).

    In 2006, leaders across the NWSA gathered for a Women of Color Vision Meeting to inform how WoCC and WoCLP can and should be situated within our Association. We're grateful to these thought leaders for their insights and continued support for WoCLP:

    • Aimee Carrillo-Rowe, Women of Color Caucus Co-Chair, 2006

    • Bridget Harris-Tsemo, 2007 Women of Color Leadership Project (WoCLP) Planning Team and WoCLP 2005 Cohort

    • Barb Howe, President, 2006

    • Allison Kimmich, Executive Director, 2004-2018

    • Tricia Lin, Vice President, 2006

    • Irma McClaurin, Ford Foundation Program Officer

    • Jennifer Mata, WoCLP 2006 Cohort

    • Catherine Orr, National Conference Chair, 2006

    • Layli Phillips, Former WoCLP Coordinator and founding Coordinator

    • Pat Washington, Secretary and Women of Color Caucus Co-Chair, 2006

    This annual pre-conference workshop is designed to increase the number of Women and Non-Binary People of Color within the field of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality studies (WGSS) and to have an impact on the levels of participation and power by Women and Non-Binary folks of Color NWSA, our PAD Committee, Women's Centers Committee (WCC), and throughout the field as a whole. This initiative continues to focus on the development and support of our applicants with the intention of having an impact on the levels of participation and power that often excludes women and non-binary people of color during our pre-conference block.

    WoCLP is fiscally sustained via PAD Pre-Conference registrations, Women of Color Caucus dues, and donations. Chairs of our Women of Color Caucus lead this initiative with support from the National Office and member volunteers.

    Program Benefits

    • Valuable networking and professional development opportunities at the pre-conference, the NWSA general conference, and via the Women of Color Caucus.
    • One-year complimentary individual membership and general conference registration during the selected year of participation.
    • Opportunities to meet and interact with other Women and Non-Binary folks of Color who possess a similar interest in program or center administration, as well as applicants who already have administrative experience.
    • The support, companionship, and advocacy of the Women of Color Caucus; cohorts will receive complimentary Women of Color Caucus membership for one year.
    • An opportunity to shape the future of the NWSA and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality studies (WGSS) as a field by participating and exchanging ideas.
    • Participate in mentoring emerging scholars within WGSS academic and activist spaces.
    • Serving as a conduit for other Women and Non-Binary folks of Color to become more involved in our field.

    If a person is accepted into a WoCLP Cohort and is unable attend, they will not be able to defer, but are welcome to apply the following year.

    Applications for the WoCLP Cohort opens in March of each year.

    Support from the WoCLP Advisory Board, 2016-2024

    Since its inception, the WoCLP co-chairs and participants have depended upon the support of a network of former WoCLP co-chairs and participants. In 2016, a pilot program - the WoCLP Advisory Board - was established to make explicit what formerly existed as an informal network, and what constitutes the way the labor of the WoCLP is accomplished each year. The Advisory Board's core priority included ensuring that the Project remained accountable to the vision of the members of the WoCC, which is the primary body of representation for Women of Color across the NWSA. 

    As the Project was formed out of the activism of the members of the Women of Color Caucus, members nurtured a special obligation to ensure that the vision, support, and mentoring for the program continue to originate from Women and Non-Binary folks of Color in the Association—and specifically the WoCC - given the erasure and push-out that a number of People of Color have named and made visible across our discipline. . This is also the way we intend to be accountable to the original vision of the Project, which was to provide women of color with the necessary tools to participate at all levels of leadership in NWSA.

    While the Association continues to anchor the holistic contributions of Women and Non-Binary People of Color in our programs, initiatives, and doing of our work as an organization rooted in anti-racist, decolonial, insurgent, and transnational feminisms, we remain grateful to past WoCLP Advisory Board members and past leaders in the Women of Color Caucus for their support and guidance.

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    Women's Centers Committee

    Women's Centers are unarguably transformative sites of change for all members of a campus community. The first postsecondary women's center was founded in 1960 at the University of Minnesota and the legacy of addressing national issues of gender equity and support continues to expand. Our colleagues in campus-based women's centers work tirelessly to "deploy an intersectional lens in their work" and strive to address the historical (and in many ways ongoing) and institutional contexts that challenge the reach of Women's Centers. 

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    It's not that I'm never scared; I've just learned never to let my fears stop me from becoming more than what's happened to me. Activism has been the art of making my life matter.

    ~ Loretta Ross

    Program Administration and Development Committee

    The Program Administration and Development (PAD) Committee is one of two groups that focus on roles that are vital to the NWSA mission; it serves as a space for program chairs and directors to network, coalition build, and share resources aimed at sustaining the work of women's, gender, and sexuality studies academic departments/programs. 

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