About
PATHWAY
Promoting Positive Social Change, Feminist Practices, and Gender Autonomy through Non-Profit and Educational Sectors
My OS pathway stems from my feminist beliefs and experiences with the problems that women face in their day-to-day life. I have become more and more aware of these issues through many Women and Gender Studies and Sociology classes that I have taken here at Michigan as they have not only explored issues I have experienced but also how the intersections of gender and all other aspects of one’s identity changes these experiences for an individual. Starting at such a young age, I feel so many gender-based problems that stem from sexism are especially perpetuated as children move through the school system. Some of these are the stigma surrounding women and sex, how this plays into negative connotations about planned parenthood, and the current format and curriculum for sexual education in schools, which in the majority of places focuses solely on abstinence. These have all proved in many cases to be detrimental to a lot of the students’ sex lives, sexuality, body image, relationships, confidence, and how they view themselves and others. Women feel the weight of sexism and the problems it causes every day, and I feel that focusing on starting to combat these at a young age will be most beneficial in securing progress on the matter in terms of focusing on women and feminist practices to help improve such problems in all aspects of society.
Changing the structure of such large systems such as the educational sectors is not the only route to help women and their fight toward equality. I hope to use my understanding of organizations, small and large, and how they interact with society, individuals, and other organizations to help incite social change and bring awareness to a variety of women and gender issues that plague our society through Non-Profits, Education, or a combination of both. By intersecting my Organization Studies major and my Community Action and Social Change minor, I feel that I will be able to effectively utilize the business aspect of Non-Profits to help further my goal and implement new practices in the most productive way possible to help better the lives and women and empower others to focus more on issues that not only affect them but those around them to help make the world a better, more positive place.
