The Point of Connection

I have a staircase garden. Living in a second-story apartment with no yard, my partner and I keep plants along the ledge that runs along the outside stairway to our door. They include a couple of greyish-green succulents, a tiny rosemary shrub, and a couple of “flowering” plants that I believe spend most of their lives dormant.

And then there’s this abundant, purple, blooming beauty. It makes me smile every time I walk by.

Given the state of the other ledge-dwellers, I can’t claim credit for the purple beauty’s radiant health. I assume it’s a combination of the size of the pot, the match between our weather and its needs, the right cadence of watering and soil amelioration for its species, and possibly other factors I’m not aware of.  

There’s a whole, interconnected set of factors—you could call it a system—that help this plant thrive.

The same can be said for any living being.

In the course of working on projects—including Women’s Funding Network’s Women’s Economic Mobility Hubs, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Women’s Foundation of Alabama’s Thrive Together, and others—we know that programs and initiatives that are successful in helping women gain economic security for themselves and their families typically include a combination of several factors, including—but not limited to:

• Community member input and community-centered research
• Career pathways, like support to complete college, certifications, or entrepreneurship programs
• One-on-one case management and advising
• Wraparound financial and services support (e.g., childcare, housing, and public assistance)
• Opportunities to build relationships with program peers and/or professional mentors
• Advocacy for supportive public policies and the removal of systemic barriers

In other words, what helps people move across the boundary between struggling and thriving is not any single approach.

It is a systemic approach that includes the coordination of strategies that combine the power of individuals, families, community change-makers, and policies to open doors for economic success.

Want to learn more? Check these out!



How much money does it take to be secure—and even thrive—economically?

The Self-Sufficiency Standard, developed by Dr. Diana Pearce in the mid-1990s, defines the amount of money a person would need to meet basic needs without public, private, or informal assistance.

The Self-Sufficiency Standard database is searchable by state and family structure and age of children (e.g., adult + infant + two school-age children). The calculations include childcare, healthcare, transportation, and other essential living expenses. It is more flexible and accurate than other measures (like the U.S. Census Bureau's official poverty measure) to understand what income is necessary for economic security.

Click on the link below to learn more and explore:

What about systemic barriers?

Many factors aside from income go into a person’s economic experience. One of these is the policy environment, as legislative and institutional policies can support or hinder economic security for thousands or even millions of people at a time.

The Center for American Progress offers a list of policies that are crucial to addressing economic inequities and open doors for more women to advance up the ladder to financial success in the U.S.

Click this link to see what policies are on the list, and why: