Evolution of a Name and an Organization Advocating for CT's Women and Girls

Fifty years ago, the Connecticut Women’s Education and Legal Fund was founded “with a big goal: to create an equitable society where women and girls thrive.”  Five decades later, amidst the celebration of the milestone anniversary and “every hard-fought win along the way,” there’s a new name alongside a renewed commitment.

The Connecticut Women's Education and Legal Fund, long known as CWEALF, has become She Leads Justice “because, at our core, we’re committed to ensuring women and all people harmed by the patriarchy can step into their power. She Leads Justice isn’t just a name change, it’s a rallying cry to put those most impacted by oppressive systems at the helm of our work, the organization explained in a message posted to their website.

By way of further explanation, She Leads Justice points out that the “rebrand is not a pivot away from the work Connecticut women and residents have come to know and expect from our organization. Instead, our name, mission, vision, and purpose have been intentionally updated to reflect the evolution of our work over the past 50 years, to ensure they accurately represent our organization and focus as we operate today.”  The statewide organization is based in Hartford.

Marinda Monfilston, Vice President of the nonprofit’s Board, said:  “After 50 long years of fighting for women’s rights, it is abundantly clear that any fight for women’s rights must include an explicit commitment to dismantling white supremacy and economic injustice because so many of the women in our communities live at the intersection of racism and poverty.”

“Eradicating sexism and patriarchy,” she continued, “will never become reality without also eradicating white supremacy and economic injustice. All of us are hurt and held back by these forms of oppression, no matter our gender, wealth, skin color, race or ethnicity.”

The organization’s mission:  Using a justice and equity lens, She Leads Justice advocates for under-resourced, marginalized women and girls in Connecticut. We work to close the civil legal justice gap and to create state policy for economic security.

Their priorities for the current legislative session, led by revisions to Connecticut’s paid sick leave statute, permanent, and establishment of a refundable CT Child Tax Credit for families, can be seen here.

Executive Director Janée Woods Weber points out that the “new name signifies this commitment to using an intersectionally feminist, anti-racist equity lens to lead us toward a more just, equitable, and liberated Connecticut for women and for girls - for all of us!  I am eager to see what the next 50 years hold in our fight for a more just Connecticut.”