YWTF is a movement by and for younger women to fight for social justice. Together we form a diverse and inclusive group of activists, organizers, allies, and professionals that is both local and nationwide. But we’re also a community founded on the belief that we can work within and beyond the women’s movement to change the things we care about.

Our Issues

What exactly do we care about? Well, a lot. But here’s a list of some of our top interests:

• Leaders who look and think like us
• Access to health care for women
• Fair pay for women
• Work-life balance
• Equal access to education
• Better student loan policy
• Reproductive rights
• An end to human trafficking
• An end to violence against women

Our History

Back in 2004, Alison Stein sat down with her boss to talk about how young women needed a space for activism. Not only did Stein’s boss want to help, as the chair of the National Council of Women’s Organizations (NCWO) she could. Within weeks, Stein found 25 other women leaders who wanted to join her. Together they became the National Coordinating Committee for the Younger Women’s Task Force. The movement grew the following year when 130 women from 42 different states came to Washington, D.C., to draft a Younger Women’s issues agenda. The group also established YWTF chapters across the country and officially commenced the work of the Task Force.

Our Relationship with AAUW

In 2013, YWTF found a new home with AAUW, and we now operate as an affiliated entity of the organization. That means that if you’re a member of YWTF, you’re also a member of AAUW, which is awesome since AAUW’s been a community empowering women for 124 years longer than we have and provides a huge group of allies and advocates of all ages to help us with our work.