Women Engaged is a left-of-center community organization based in Atlanta, Georgia, that supports left-of-center policies regarding gender issues and abortion access while also providing programs and training targeted toward African-American women. The group also operates a voter registration and a get-out-the-vote program to encourage voting among African-American women in the Atlanta area. ¹

The group was created by activists Malika Redmond and Margaret Kargbo in the fall of 2014 with its “WE Vote. WE Rise!” program. It has partnered with many left-of-center organizations to promote left-of-center abortion and LGBT policies. Funders of the group include the Groundswell Fund, Amalgamated Charitable Foundation, and NEO Philanthropy. ^{2 1 3}

Background

Women Engaged was founded in the fall of 2014 by Malika Redmond, a researcher and liberal activist on women’s issues, and Margaret Kargbo, an “art activist” and public relations consultant. The group’s first project was “WE Vote. WE Rise!,” a voter outreach campaign which trained “women and young people of color on voter engagement by providing them with opportunities to learn how to run effective 501
C3 [sic] ‘Get Out to Vote’ campaigns and participate in the political process.” Kargbo died in a car crash in 2015, and Malika Redmond has directed the group as CEO since. ¹

Another early activity of the group was a 2015 event partnering with NEO Philanthropy’s U.S. Department of Arts and Culture and the National Domestic Workers Alliance’s Atlanta Chapter, reportedly inspired by then-President Barack Obama’s 2015 State of the Union address. ¹

While the group was founded in 2014, it was not granted tax-exempt status until 2021. Tax documents from funders of the organization indicate that Women Engaged was previously a project of Alternative Roots, Inc, a left-wing advocacy organization based in Atlanta, Georgia, that “calls for social justice and the dismantling of racial oppression” and operates programs throughout the south. ⁴

Activity and Stances

Women Engaged has supported a variety of pro-abortion efforts and decried the overturning of Roe v. Wade, stating that “The fall of Roe has amplified the challenges faced by marginalized individuals who have been living in a post-Roe reality for years. It has emboldened anti-abortion activists to restrict access to abortion further, disproportionately affecting Black women and femmes, LGBTQ+ individuals, and other marginalized groups.” ³

The group opposed legislation in the Georgia state legislature that limited the ability of minors to receive sex-reassignment operations, stating that “bans most forms of gender-affirming healthcare for young people under 18, demonstrates a callous disregard for the lives, dignity, and well-being of some of our most vulnerable community members.” ⁵

The group’s Women’s Human Rights and Gender Equity Program creates trainings on pro-abortion advocacy and includes research, workshops, op-eds, and “public health policy recommendations that are guided by feminism and the human rights framework.” ⁶

Partnerships

Partners of the group include 9to5 Working Women Georgia; New Voices for Reproductive Justice; We Dream in Black-National Domestic Workers Alliance; Spelman College Women’s Research and Resource Center; SafeSpace, a Morehouse College queer organization; and Ujmaa, a Clark Atlanta University political science organization. ⁷

1. “Mission and History.” Women Engaged. Accessed May 20, 2024. https://www.womenengaged.org/mission_history
2. “Full Text Search: Women Engaged Atlanta.” Nonprofit Explorer. Query Conducted May 20, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/full_text_search?q=%22women+engaged%22+atlanta
3. “A Year Without Roe.” Women Engaged. Accessed May 20, 2024. https://www.womenengaged.org/a_year_without_roe
4. Grants and Other Assistance to Organizations, Governments and Individuals in the United States (Schedule I). Amalgamated Charitable Foundation Inc. 2018. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/821517696/201912639349300526/IRS990ScheduleI
5. “the Devastating Consequences of Senate Bill 140.” Women Engaged. Accessed May 20, 2024. https://www.womenengaged.org/the_devastating_consequences_of_senate_bill_140
6. “Women’s Rights.” Women Engaged. Accessed May 20, 2024. https://www.womenengaged.org/women_s_rights
7. “Our Impact.” Women Engaged. Accessed May 20, 2024. https://www.womenengaged.org/our_impact