Feminist Public Works is a collaborative effort to improve the public safety and well-being of women, girls, and the lesbian, transgender and queer communities. We promote public awareness through media campaigns and community organizing, and then transform this awareness into action through skill-building educational workshops, collective actions, and collaboration with community groups, civic organizations, and government officials. Our goal is to provide people with the tools they need to start challenging the root causes of gender-based violence and oppression.

Feminism is expansive, varied, and complex. Feminist efforts are not successful unless they simultaneously address other forms of structural and institutionalized prejudices, like racism, ableism, and classism. They also aren’t effective when they only focus on women, instead of acknowledging the fluidity of gender, and how structural inequities impact people of all genders, including men. Feminist Public Works’ programming and mission reflect this diversity, endeavoring to combine feminism and public works through innovative programming that deconstructs and recreates the world we live in as one that is supportive, inclusive, and equitable. Public works usually refers to the structures and services a government provides to maintain quality of life for its citizens: electrical lines and rainwater drains, parks, schools and hospitals, and roads, bridges, subways and airports. But public works also means economic growth, law and public safety, and community and social services at the neighborhood level. Just like feminist efforts, public works must address the diverse needs of all the communities being served. It must take into account the different ways populations and subcultures interact in and with public space, whether that be on sidewalks or through radio waves. Feminist Public Works aims to specifically address gender inequality within the infrastructures that make up our current society. At the government, community, and individual level, we all have a responsibility to create a society that treats all members with equal respect.