Justice For All?

Anika Rahman has one mission, and it’s a big one: universal gender equality.

She’s president and CEO of the Ms. Foundation for Women (an organization founded in 1973 by Gloria Steinem and three others), she’s an advocate for women’s rights and health. “Women and social justice are in my DNA,” she’s said, and it shows.

(Click here to read her exclusive profile.)

Before heading up the Ms. Foundation, the Bangladeshi-American founded the International Program of the Center for Reproductive Rights – though it meant a 70 percent pay cut and longer hours compared to her former job as a lawyer at a Wall Street firm.

She now manages a $10 million budget and helps women every day, meeting with donors, stakeholders and organizations, launching fundraising and awareness campaigns and building a national voice for women.

PINK: As a child, you watched your grandmother, mother and aunt struggle against sexism. How did that affect you?
AR: My grandmother ran all the finances, she made the business decisions [the family bought and sold property], and even helped build houses, yet she couldn’t have a job. People didn’t treat them as equals and wouldn’t give them the respect that their intellect, values and hearts merited. I saw it as an injustice.

PINK: What professional legacy do you want to leave?
AR: I see the Ms. Foundation being a critical part of my legacy. The foundation will bring national attention to the challenges women face and the solutions we’ve developed to achieve equality. Our mission is to break away from structured gender discrimination and allow women to be who they were meant to be. 

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By Caroline Cox

“My passion and commitment to this idea of a world where all women are equal caused me to make changes, take action and realize my dream.” Anika Rahman