Atlanta’s future depends on women — and systems that support them — thriving

Most days, I see an early morning ritual in the crowded preschool hallways at YWCA Greater Atlanta — a scene familiar to many working mothers: a toddler on one hip, a backpack over one shoulder, coffee in hand. A smile for teachers, a quick kiss for her child — then out the door, already thinking about her day at work.

The routine feels ordinary until you consider everything that makes that moment possible: affordable early learning, reliable care and a workforce that supports both family and economy.

For too many families in Atlanta, those moments are far too rare.

If Atlanta is serious about its future — economic growth, workforce strength and community resilience — we must start with the systems that allow families to fully participate in civic and economic life.

Atlanta’s economic strength depends on whether women can navigate caregiving, work, health care and leadership without being forced to sacrifice one for the other.

Child care costs are exceeding housing

Danita V. Knight is president and CEO of YWCA Greater Atlanta. (Courtesy)

Long before Atlanta called itself a city of opportunity, women were shaping the city’s civic backbone.

On the Westside, Black women organized spaces for learning, leadership and collective power. They built institutions like the Phyllis Wheatley YWCA at a time when both race and gender barred them from full participation in public life.

Across the country, women organized for suffrage and helped build the social infrastructure that allowed communities to function and grow. They were not waiting to be invited into systems — they were building their own.

That legacy lives on today in the women who continue shaping Atlanta’s civic, corporate and philanthropic institutions.

In conversations with business leaders across metro Atlanta, one theme repeatedly emerges: Employers struggle to find and retain talent because women — who still shoulder much of caregiving — are often forced to choose between work and stability.

When child care costs rival housing expenses, when health care gaps persist and when leadership pipelines thin because structural supports are missing, the consequences extend far beyond individual households.

Long before Atlanta called itself a city of opportunity, women were shaping the city’s civic backbone.

On the Westside, Black women organized spaces for learning, leadership and collective power. They built institutions like the Phyllis Wheatley YWCA at a time when both race and gender barred them from full participation in public life.

Across the country, women organized for suffrage and helped build the social infrastructure that allowed communities to function and grow. They were not waiting to be invited into systems — they were building their own.

That legacy lives on today in the women who continue shaping Atlanta’s civic, corporate and philanthropic institutions.

In conversations with business leaders across metro Atlanta, one theme repeatedly emerges: Employers struggle to find and retain talent because women — who still shoulder much of caregiving — are often forced to choose between work and stability.

When child care costs rival housing expenses, when health care gaps persist and when leadership pipelines thin because structural supports are missing, the consequences extend far beyond individual households.

These pressures are felt most intensely by women of color and low-income families. In Georgia, Black women face maternal mortality rates significantly higher than their white counterparts, reflecting a broader national crisis in maternal health.

At the same time, many communities remain child care deserts, where families struggle to find licensed care options. These are not isolated personal challenges. They are systemic issues with real economic consequences for Atlanta’s long-term competitiveness.

Across sectors, we talk about economic resilience. But infrastructure conversations — public transit, broadband access, workforce training — rarely include the systems that support families every day. Child care, health care access and leadership development are just as essential to keeping our economy running.

Child care is not a side issue; it is a workforce and competitiveness issue. When a mother leaves her job because care is unaffordable, employers lose institutional knowledge. When families lack access to preventive health care, costs rise, and when leadership pathways narrow because women cannot balance caregiving with advancement, Atlanta limits its talent pipeline.

Women are vital to the region’s success

Alisha Vianen (left) and Jeraya Jones, students in the YWCA's Teen Girls in Technology program, work on learning about DNA samples in the program's STEM-oriented curriculum. Started in 2006, the program aims to encourage middle school girls in underserved communities to consider careers in STEM areas: science, technology, engineering and math. (Courtesy of YWCA of Greater Atlanta)

At YWCA Greater Atlanta, we see these dynamics every day through programs designed to support women, girls and families as they build stability and opportunity — from early learning and digital skills training to community-based health education and policy engagement.

Atlanta’s history also offers a reminder of what sustained leadership looks like.

For more than four decades, our Academy of Women Achievers has honored women from business, education, philanthropy, health care, and civic life whose leadership has shaped Atlanta’s trajectory. Some have been the first in their fields.

Some have built institutions that anchor communities. All have led with purpose.

Their leadership reinforces a fundamental truth: Women are essential to Atlanta’s success. Their contribution is not just history — it is present, ongoing and vital.

The question is whether we will invest in the supports that allow women — and the families who depend on them — to thrive.