The phrase “Woman Up” emblazoned on T-shirts worn around the room suited the Aug. 11 gathering of more than 30 women at the top of Fifth Third Center in Downtown Evansville. Attendees representing diverse age groups and organizations assembled to discuss the needs of regional women and girls at the session hosted by the Women’s Foundation of Indiana.
Earlier this year, the 30-year-old nonprofit — previously known as the Women’s Fund of Central Indiana — embarked on an 11-city listening tour after rebranding to serve all 92 Indiana counties. Organizers plan to pair information gathered from the conversations with county-level data to publish a State of Women in Indiana report next year.
“Being able to tell those specific stories where the data is the same — but the background is different — that shows how change needs to happen,” says Allissa M. Impink, WFI’s director of statewide community engagement.
During the two-hour meeting at the Welborn Baptist Foundation Community Room, WFI representatives guided participants through exercises to discover the visions, challenges, and solutions for women and girls to prosper in Evansville. The ability to meet fundamental needs, such as affordable housing, arose as a significant theme in the conversation. “It’s very difficult to motivate the next generation when you are still struggling with the same basic things that don’t let you move on,” a participant says.
Affordable childcare surfaced as another common need among attendees. Data provided by WFI showed that Vanderburgh County has 7.6 childcare centers per 1,000 children — nearly double the state average — but the services consume 37.8 percent of household income.
Aligned with affordability, Evansville participants raised concerns about the lack of third spaces — areas outside home, work, or school — where women can connect without financial barriers. One attendee mentioned a specific gap in mental health care, stating that children under age 10 in crisis must travel by ambulance to Terre Haute because Deaconess Cross Pointe’s inpatient program for youth serves 10- to 17-year-olds.
Participants noted sexism and safety as barriers for women and girls, particularly for women of color and the LGBTQ+ community. “When we’re talking about access to things that can help us thrive, we have to be talking about systemic change and cultural change and changing stereotypes and gender norms,” says Julia Kathary, CEO of the Albion Fellows Bacon Center in Evansville. “[Safety] should be a right that we can rely on from day to day.”
Before stopping in Southwestern Indiana, WFI hosted listening sessions in seven cities, including Fort Wayne. A through-line among women in Northeastern Indiana, Evansville, and the other six communities was the lack of access to power. “[Women in Fort Wayne said] we feel like our voices are not being heard across the entire county when it comes to policies and making change,” WFI President Tamara Winfrey-Harris says.
She acknowledged that Hoosier women worry about the generation gap as well, stating girls and younger women don’t communicate enough with older women for guidance and opportunities. In addition, news deserts in rural and urban areas prevent access not only to community updates but also to resources like food banks.
The final stops on WFI’s 2026 listening tour include Lafayette, Terre Haute, and Jeffersonville. The organization plans to release its findings in spring 2027, followed by an actionable blueprint for advocacy and implementation.
As the Evansville group waits for those results, attendees hope to foster the connections made at their listening session. “We have these silos of things happening, but without the connectors,” says Hillary Melchiors, founder of the Doula Group of Evansville. “And some of that happened during COVID when we were all separated. It’s like we’re trying to rebuild those bridges again.”
