Emiliana Guereca (45) is leading Women’s Rights Activist and advocate for equality, she is an entrepreneur and is not afraid to speak up about the political rights of women.
Guereca was born in Mexico and as a young girl she immigrated with her family to the United States. Growing up in Chicago, life was not always easy for her and her family, being one of thirteen children and the first to attend college in her family, she had to learn how to survive and think for herself in a world that did not always seem very welcoming.
Emiliana started her professional career waiting tables to pay her way through school, which turned into owning a restaurant group, and eventually she also owned a film production company, which taught her a lot about business.
She is a self-starter and natural-born leader, with the wealth of experience behind her and her passion for women’s rights she started the Women’s March Foundation in 2016, a non-profit 501c3 organization led by women in Los Angeles, as a way to speak up and take action on womens’ place in the political arena.
The Women’s March Foundation (WMF) draws upon the rich history of liberation movements before it, all with the aim to collaborate and fight for the freedom and equality of people from different ethnicities, genders, cultures, and ages – ultimately a shared humanity.
The WMF believes that ‘Women’s Rights are Human Rights and Human Rights are Women’s Rights’ and ‘Gender Justice is Racial Justice is Economic Justice’; it is estimated that 1 in 3 women have been victims of physical violence, and 1 in 5 women have been victims of rape, the WMF stands for women to live a life free from violence and assault and to address the inequalities women and girls face from trafficking, kidnapping, and murder.
In this Q&A with Emiliana she speaks about what the catalyst was for her swift action to organize the women’s march, what it stands for and why she feels so strongly about it, she also shares valuable advice for anyone following the same path.
The Women’s March Foundation
- What prompted you to start the Women’s March?
‘I was devastated by the 2016 election and started organizing the day after the election.
The fact that the country had elected the MOST unqualified man in history was shocking to me on such a personal level. As a mom, immigrant, entrepreneur President Trump was what was wrong with society, just like Hillary I have been passed over for promotions, contracts, etc., all on the basis of sex.
As a woman it hurt. Here is the most misogynistic, racist and inept man being elected to the highest office of the United States simply because he is a man; simply because women are held to higher standards’.
- You started organizing the march the day after the election, talk more about the goal behind the Women’s March.
‘We needed to be seen and heard, we weren’t alone in feeling like the Country left Women Behind. Organizing for me was personal. I wanted to make sure Latinas weren’t left out of the Women’s Movement AGAIN’.
- Tell us more about what happened after the women’s march.
‘I have since founded the Women’s March Foundation and Women’s March Action, a political arm of the Women’s March. We have helped women run for office across the country as well as continue to build a pipeline for women that want to get into politics’.
- Do you have advice for anyone who shares your passion for women’s rights and feminism?
‘The feminism that has been taught has missed the women of color. Feminism isn’t black and white there are shades in between and we ALL struggle when we don’t recognize that the fight is harder for those of us with melanin in our skin’.
Conclusion
Emiliana Guereca’s passion doesn’t end at women’s rights, she states clearly what she cares about, ‘Women’s Rights, Equality, Latinx rights, LGBTQ. EQUITY’. She continues on with the journey to fight for the equality of all humanity by being a voice and leader for women in the work of the Women’s March Foundation.
