Impact 2020

Historic challenges to the U.S. election process, racial injustice further exposed by police brutality, and the pandemic define this year. Through this, The Fuller Project expanded our reporting.

Khushbu Shah joined our newsroom at the start of the coronavirus outbreak, and took the helm as Editor in Chief in August, deepening our reporting with a focus on the stories of women who are most often unheard and undercovered in news.

Our reporters published 70+ stories this year. We published our journalism on our relaunched webpage and we collaborated with 25+ outlets.

Centered on our journalism, we work with partners by co-reporting, co-editing and co-publishing, bringing award-winning, front-page stories about women to news outlets around the world.

With our partner in East Africa, Nation, we published 24 stories, often co-reporting with veteran Kenyan reporters, and we supported the launch of a 16-page print pullout on gender. With Foreign Policy, our Full Story column covered gender issues around the world.

We are planning for continued growth in the coming years towards our vision of a news media that tells The Full Story through coverage that is representative, inclusive and contributes to gender equality.

I welcome you to read our impact from 2020, made possible by the generous donations of supporters who have helped fuel our public service journalism.

With thanks,

Xanthe Scharff

CEO and Cofounder

“This year we centered our newsroom around the challenges facing women both in the U.S. and globally, including racial justice and COVID-19, by offering timely, essential storytelling. We also continued the deep, investigative journalism like you will see in the videos below. Looking towards 2021, we will build on our accountability-driven journalism with an expanded, on-the-ground network of journalists and local partners. We hope this work will bring diverse audiences The Full Story about women and the issues that most affect them.”

– Khushbu Shah, Editor in Chief

New Team Members

This year we were proud to welcome new team members to our newsroom:

Katerina Ang

Contributing Editor, Asia

Tiffany Arnold

Sr. Social Media Producer

Amie Ferris-Rotman

Interim Global Editor

Jessica Washington

Reporter

Kim Abbott

Chief Communications Officer

Lilian Tan

Chief Operating Officer

Mariyah Espinoza

Communications Assistant

Valeria Popolizio

Business and Development Fellow

Samantha Santhanam

Digital Marketing Associate

Impact 2020

IMPACT HIGHLIGHTS FROM OUR REPORTING THAT CHANGED LIVES, EXPOSED WRONG-DOING AND RAISED AWARENESS

United States Elections and Voting

Our U.S. election coverage revealed the ways that economic and physical insecurity threaten women’s right to vote and how Black women led voter mobilization efforts.

They Survived Intimate Partner Violence—Now They Can’t Vote Safely

A woman wearing a mask, walks down the front steps of a house

COVID-19 Evictions Could Leave More Women Without a Vote

A man and woman stand in a crowd with their arms raised

‘Whatever It Takes’: How Black Women Fought to Mobilize America’s Voters

Photo of a woman leaning against a red barn

The Loneliness of the Black Female Republican

Reporting used by teachers

In The New York Times, Imagine Online School in a Language You Don’t Understand was distributed to students throughout the country via The New York Times Learning Network and sparked a robust conversation online. The reporting won a crisis coverage award from The American Society of Journalists and Authors (by contributing editor Rikha Sharma Rani for The New York Times, syndicated in The Chicago Tribute, and featured in Washington Monthly’s “Best of the Week” education newsletter).

Women’s Health During a Pandemic

We covered the impact of COVID-19 on women’s health, exposing the ways in which the crisis exacerbated systemic inequality. Reporting covered issues such as an inadequately addressed mental health crisis in a prison in California, the break in the global condom supply chain, and the impact of U.S. sanctions on nurses in Iran.

A sketch of a new mother wearing a hospital gown, protective mask, looking at young babies through the glass,

“I Didn’t Feel Like It Was Unfair of the Hospital. I Thought It Was Unfair of the Universe.”

A nurse in full safety gear attends to a patient lying down on a bed nearby.

Isolated in Rural Nigeria—and Waiting for America to Vote

Woman wearing a protective mask, standing on her porch.

This Nurse is Leading the Fight for Safer Hospitals

A pregnant woman wearing a yellow top looks at ultrasound scans of the baby

Pregnant Black Women Navigate Two Public Health Crises During COVID-19 in Milwaukee

Reporting that raised awareness

After we profiled Iraqi pathologist Lubab al-Quraishi who helps nursing home patients fight COVID-19, the Governor of New Jersey helped to get her temporary medical license extended. Advocacy groups cited the reporting as having raised awareness about licensure barriers. Al-Quraishi has been invited to speak on the topic and she penned an open letter to the incoming President (by contributor Jenna Krajeski for The New York Times).

Disproportionate Impact Of the Economic Crisis On Women

We broke the story of women disproportionately pushed out of employment by the triple burden of childcare, industry lay-offs and lack of protections at work.

Woman speaks at a rally; surrounded by many people holding posters such as 'Housing is Healthcare'

“I’m Homeless—How Can I Self-Quarantine?”

A manicurist wearing a face mask, face shield and gloves attends to a customer's nails.

‘I’m So Scared’: California Nail Salon Workers Face Ruin as Pandemic Wears On

Federal Government Needs to Change How it Releases Unemployment Data

Why the Coronavirus Outbreak Could Hit Women Hardest

Data reporting that ensured national conversation

With exclusive statistics from 17 states, we reported that women were the majority of unemployment seekers. A dozen news outlets cited the reporting, ensuring recognition of the “Shecession” weeks before federal data releases. Two states began to release weekly unemployment statistics disaggregated by gender (reporting by Jessica Washington, data reporting led by Sarah Ryley).

COVID’s Impact On Childcare For Underserved Families In the U.S. and Childcare Workers

This seven-part series provided a 360-degree view of the fractures in the fragile childcare system and the impact on childcare providers, rural women and essential workers.

A woman wearing a protective mask checks the temperature of a young child; a man is looking at them.

With Less Money and More Risk, Waves of Child-Care Providers Call It Quits

An illustration of young children sitting on the backs of their parents who are working in the agricultural fields; children are reading a book or writing.

Left Without School or Day Care, Farmworkers Are Bringing Their Kids to Work

A smiling family photo of a mother, father and their two young children.

Coronavirus Child Care Pinch In U.S. Poses Threat to Economic Gains of Working Women

Child wearing a pink winter jacket and a black hat in a childcare center; surrounded by more children and a childcare provider in the background.

Black Childcare Providers Hit Hard by COVID-19

Reporting that halted life-threatening conditions

In Saudi Arabia, we reported on global migrant domestic workers who were kicked out of employers’ homes during COVID-19 and detained unlawfully without regular access to food and water. The reporting, which was published on the front page of The New York Times International Edition, led to a raid on the agency and the women were repatriated (by Louise Donovan and New York Times‘ Ben Hubbard for The New York Times). This reporting was part of a seven-part series on global migration published by Nation, TIME, and The Telegraph.

Apisaki, one of the women who had been detained in Saudi Arabia, on her repatriation flight back to Kenya.

Investigating Violence Against Women

Our reporting influenced U.S. policy on trafficking, broke news about the rise of sexually abusive photos of children online, and exposed U.S. spending to defend a service member charged with murder.