On May 14, I gathered with a powerful group of women to mark the release of the 2026 Status of Montana Women report. The Women's Foundation of Montana (WFM) supports the Montana Budget & Policy Center (MBPC) in researching and producing the report, which details the ways women are the backbone of Montana's economy and highlights policies that can advance economic equity across our state.

The report opens with a timeline of policies passed by and for Montana women, from securing the right to vote in 1913 to making strangulation a felony offense in 2017. The report also highlights powerful data, including that more than 40% of births in Montana are financed by Medicaid and that Black women hold just 6 cents for every dollar of median wealth held by white men.

At our event in Helena, a panel of WFM grantees, including MBPC, Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies: The Montana Coalition, Montana Advocates for Children, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Montana, and the Montana Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, shared their experiences living and working in communities represented by the numbers in the report, providing critical context.

"It's important to remember we've come a long way. We're doing great things, and we are making change together," said co-author Rose Bender, MBPC's director of research.

Co-author Erica Donohue, MBPC's director of communications, said the report is rooted in the fact that "women did this for ourselves" — including the women who spoke on the panel about the laws they've worked to pass and the policies they'll advance in the future.

"If you really need to move something, it involves both bringing together personal stories and being able to crunch the numbers over and over again to challenge the myths," Bender said. "The personal story makes a big difference, but you also need to have the numbers."

I couldn't agree more. By reading this year's report and reflecting on our panelists' discussion, you'll gain a deeper understanding of the status of Montana women, and what we'll achieve together in the future.

With gratitude,

2026 Status of Montana Women Report Highlights Progress and Persistent Gaps

This month, the Montana Budget & Policy Center released the updated Status of Montana Women: Advancing Policy for Economic Equity. The 2026 report, produced with support from the Women's Foundation of Montana, highlights the hard-earned progress Montana women have made, detailing tangible improvements from policies like Medicaid expansion and the establishment of the constitutional right to abortion access and reproductive health care.

It also takes a candid look at the barriers women still face as they shape our state's future, showing through pointed data that though we've made real progress, the work isn't done.

The report offers a roadmap for action, supporting policies that expand access to child care to increase women's workforce participation; grow grants for economic development in Indian Country; and invest more in shelter services for survivors of domestic violence.

This year's report is organized into four categories: economic opportunity, health and well-being, political participation, and improving lives for families in Montana.

Read more on the WFM website

WFM is a powerful force for philanthropy in Montana because of your support. WFM grantees lead the way in creating strong communities that work for women and girls.

Learn more about WFM grantees here and see our 2025 funding summary.