Toolkit: Social Cohesion - Galvanize Action

Other Toolkits

Trying to connect with ideologically-moderate white women, or your own unique audience, on social cohesion? Use Galvanize Action’s research and narratives to craft messages about trust, fairness, healing divides, and the things we all have in common that will resonate with ideologically-moderate white women.

AUDIENCE

In today’s polarized society, we are seeing growing efforts to divide us, to make us fear each other, question who belongs, and trade our democratic values for an illusion of safety and control. The current landscape is creating a perception of chaos for ideologically-moderate white women. Leadership infighting, mass demonstrations, immigration raids and deportations happening across the country all signal that democracy is unstable and safety is uncertain. Laws, executive orders, and spending bills that take away the civil rights of marginalized groups provide perceived justification for “othering” mindsets among women in our audience who are already consumed with worry for their in-group.

This toolkit focuses on fostering social cohesion among ideologically-moderate white women—increasing their connection, trust, and support for rights and wellbeing among all people in society but especially extending to marginalized groups. Lack of confidence, not knowing enough, feeling pressured or fear of social or physical safety are barriers for them. We know attitude shifts and awareness are our first step before nudging towards prosocial engagement. “Social cohesion” is an umbrella for identity culture war issues Galvanize Action has focused on in the past.

Narratives in the toolkit were designed for ideologically-moderate white women, so extrapolating for use with other audiences should be done with caution. We have noted areas where narratives should be restricted to certain audiences to avoid negative impacts..

Validate

Society is changing and people are divided. But you care about others and want to make a positive difference. Validate their feelings of unfamiliarity and fear of saying the wrong thing but then help them move beyond it.

Educate

Many ideologically-moderate white women lack exposure to out-group members, leading to:

Reliance on stereotypes or assumptions
Lower levels of understanding, empathy, and trust
Sharper boundaries between in-group and out-group

We need to create opportunities for learning and genuine connection across differences that allow them to understand how structural inequities harm marginalized groups.

Shift Mindsets

Our audience has high levels of compassion, empathy, and desire for security. They also deeply care for their in-group. In order to expand their in-group and shore up defenses against grievance-based narratives and fear, we need the following mindset shifts.

FROM…	TO…	BECAUSE
Scarcity	Abundance	Scarcity activates defensiveness and competition. They need to see that stability comes from connection and inclusion
Us vs Them	Inclusivity	Instead of defaulting to suspicion or fear of the “other,” normalize trust in neighbors, communities, and democratic institutions. Extend the desire to help and care for others to those with whom they have less contact, and resist rhetoric that dehumanizes others.
Sympathy	Solidarity	Rather than evoking a top-down relationship where out-group members are pitied and motivation is driven by desire to alleviate their own discomfort, solidarity moves our audience towards recognition of shared fate and common humanity.
Close minded	Open minded	Encourage expanding what they know and openness to learning and listening rather than closing off in protection of what they already believe
Threat	Curiosity	When a threat mindset is activated, our audience is psychological and physiologically primed for in-group protection and safety. They see “difference” as danger on a subconscious level, which shuts down the possibility for openness and understanding. Curiosity, on the other hand, allows them to consider differences as a learning opportunity, overcoming the involuntary “fight or flight” response.

NARRATIVE PRINCIPLES

Your at-a-glance checklist for creating effective messages and content about social cohesion:

Meet your audience where they are – It’s important to understand where people are starting from in order to know where and how to move them. Acknowledging (not legitimizing) our audience’s worldview makes them more likely to trust a message (for example, it’s hard to talk about systemic injustice with people grounded in individualism). Meeting them where they are also means addressing underlying biases—such as internalized sexism or colorblind racial resentment— to ensure a message addresses barriers to change.
Use trusted messengers – Trust reduces resistance and increases the credibility of the message being delivered. Storytellers who are seen as values-aligned reinforce a sense of identity and belonging that help the message resonate and stick with people. Who is considered a trusted messenger depends on the audience and the issue, but they are generally seen as authentic authority figures.
Lead with shared values – Shared values—including compassion, security, fairness, etc. — provide an opening for engagement and help lower defensiveness, especially around unfamiliar ideas. Leveraging ideologically-moderate white women’s strengths around compassion and desire for a future where all families can thrive helps create openness and willingness to engage. Anchoring a message to core values and identity also helps it stick over time.
Validate their experience – People are more open and willing to shift their beliefs if they feel safe and not defensive. By showing that we care about their real and perceived struggles, we create trust, which allows new ideas to be considered. Validating their experience doesn’t mean agreeing with or legitimizing attitudes.
Make education accessible – It’s important to raise awareness and counter disinformation, but do it in a relatable way that doesn’t come across as pedantic or biased. Incorporate new information and data within a values framework that models open-mindedness. Avoid throwing too many different ideas at an audience at once.
Be solution-oriented – While it’s important to define the problem and (compliantly) name bad actors, narratives should close with a positive vision for the future or call-to-action that encourages personal and collective agency to combat fatalism and create sustainable change. Focus on outcomes, and where you want to move people in both the short and long term.
Center people’s experiences – Use personal, accessible stories where appropriate to make intangible concepts feel more relevant and relatable. People pay more attention to information that aligns with their identity and goals. So instead of talking about “othering” or abstract policies, focus on the lived experience of racial/ethnic/gender discrimination and how it makes it harder to thrive.

BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE PRINCIPLES

Design for the brain’s spotlight – Use visual contrast, color, movement, faces/emotion, and surprise to grab the audience’s attention. Read more: The Psychology of GIFs.
Leverage emotional states – Emotions—including curiosity, joy, empathy, and mild doubt—lower psychological defenses and allow people to reconsider deeply-held beliefs.
Avoid solely fear-based narratives – Fear-based narratives trigger a threat-response that does increase their stickiness and ability to be retrieved. However, they also activate defensive reactions, weaken empathy, and undermine perceived efficacy. On the other hand, positive emotions tied to identity and purpose—such as compassion, hope, and joy—are just as easy to recall and help people feel aligned with their values. If you do use fear, be sure to pair it with a solution.
Repeat, repeat, repeat – The brain learns by rehearsal, so it’s important to reinforce our narrative across different contexts to help commit it to memory and make it feel more familiar.
Shift social norms – Show the desired behavior or attitude in action, make it identity safe (i.e., something that “people like us” do), and make it visible.
Build on familiar concepts – Frame new information as a natural extension of what people already believe to make it easier for them to consider new beliefs.
Anchor beliefs – Deliberately set an anchor for how people should think about an issue early and repeat it to increase familiarity.
Prompt reflection – Asking people to repeat or apply a message helps strengthen memory.
Keep it simple – Human attention is limited and highly selective, so stick to one clear takeaway and catchy phrase.

Narrative Path

Building social cohesion—fostering connection, trust, and a commitment to the greater good as an antidote to divisive “othering”—takes time and requires multiple steps. Before we can ask our audience to stand up for the rights of others we need to combat internalized biases that create perceived out-group threat, and help women see themselves as part of a collective solution. Our narrative strategy starts with moving moderate white women to agree with this statement, “My wellbeing depends on the wellbeing of everyone in my community, including people who aren’t like me.” This reflects a fundamental first step in shifting mindsets: the belief that our rights and freedoms are tied up in the liberty of others. It also creates a bridge towards our goals with civic engagement; when people believe their future is connected to community wellbeing, they are more willing to use their voice to protect that wellbeing. Narratives therefore need to communicate cohesion in a way that is relatable, emotionally resonant, and grounded in this audience’s lived experiences.

Shared fate becomes believable when it is experienced as interdependence, not similarity or sympathy. Instead of approaching from a frame of “They [out-group members] are like me, but have different problems, so I should care”, we want our audience to think “They are different than me, but we have the same problems, so we should work together for shared solutions.” The following narrative elements do not need to be followed in order as long as they are all present and working together over the course of the story:

Show a shared baseline of dignity: Show people extending respect across lines of difference and reinforce the idea that dignity is not conditional.
Surface a recognizable breakdown in connection: Show how division, scapegoating, and isolation are pulling people apart, making everyday life feel less stable and less connected.
Show everyday interdependence in action: Show that people are not navigating life alone, but are coordinating, supporting, and relying on each other in familiar, everyday environments (including neighborhoods, schools, or shared spaces). Reinforce that knowing and showing up for one another leads to stronger, more capable communities.
Resolve with shared, practical outcomes: Show how people choose not to engage in political chaos or division, and instead come together across differences to focus on solving real, everyday problems. Outcomes should be co-created, not individually achieved.

For moderate white women, the strongest stories have a non-political, human foundation, rooted in the idea of universal dignity—that people deserve respect and fair treatment even when we don’t fully understand their lives, choices, or experiences. This establishes a baseline of connection without requiring agreement or sameness. From there, narratives introduce what is at stake: a breakdown in connection and community. The problem isn’t framed as ideology or disagreement, but as something people experience in their daily lives: communities becoming more disconnected, division fueled by scapegoating, and a growing sense that people are being pulled apart. We then resolve this tension by showing people—who are not necessarily the same (though in an unspecified way)—relying on one another in familiar, everyday settings, demonstrating that community wellbeing is already being created through shared experience and mutual reliance. In some cases, it can be useful to draw attention to division, but mostly in as much as division is externally imposed by bad actors. Narratives conclude with practical, shared outcomes that are based on everyday experiences for the audience. This illustrates that when people show up for one another, communities become safer, stronger, and more resilient. Cohesion is presented as something that produces tangible benefits in everyday life.

NARRATIVE FRAMES

Trusting Others and Our Own Strength

Intent To Divide

We All Deserve Fair Treatment

Trusting Others and Our Own Strength

Safety happens when we come together and look out for each other.

Show a connection that is already happening, centered in a concrete, everyday event that is a regular concern for families. Then names the security and safety that arise from that connection and makes its value immediately visible and relatable.

TIPS

Focus on real-life, low-stakes settings (neighborhoods, libraries, services)
Show the connection between interdependence and safety
Show, don’t tell, what safety looks like (Let understanding emerge from the story, not education)

VALUES

In-group care – tying collective action across differences back to our audience’s lived experience makes the narrative resonate and validates their beliefs
Security – being able to come together and create a stable, safe future for everyone in their community

MESSENGERS

Relatable storytellers (people who look, talk, have similar values/experience as audience)

EDUCATIONAL EXAMPLE

Walking Kids
“Every morning, a few of us meet up while our kids head off to school. Some ride the bus, some get dropped off, but a handful of parents on our road usually stand out by the driveway for a few minutes while everyone gets on their way. We started doing it more intentionally this year because people have been feeling uneasy. You turn on the TV or scroll through social media and it feels like everything is an argument about who belongs or who’s a problem. But standing there in the mornings, I see families of all different backgrounds just trying to get their kids safely off to school. So now we look out for each other a little more. One parent waits until the bus pulls away. Another stays until the last car leaves. It’s simple, but it changes how it feels to send your kid out the door. Watching out for these kids isn’t the only thing we need to be doing. But I’ll tell you this: when you know the people around you will step in if something goes wrong, that’s real safety. Because when some families start feeling less protected, the whole neighborhood feels it. Safety only works when it works for everyone.” **

Need more examples for your organization’s specific needs? Contact partnerships@galvanizeaction.org.

AUDIENCE

This narrative is appropriate for all audiences.

Intent to Divide

Our differences are not what divides us. The real threat is from those who profit from pitting us against each other.

Show that division comes from outside forces and what matters is whether people are functioning within the same shared system. Narratives should center our audience’s desired outcomes with the stability of the community, suggesting that both depend on continued participation from a diverse set of people.

TIPS

Focus on real-life, low-stakes settings (neighborhoods, libraries, services)
Center people working together and make division and the bad actors who cause it a smaller piece of the story
Interdependence (how we work together), not identity (who we are), should drive the story

VALUES

In-group care – tying collective action across difference back to our audience’s lived experience makes the narrative resonate and validates their beliefs
Compassion – women in our audience respond well to stories about kindness and see themselves as helpers, especially for more vulnerable groups

MESSENGERS

Relatable storytellers (people who look, talk, have similar values/experience as audience)

EDUCATIONAL EXAMPLE

Divide: Sign
“Every time election season rolls around, I start seeing those divisive ads again, the ones that single out certain communities and try to convince me they’re the problem. Honestly, I’m tired of it. I run a busy coffee shop downtown, and every morning I see all kinds of people come through the door. Nurses, contractors, shop owners—some are immigrants and some are transgender. What I care about is keeping this business here next year. Managing rising costs. Keeping sales steady. Making sure Main Street feels strong. So I put up a sign that says, “Everybody’s welcome here.” And I mean it, as long as you’re kind, courteous, and paying your bill, you belong. When politicians divide us to win elections, it doesn’t fix anything. It makes people pull back and then small businesses like mine feel it fast. My future, and this shop’s future, depends on this community staying strong, steady, and welcoming for everyone.” **

Need more examples for your organization’s specific needs? Contact partnerships@galvanizeaction.org.

AUDIENCE

This narrative was developed for Centrists but is safe for all moderate women, although women of color may perceive it as “othering” if stories focus on specific relatable examples. We recommend avoiding using it with men who have less to gain from exposing political division.

We All Deserve Fair Treatment

Fairness means people are treated with dignity and respect. Because we are all in this together, we help each other get what we all need and deserve.

Contrast perceived division with what actually happens in communities: people share resources, help one another, and show up in moments of need. Show mutual support as a lived reality, not an aspiration.

TIPS

Focus on real-life, low-stakes settings (neighborhoods, libraries, services)
Emphasize how we all want the same things
Show, don’t tell, what fair treatment looks like (let understanding emerge from the story, not education)

VALUES

Compassion – women in our audience respond well to stories about kindness and see themselves as helpers, especially for more vulnerable groups
Fairness – we are all deserving of dignity, care, and trust.

MESSENGERS

Relatable storytellers (people who look, talk, have similar values/experience as audience)

EDUCATIONAL EXAMPLE

Protect Each Other
“Every time I turn on the TV or scroll through my social media feeds, someone’s arguing about who deserves what, who belongs, who should get help. Meanwhile, the families I know, including mine, are just trying to keep up with rising costs and raise decent kids. In my neighborhood, we don’t spend much time arguing about that stuff. We borrow tools, trade recipes, and watch each other’s kids after school. We help shovel a driveway when someone’s sick or bring over dinner when a family’s going through a tough time. I don’t think about my neighbors as belonging to one side or another. They’re people I trust. And the more I pay attention to how we actually live our lives day to day, the more I realize that the strength of this community comes from the way we show up for each other.” **

Need more examples for your organization’s specific needs? Contact partnerships@galvanizeaction.org.

AUDIENCE

This narrative is appropriate for all moderate women.

Political Takeaways

While these narratives were not tested for political calls to actions, the main principles can be applied and adapted for political messaging designed to influence support for specific policies or ballot measures intended to combat discrimination and “othering.”

Avoid talking about systemic injustice and ground in on how political outcomes impact our audience’s desire for connection and community
Highlight the need for leaders and elected officials who solve problems, and are helping build trust in our communities—not causing division. This includes articulating an elected official’s positive vision instead of just contrasting them against the opposition and repeating their harmful narratives
Draw a clear line between leaders who share the idea of universal dignity and how they create the same outcomes for different people including safety, opportunity, and stability

Reinforce that when people like them choose real solutions over engaging in division, they create more connected communities.

OTHER NARRATIVE FRAMES

The following represent narratives that underwent a different testing process, instead drawing on Galvanize Action’s rich history of audience understanding research and individual-level message testing.

More in Common

Even if others don’t look like you or live like you, you all share the same values and worries

TO NOTE

This narrative creates authentic and positive engagement opportunities for our audience with out-group members to break down perceived differences and susceptibility to stereotypes
Sharing challenging or emotionally-difficult experiences can help build shared fate, but avoid comparing loss or equating experiences where one is grounded in systemic barriers
This frame is really important for Centrists who are more hesitant to seek out opportunities to spend time with people from marginalized groups due to conflict aversion

VALUES

Compassion – women in our audience respond well to stories about kindness and see themselves as helpers, especially for more vulnerable groups
Open mindedness – even when our audience doesn’t understand culture change or what others are going through, remaining open and curious opens the door to empathy

MESSENGERS

Relatable out-group member storytellers (people who don’t look like our audience but share similar values/experiences)

EDUCATIONAL EXAMPLES

“Remember that we aren’t so divided. We have more similarities than we think”

“You can find joy in connecting with strangers”

Consider a video series in which women from all different walks of life come together to complete a shared task, like putting together a puzzle. As they work together on a common goal, have them answer prompts that make it clear they’re not as different as one might assume.

Need more examples for your organization’s specific needs? Contact partnerships@galvanizeaction.org.

AUDIENCE

This narrative is appropriate for all audiences. Small caution around calling out commonalities that speak to real challenges grounded in identity (e.g., experience with the police) that could alienate women of color.

Learning Not Judging

You don’t have to have all the answers. Listening and learning is what makes us better.

TO NOTE

This narrative reaffirms our audience’s compassion and dislike of being unfairly judged to counteract deservingness beliefs and defensiveness when they feel their views are under attack
Speaks to Centrists’ desire to be seen as good people
One frames leverages women’s desire to stay connected with their kids and younger generations, which requires them being more open than the way they were raised – “things my kids taught me”

VALUES

Compassion – women in our audience respond well to stories about kindness and see themselves as helpers, especially for more vulnerable groups
Open mindedness – even when our audience doesn’t understand culture change or what others are going through, remaining open and curious opens the door to empathy

MESSENGERS

Relatable storytellers (people who look, talk, have similar values/experience as audience)

EDUCATIONAL EXAMPLES

“When we let down our guards, we find connection”

“No one deserves to feel judged for who they are”

Craft a story starring a relatable mom who sees her neighbors struggling and offers the type of help she thinks they need. When they don’t accept her unsolicited help, she is surprised! This gives her an opportunity to learn that she needs to get to know her neighbors and be open minded. Different families have different needs!

Need more examples for your organization’s specific needs? Contact partnerships@galvanizeaction.org.

AUDIENCE

This narrative is appropriate for all audiences, although it may be less effective for non-Centrists.

We Can Make a Difference

Change is possible. Your actions—big or small—can help create a better future.

TO NOTE

Addresses key barrier of worrying that they don’t know enough or will say the wrong thing if they intervene
Make sure that prosocial actions reflect collective effort towards a shared problem. Show our audience engaging with not for others

VALUES

In-group care – tying collective action across difference back to our audience’s lived experience makes the narrative resonate and validates their beliefs
Political self-efficacy – believing that their voice matters, that they can understand and meaningfully participate in politics give our audience the confidence to take action

MESSENGERS

Relatable storytellers (people who look, talk, have similar values/experience as audience)

EDUCATIONAL EXAMPLES

“When people like you act together, our communities are safer and stronger for everyone”

Kindness Not Worry
“I’ve been so afraid of what’s been happening in the news lately. Families struggling to feed their kids, people getting forcefully taken from their homes and workplaces, and whole communities getting blamed for everything. It’s hard to know the right thing to do, especially when my family and I aren’t wrapped up in it. But my daughter has been checking in on her friends and teachers to make sure they are safe and feel like they belong. She reminded me that kindness is stronger than worry, and we are all responsible for stopping the spread of hatred.” **

Craft a message featuring a regular mom who is worried about the wellbeing of neighborhood kids over summer break. Will they have enough to eat without school lunches? Will their parents have the resources for summer childcare? Have your relatable messenger become part of the solution by pitching in in her community.

ACCOUNTABILITY EXAMPLE

“We can elect leaders who will make life better for everyone”

Need more examples for your organization’s specific needs? Contact partnerships@galvanizeaction.org.

AUDIENCE

This narrative was developed for Centrists and should not be used with Pragmatists, who have higher out-group threat and are less likely to empathize with solutions that don’t center their in-group. Similarly, it is not recommended for use with men unless they hold clear prosocial views on the economy. It is also unlikely to resonate with women of color who may feel a lack of agency due to structural barriers.

Small Acts of Kindness

Even little things—like standing up for someone—make a difference. What matters is the size of the drop, not the size of the bucket.

TO NOTE

Share personal, relatable stories of standing up for and with others, making sure to humanize the individual or groups being “othered” by emphasizing universal dignity and interdependent outcomes
Actions should be low lift and fit in our audience’s daily lives, helping them see how the small acts do as much good as possible
This narrative speaks to our audience’s caregiving identity and desire to see themselves as good people, while helping them align their self aspirations with real actions
To avoid activating fears around relationship risk, this narrative can be paired with Connection Through Engagement

VALUES

Compassion – women in our audience respond well to stories about kindness and see themselves as helpers, especially for more vulnerable groups
Political self-efficacy – believing that their voice matters, that they can understand and meaningfully participate in politics give our audience the confidence to take action

MESSENGERS

Relatable storytellers (people who look, talk, have similar values/experience as audience)

EDUCATIONAL EXAMPLES

“Everyday kindness adds up to real change”

“We all have the power to make life better for others”

Show an example of a small act of kindness, like speaking up for someone who speaks with an accent when they are being harassed in the grocery store.

Need more examples for your organization’s specific needs? Contact partnerships@galvanizeaction.org.

AUDIENCE

This narrative is appropriate for all audiences as long as we describe prosocial actions.

Healing the Divide

Polarization isn’t permanent. There are fair, practical ways to rebuild trust and stability.

TO NOTE

Speaks to our audience’s desire for solutions and counteracts feelings of hopelessness
This frame places different individuals within the same environment, facing the same immediate challenge and relying on the same system to function. It makes shared dependence visible and believable while asking folks to stretch a bit beyond their routines.
This frame tested best with women who are parents to young kids

VALUES

Security – being able to come together and create a stable, safe future for everyone in their community

MESSENGERS

Relatable storytellers (people who look, talk, have similar values/experience as audience)
Prosocial authority figures including military, veterans, business leaders, and teachers

EDUCATIONAL EXAMPLE

“Together we can fix what feels broken”

Divide
“My daughter Jenna took a softball to the face last week, so we ended up in the emergency room. It was chaos with long waits and no clear answers about when anyone would be seen. I heard at least six different languages being spoken, and I didn’t recognize a single person. At one point another mom sitting nearby caught my eye and asked in careful English if Jenna was going to be okay. Her son had his arm in a sling. We both just nodded and gave each other that look parents give when their kids are hurt. In that waiting room, everyone was worried about the same thing: getting our kids taken care of and getting them back home. Sitting there, I couldn’t stop thinking about how different it feels outside those hospital doors. Out there, it seems like everything is an argument about who belongs and who deserves what. But inside that waiting room, none of that mattered. We were all depending on the same overworked nurses and the same strained system. I don’t care where the family next to me was born. I care that the emergency room works. When we spend our energy dividing each other instead of fixing what’s broken, we all wait longer. And when the systems we rely on don’t work, every family feels it.” **

ACCOUNTABILITY EXAMPLE

“I support candidates who respect all people and create solutions, not chaos”

Need more examples for your organization’s specific needs? Contact partnerships@galvanizeaction.org.

AUDIENCE

This narrative is appropriate for all audiences as long as we describe prosocial actions.

Part of the Solution

You are not alone—others share your values. By taking action, you are helping build a better community and a brighter future for all.

TO NOTE

This frame encourages our most prosocial women to overcome their lack of political self-confidence and influence others with their engagement (Egalitarians are most likely to question whether their help is wanted or needed when standing up for marginalized groups)
Effective stories model visible prosocial action and how it can be a catalyst for change across our audience’s network

VALUES

Compassion – women in our audience want to help groups they see as vulnerable (especially children and those experiencing homelessness), so it’s important to validate empathy
Political self-efficacy – believing that their voice matters, that they can understand and meaningfully participate in politics give our audience the confidence to take action

MESSENGERS

Relatable storytellers (people who look, talk, have similar values/experience as audience)

EDUCATIONAL EXAMPLES

“I stand up for my values”

“By making my voice heard I can help others”

We’re Living It
“With all the chaos and violence in the news none of us can just sit silent. I want to be on the right side of history. I want my grandkids to not be embarrassed by me. We grew up reading history books and thinking, ‘How did they let this happen?’ And now we’re living in it. So if I can do something, even as small as sharing how I feel about what the administration is doing, it makes me feel a little better.” **

Consider user-generated content! Ask your audience to share ways they get involved in your community, and harness the power of social proof to show a wider audience that women like them get involved. For example, if 40% of your audience volunteers locally, share those results!

ACCOUNTABILITY EXAMPLE

“Vote for candidates who support your values”

Need more examples for your organization’s specific needs? Contact partnerships@galvanizeaction.org.

AUDIENCE

This narrative was developed for Egalitarians and should only be deployed to women who already hold strong, prosocial beliefs.

The System IS Unfair

You’re right—the rules aren’t fair. The problem isn’t families in need, it’s powerful actors gaming the system

TO NOTE

This frame addresses the relationship between economic insecurity and openness to “othering” by redirecting grievances towards the appropriate bad actors
Make sure to show shared economic experiences rather than parallel ones
Effective stories reveal that stability is not an individual. It depends on systems working for everyone and on people being able to rely on one another
Healthcare and care economy (including child care, elder care, and paid leave) are good onramps for this narrative
Even women who hold individualistic worldviews can still be open to framing the problem as caused by a broken system. We just have to avoid saying that everything has a structural basis, or denigrating beliefs about individual responsibility
Focus on bad actors who are breaking the rules and benefitting at our expense, instead of calling out specific billionaires and corporations

VALUES

Fairness – while fairness can reinforce just world view beliefs, it can also highlight how current systems and practices deviate from our audience’s ideals and are “breaking the rules”
In-group care – tying the economy back to our audience’s lived experience makes the narrative resonate and validates their beliefs
Security – being able to provide for their families and feel secure reduces scarcity mindset and opens our audience up to solutions

MESSENGERS

Working-class parents
Relatable storytellers (people who look, talk, have similar values/experience as audience)
Avoid public officials and elites without relevant credentials

EDUCATIONAL EXAMPLE

“You are not alone in your hardship”

“Demand fairer policies for all working families”

Get real working moms talking about relatable systemic issues. As they share problems like “I need to pick my kids up from school, but I have to work” or “daycare takes my entire salary,” your audience will realize they aren’t alone in their struggles: the system was designed that way.

Craft an advice column where a reader on a fixed income wonders how she can afford groceries, and learns that everyone is struggling due to rising costs and she is not alone.

ACCOUNTABILITY EXAMPLE

“Support leaders who have the backs of working families, and reject leaders who protect the wealthy and corporate power over working families”

Need more examples for your organization’s specific needs? Contact partnerships@galvanizeaction.org.

AUDIENCE

This narrative is appropriate for all audiences, although it may not resonate as well with higher socio-economic status households who feel less economic stress. Women of color may require greater trust to build a fixable system.

SAFE TO TRY

Narrative recommendations we haven’t tested but feel comfortable moving forward.

“Parasocial Relationships”

Given our audience’s low familiarity with members of many marginalized communities, we believe that creating opportunities for them to develop even one-sided bonds with influencers from those communities will help increase comfort and reduce harmful “othering.” This strategy is rooted in the positive impacts found in academic research on Parasocial Contact Hypothesis. While following the Parasocial Contact Hypothesis could be helpful on a variety of social cohesion topics, we recommend focusing on topics that are the most difficult to move on or where audiences are starting with less openness and curiosity, such as transgender rights.

“Enforcement Overreach”

Given ideologically-moderate white women’s desire for order and in-group security, they are not receptive to narratives that demonize law enforcement. It is also challenging to disentangle their feelings about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from anti-immigrant sentiments. Even as attacks by ICE and other government agencies ramp up against marginalized groups, we need to help our audience put their compassion ahead of their internalized belief in “fairness” and following the rules. One approach that shows promise is showing how ICE’s overreach does not reflect how law enforcement is supposed to act. Use trusted authority figures, such as veterans or military leaders, to emphasize how training and trust are required for true community protection.

STRENGTHENING YOUR FRAME: NARRATIVE ELEMENTS

Narrative testing reveals that using the following elements can make stories resonate more strongly with ideologically-moderate white women, even when using frames that go beyond the above recommendations.

SHARED BELIEFS

Value frames that create emotional alignment with our audience and the issue of civic engagement

Lead with dignity, fairness, and equal opportunity as foundational frames. Everyone deserves these things, regardless of our differences. When expanding outward, anchor in concrete experiences like families or communities, rather than abstract societal concepts.

Universal Dignity: Direct – People deserve dignity and respect even when we don’t fully understand their lives, choices, or experiences.

This frame speaks to our audience’s belief in equal treatment and opportunity. It also gives space for lack of confidence and familiarity with issues that impact out-group members, by emphasizing shared values
The frame operates at a human, interpersonal level reflecting how people relate to one another in everyday life
May be partially driven by our audience’s aspirational goal of being seen as good people

Unfair System – Everyone should have a fair shot to succeed, and no one should be held back by an unfair system.

Similar to Universal Dignity: Direct, this frame also taps into our audience’s belief in equal opportunity, introducing a more structural lens
Speaks to our audience’s belief in fairness. While we know that many women in our audience hold individualistic rather than systemic worldviews, this frame highlights how even the former can become aware of systemic barriers when framed as equal opportunity without barriers
Rather than emphasizing the injustice of similar people experiencing different outcomes, the stronger path is to show that different people should be able to arrive at the same basic outcomes: safety, opportunity, dignity, and stability

Collective Solidarity – Communities thrive when we stand together, not when we are pitted against each other.

Speaks to our audience’s desire for connection and community
This frame works best when it makes visible how everyday life depends on people showing up for one another and how shared effort leads to shared outcomes

WHAT’S AT STAKE

What civic engagement problems feel most urgent, personally important, and solvable to our audience

What our audience cares about is not always the same as what we care about, so it’s important to frame narratives around what feels most urgent for them as a starting point, coupled with showing them solutions. Taking the opportunity to repeat these challenges back increases the chance that our messaging will resonate, while also helping to humanize the women to whom we are speaking.

Lead with stakes that highlight division, isolation, and breakdowns in connection as communal problems to invoke emotional resonance and personal experience. Ground stakes in everyday, observable experiences (of clearly defined groups), and ensure the problem feels shared and collectively experienced, not distant.

Social Isolation – People don’t know their neighbors like they used to, and it’s making communities less connected and more divided.

Speaks to our audience’s concern about social erosion and disconnection, making it feel personal and relatable without invoking identity
Show people building connection in everyday environments and reinforce that knowing and showing up for one another leads to stronger, more capable communities

Chaos Causes Division – Political chaos that divides communities is getting in the way of solving the problems people are dealing with every day.

Reflects what our audience is observing in their own lives and framing the problem as shared across communities, not just to individuals
Show how people choose not to engage in political chaos or division, and instead come together to focus on solving real, everyday problems

Scapegoating – False and misleading stories about certain groups are spreading fear and turning people against one another.

Similar to Social Isolation and Chaos Causes Division, this stake also speaks to concerns about social erosion, showing how people are being turned against each other by outside forces
Creative using this stake should: Show people rejecting blame and coming together across differences and reinforce that communities work best when people are not pitted against one another
Note that this does not mean that everyone in our audience recognizes and acknowledges the structural biases that feed into oppression, so avoid using a systems frame

HOOKS

Openings that most successfully grab attention and spark interest in civic engagement

Effective hooks for social cohesion surface a point of tension that feels immediate, relevant, and unresolved. These hooks anchor in stakes that are already resonant with our audience, including safety, fairness, and division, inviting women to lean in rather than telling them what to think.

What would it feel like if everyone here felt safe?

Grounds our audience in a familiar environment and introduces a shared aspiration around safety

You can find trust where you least expect it.

Piques curiosity around a theme that is central to our audience—trust, safety and connection in community

Two families. Same work. Very different outcomes.

Presents a clear contrast rooted in fairness. It highlights a recognizable imbalance and creates immediate tension, prompting the audience to seek an explanation or resolution. This hook was the strongest for ideologically-moderate Hispanic women.

CALLS TO ACTION (CTAs)

Motivational approaches that can move our audience to act

The most effective CTAs invite the audience to take a next step by showing what connection looks like in practice. They encourage exploration, prompting the audience to learn more by pointing to a concrete example of how people show up for one another. Rather than telling people what to do, they create curiosity about how connection and community function in real life.

Note that CTAs related to social cohesion are intentionally soft because most women in our audience are not ready to take strong action in support of others (due to internalized biases and conflict aversion). See the Civic Engagement Toolkit for more guidance on supporting them to engage.

We’re safer and stronger when we show up for each other. Here’s what that looks like.

Reinforces the idea that community safety is created through mutual reliance. It connects directly to the core narrative that people are safer when they show up for one another.

A little trust goes a long way. See how one small gesture opened up a whole block.

Emphasizes how small, everyday actions can ripple outward, showing how connection builds over time. It reinforces the idea that community change is tangible and cumulative.

You’re not alone. This is how we find strength in each other.

Centers on shared strength and belonging, reinforcing that connection is both available and necessary.

⚠️What to Avoid

Narrative testing teaches us that the following should be avoided when messaging ideologically-moderate white women:

Avoid calling out injustice or evoking moral arguments that have been politicized for the purpose of drawing our audience away from collective action. Only consider this for moderate women who already hold strong prosocial attitudes.
- Calling out that something is violated doesn’t make them want to act, needs to be relatable
Avoid placing responsibility solely on the individual or using framing that weakens the sense of collective action.
Avoid narratives built primarily on similarity, sympathy, or one-sided support. The strongest narratives do not argue that people are the same or ask audiences to care about others’ struggles. Instead, they show people producing outcomes together, demonstrate mutual reliance in real time and make visible how everyday life depends on others.
The evidence on systems-level framing is mixed, so we generally recommend avoiding opening with institutional or systems-oriented framing that may feel too far away from our audience’s sphere of control. Systems-level framing may be used with caution when it is grounded in a relatable experience that invokes emotion and sense of belonging.

Embrace / Replace

SAY THIS…	INSTEAD OF…	BECAUSE…
Using positive, strengths-based language to describe out-group members	Using harmful stereotypes or slurs, even to refute them	Naming stereotypes or using slurs that dehumanize or attack someone’s identity (especially when that identity is tied to a marginalized community) strengthens the harmful association in our audience’s memories. Our goal is to create a new prosocial mental anchor to inoculate against grievance narratives. At the same time, in order to push our audience toward growth, we may develop content that includes a biased comment paired with reflection or learning; uses a bleeped or paraphrased phrase to acknowledge bias without replicating harm; depicts a stereotype in order to challenge it; or shows imperfection in a character or situation to model real, relatable change. We make these choices with intentions and context.
Marginalized groups/ communities	Minorities	“Minority” can imply “less than” and is not an accurate description for people who make up a majority of the world’s population. Focus on how certain groups have been historically excluded to shift from an individualistic to a systemic worldview Caution around implying victimhood
Narratives that honor the gap between American ideals and our shared reality (e.g., “We have always been a country that takes little steps towards its promises”)	Narratives that lead with national shame	Many women in our audience value patriotism and because they hold just world view beliefs, push back against narratives that point out current social inequities that to them feel like individual failings. By using a future lens, we can leverage their love of country in service of a more fair and just society.
Create a fair immigration process that respects/ensures the wellbeing of all families Keep our families and communities whole	Fix our broken immigration system Stop mass deportations	Framing the problem in systemic terms won’t resonate with women who hold individualist worldviews, and makes it feel insurmountable. Instead, focus on the specific end goal and what we are for to increase a sense of agency.
Actions and words that harm people of color/ transgender individuals/immigrants/etc. (e.g., “Her post was racist” instead of “My aunt is racist”) Supporting discriminatory action	Racist/ transphobic/ anti-immigrant (to describe a person)	Instead of labeling people as racist/transphobic/Islamaphobic/antisemitic—which creates a barrier to empathy for our audience and makes it harder to understand why they are susceptible to “othering”—we should name the motivation behind their biases as well as the impact on marginalized groups
All people, white, Black, and brown We all have a stake in this place	All people, Black, white, and brown Diversity is our strength	Starting Race Class Narrative (and RCGN) with our audience’s identity helps them see themselves in the collective “we” and reduce feelings of insignificance or defensiveness. Lead with shared values to build a sense of interconnectedness.
Black	African American	While African American refers specifically to descendants of enslaved people in the US, Black is a more inclusive term for describing a shared racial identity, culture, and community.
Undocumented or without immigration papers	Illegal or alien	We want to avoid falling into the “good vs bad” immigrant trap and activating dehumanizing biases and criminality mindset.
Salad bowl	Melting pot	This is a way to talk about a multicultural society where, instead of ignoring people’s different cultural identities or promoting assimilation, we focus on how our unique identities contribute to a shared whole.
Equality	Equity	Our long-term goal is to move our audience towards belief in and support for equity. However, this framing doesn’t align with many of their individualistic and meritocratic worldviews. Starting from a place of equality (framed as universal human dignity) and slowly educating on systemic barriers allows narratives to resonate. With more systemic oriented women using an equity frame is safe.
Genders	Gender	Pluralizing genders challenges our audience’s binary worldview and helps create a more open mindset when talking about the issue
Tools, resources, and supports Opportunity and tools Public investment in…	Handouts or help Government spending	When government programs are framed as “handouts”, they activate deep-seated defensiveness related to just world view beliefs. This removes agency from workers and fuels “laziness” stereotypes. In the context of race, ethnicity, or national origin, it can also activate colorblind racial resentment. Research from the Winning Jobs Narrative finds that working Americans respond better to policies when they center workers as the heroes and position policies as enabling their success and agency.
The current administration	The government	In order to bolster trust in democratic systems we have to disentangle government from the actions of a specific administration. This includes being clear about whose agenda is responsible for both prosocial and harmful policies.
The powerful few that rig the system	Politicians, billionaires, and corporations	When naming bad actors it is important to focus on how their behavior is the problem, rather than just who they are. Naming villains alone can undermine systemic thinking, so we want to focus on how the systems are rigged and who enables this to happen. Similarly, identifying concentrated power and economic rigging as the shared obstacle helps build solidarity without requiring anyone to see themselves as the villain.

SPECIFIC CASES

Removal of Rights

We anticipate government-led removal of rights and measures targeted at marginalized communities this year. However for this audience, compassion, empathy, and active defense do not extend equally to all marginalized groups. It is critical to understand where they are at before speaking to ideologically-moderate white women on these topics. Once that is determined we can then move to the appropriate level. Based on Galvanize Action’s research, many in our audience are at Level 2 when it comes to topics around immigration, and Level 1 on transgender rights.

Level 3 -> Nudging to actively defend rights and take prosocial actions. This is where tactics from our civic engagement toolkit come into play. The barrier is less around attitudes and social cohesion, and more about discomfort around engagement or taking action

Level 1 -> They need exposure and are not very receptive to hearing about struggles and lived experiences of people who are not like them. When facing removal of rights, they should be encouraged to not take any action in order to avoid antisocial behavior and blocking progress.

Level 2 -> Capitalize on openness and curiosity in order to educate and help them learn. This is where attitude shifts begin to happen and they could be convinced to support progress (or at least oppose harm) if framed carefully.

Transgender Rights

We have to tread carefully when talking to our audience about the transgender community. Many have told us they do not know someone who is transgender, and we have found anti-trans attitudes are highly predictive of vote choice. Introducing topics around participation in sports, or gender-affirming care for kids tends to trigger their deeply-held beliefs around fairness and safety. We need to start with acceptance and validation before building to a sense of shared fate. Draw upon evidence from Parasocial Contact Hypothesis which has demonstrated positive results when it comes to other marginalized groups. Other research has suggested using narratives that center trans messengers and show cis people validating them as an effective strategy

Appendix

While all narratives are research informed, example content represents varying levels of confidence in how they move our audience (*= content has been lab tested and shown statistically significant movement, **= content is based on theory and audience reaction shows directional evidence of a positive effect)

Narratives Tested with Ground Media **

Walking Kids – “Every morning, a few of us meet up while our kids head off to school. Some ride the bus, some get dropped off, but a handful of parents on our road usually stand out by the driveway for a few minutes while everyone gets on their way. We started doing it more intentionally this year because people have been feeling uneasy. You turn on the TV or scroll through social media and it feels like everything is an argument about who belongs or who’s a problem. But standing there in the mornings, I see families of all different backgrounds just trying to get their kids safely off to school. So now we look out for each other a little more. One parent waits until the bus pulls away. Another stays until the last car leaves. It’s simple, but it changes how it feels to send your kid out the door. Watching out for these kids isn’t the only thing we need to be doing. But I’ll tell you this: when you know the people around you will step in if something goes wrong, that’s real safety. Because when some families start feeling less protected, the whole neighborhood feels it. Safety only works when it works for everyone.”

Divide: Sign – “Every time election season rolls around, I start seeing those divisive ads again, the ones that single out certain communities and try to convince me they’re the problem. Honestly, I’m tired of it. I run a busy coffee shop downtown, and every morning I see all kinds of people come through the door. Nurses, contractors, shop owners—some are immigrants and some are transgender. What I care about is keeping this business here next year. Managing rising costs. Keeping sales steady. Making sure Main Street feels strong. So I put up a sign that says, “Everybody’s welcome here.” And I mean it, as long as you’re kind, courteous, and paying your bill, you belong. When politicians divide us to win elections, it doesn’t fix anything. It makes people pull back and then small businesses like mine feel it fast. My future, and this shop’s future, depends on this community staying strong, steady, and welcoming for everyone.”

Protect Each Other – “Every time I turn on the TV or scroll through my social media feeds, someone’s arguing about who deserves what, who belongs, who should get help. Meanwhile, the families I know, including mine, are just trying to keep up with rising costs and raise decent kids. In my neighborhood, we don’t spend much time arguing about that stuff. We borrow tools, trade recipes, and watch each other’s kids after school. We help shovel a driveway when someone’s sick or bring over dinner when a family’s going through a tough time. I don’t think about my neighbors as belonging to one side or another. They’re people I trust. And the more I pay attention to how we actually live our lives day to day, the more I realize that the strength of this community comes from the way we show up for each other.”

Kindness Not Worry – “I’ve been so afraid of what’s been happening in the news lately. Families struggling to feed their kids, people getting forcefully taken from their homes and workplaces, and whole communities getting blamed for everything. It’s hard to know the right thing to do, especially when my family and I aren’t wrapped up in it. But my daughter has been checking in on her friends and teachers to make sure they are safe and feel like they belong. She reminded me that kindness is stronger than worry, and we are all responsible for stopping the spread of hatred.”

Divide– “My daughter Jenna took a softball to the face last week, so we ended up in the emergency room. It was chaos with long waits and no clear answers about when anyone would be seen. I heard at least six different languages being spoken, and I didn’t recognize a single person. At one point another mom sitting nearby caught my eye and asked in careful English if Jenna was going to be okay. Her son had his arm in a sling. We both just nodded and gave each other that look parents give when their kids are hurt. In that waiting room, everyone was worried about the same thing: getting our kids taken care of and getting them back home. Sitting there, I couldn’t stop thinking about how different it feels outside those hospital doors. Out there, it seems like everything is an argument about who belongs and who deserves what. But inside that waiting room, none of that mattered. We were all depending on the same overworked nurses and the same strained system. I don’t care where the family next to me was born. I care that the emergency room works. When we spend our energy dividing each other instead of fixing what’s broken, we all wait longer. And when the systems we rely on don’t work, every family feels it.”

We’re Living It – “With all the chaos and violence in the news none of us can just sit silent. I want to be on the right side of history. I want my grandkids to not be embarrassed by me. We grew up reading history books and thinking, ‘How did they let this happen?’ And now we’re living in it. So if I can do something, even as small as sharing how I feel about what the administration is doing, it makes me feel a little better.”