The changes we are hoping to see in the world will only happen through the actions of a multitude of actors inside and across these ecosystems. We know we are only one actor and when we move together, we can move the world.
From entrenched gender inequalities, climate crisis, armed conflict, exploding gender-based and anti-trans violence, and a global economic system that fails to deliver for the majority to the continued reckonings over structural racism and the legacies of colonialism, we know the status quo isn’t working.
And yet, in every corner of the world, women, girls, and nonbinary people* are full of power. The power to dream. The power to create and build. The power to reveal and reinvent. The power to grow, nourish, and heal. The power to achieve the impossible.
* Our feminisms are inclusive of women, girls, youth, non-binary people, and LBTIQ people.
We know that feminist activists and movements are proven agents of change. But they are underfunded, overworked, facing huge obstacles, and working in difficult conditions.
We have the start of a feminist funding ecosystem*, which includes a growing number of actors resourcing movements in ways that meet their needs. These include philanthropists, governments, multi-lateral institutions, private sector mechanisms, women’s funds and funding generated by feminist activists and movements themselves. It is small, resources are scarce, and actors often work in silos.
* We lift up the work of our colleagues at AWID who have advanced important work on the feminist funding ecosystem.
Gender-lens investing is a growing field of investment that is starting to disrupt the status quo. Traditional investment approaches have largely extracted resources from communities and the environment, and as a result, financial markets today tend to reinforce, rather than challenge, harmful power dynamics.
The Equality Fund is one example that our feminist future is breaking through. We bring global grantmaking, feminist philanthropy, and gender-lens investing together inside of one organization. Inspired by feminists, managed by feminists, in collaboration with and in service of feminist movements worldwide.
Global Grantmaking | We move flexible and unrestricted funding to organizations, coalitions and networks focused on building power for women and non-binary people, especially in the Global South.
Feminist Philanthropy | We invite Equality Fund donors to work with and learn from feminist movements at the center of social change — intently focused on mutual respect, collaboration, intersectionality, and collective power building among women worldwide.
Gender-Lens Investing | We are growing our own self-sustaining, gender-lens fund. We make resources work for women twice: investments that influence the way businesses address the needs of people across the spectrum of gender, race, disability, nationality and sexuality, and by generating returns that fund the impact of feminist activists and movements in the field.
Across all of our areas of work, both inside of the Equality Fund and with partners, we are acting collectively to influence change in the following ways:
Challenging Patriarchy | We work to upend patriarchal relationships, social structures, and economic inequalities. These “power-over” relationships and structures have harmed everyone — especially women, girls, and nonbinary people.
Reconciliation, Decolonizing, and Anti-Racism | We recognize that colonialism is a root cause of oppressive relationships and gender inequality in Canada and around the world. We pursue reconciliation and anti-racist practices with a spirit of humility and are actively working to both learn and unlearn. We realize this is an ongoing practice, not a destination, and we are committed to this journey.
Power | We work to understand power, surface and name power, confront and challenge power, and build and shift power. We work to transform how power is structured in societies and economies by turning power that oppresses into power that can transform and achieve gender justice.
Voice and Agency | We work to raise the voices and ambition of ALL women, girls, and nonbinary people—who carry many identities, backgrounds, and life experiences.
Collective Action | We support and build collective action and movements, taking direction from organizations led by the people they represent and acting on the concept of “nothing about us, without us.”
Partnerships and Solidarity | We believe feminist transformation is rooted in solidarity. We work to build trust-based relationships, choose collaborative partnerships over competition, facilitate and participate in networks, and uphold the importance of personal and collective care.
Transparency and Learning | We open ourselves to constructive criticism, alternative perspectives and moments of tension so that we can learn and grow. It is uncomfortable at times, but it is important.
We are dreaming a new reality. Rights are respected, patriarchal structures are dismantled, systems are transformed, and gender equality and justice have been achieved. A world in which everyone is conscious of and builds the kind of power that brings freedom, love and care to all.
The full creativity, power and problem solving potential of women, girls, and nonbinary people is unleashed – leading change at local levels and contributing to global solutions.
We envision a healthy, diverse and larger feminist funding ecosystem. One that flows abundant resources for feminist change and directed according to the needs of activists and movements.
And, gender-lens investing is challenging the assumption that investment choices must be driven exclusively by profits, and is shifting how investment decisions are made in ways that address structural inequalities, promote environmental health, and improve people’s lives in a holistic manner.
We believe the future is feminist. And with each step forward a community of unlikely allies is building the road to full gender justice, together.
When we move together, we move the world.
We are grateful to women’s funds, feminist activists, innovators, and thinkers whose work we have built on. Our dream is only possible because of those who have come before us. Just as we hope to contribute to those who come after us.
~ The Equality Fund Team