THE ISSUE
Building women’s leadership, voice, and participation at grassroots level.

WHY IT MATTERS
Women have often been kept out of decision-making processes within families and communities. As citizens and claimants with equal rights, participation at local governance level will put them in a stronger position to create transformative and sustainable solutions that impact them positively.

HOW WE CREATE CHANGE
We provide financial support to women-led initiatives in the region that engage with women from communities at grassroots level, to visibilise their voices, strengthen their decision-making and leadership capacities; build awareness and understanding on feminist principles; support spaces for exchange and learning at local, regional and national level.

THE ISSUE
Systemic gender discrimination, the impact of conflict and inequalities are severely impairing the dignity, status and economic opportunities of women and girls in Africa.

WHY IT MATTERS
Engaging women in the struggle to combat poverty and fuel economic growth in Africa is crucial, yet they are being denied education, employment in areas of national economies and meaningful asset ownership.

HOW WE CREATE CHANGE
AWDF supports organisations seeking to develop strategies to promote African women’s economic and food security. The projects we back support skills development and positive legislation and policy for African women. We mobilize resources to help women maintain their livelihoods through agriculture and business while tackling issues like climate change.

THE ISSUE
The technology revolution is leaving women and girls behind, increasing gender inequality.

WHY IT MATTERS
Equal ability to access and shape technology is critical to achieving gender equality. When women and girls are users and designers of technology we level the playing field, increase innovation and propel women’s rights.

HOW WE CREATE CHANGE
Global Fund for Women’s Technology Initiative gives women’s groups money, support and leadership training to drive change from the ground up. With our support, women and girls are accessing and designing technology, apps and tools that help keep them safe, healthy and empowered.

THE ISSUE
Environmental issues have a greater impact on women. Although it is recognized that women are critical to implementing sustainable solutions, their voices are often the last to be heard.

WHY IT MATTERS
Despite the unequal distribution of natural resources and discrimination against women, they are often the main protagonists of social change and environmental conservation in their communities. A sustainable future is only attainable through the empowerment of women-led environmental solutions.

HOW WE CREATE CHANGE
Semillas invests in grassroots women to lead environmental justice initiatives in their rural communities. Women and their communities know how to manage their lands and resources better than anyone else, so if we want sustainable solutions to secure the conservation of our world, we need to invest in women. Semillas does not work with charitable actions but in building self-reliant women and communities.

THE ISSUE
More than 225 million women and girls worldwide do not have access to safe contraception and family planning.

WHY IT MATTERS
Being able to choose if and when to become a mother is a cornerstone of true equality. But even where rights exist on paper, many women have no access to reproductive health services. Fulfilling this need for family planning would cut maternal deaths by 30%.

HOW WE CREATE CHANGE
Mama Cash supports grassroots women’s organizations all over the world with resources and training so they can effectively organize and take action. Mama Cash’s grantees lobby local government or the UN, demand access to services and raise awareness about reproductive rights and health, and they provide sexual education for those who need it.

THE ISSUE
If we end violence against young women and girls TODAY, we can achieve a better TOMORROW.

WHY IT MATTERS
From being forced to marry before they finish school to being sexually harassed on their way to work – young women and girls face violence daily. Not only does it threaten their health, happiness, and dignity, it negates our chances of achieving equality.

HOW WE CREATE CHANGE
Whether rural and urban, online or in the streets, young women and girls around the world are already ending violence in their communities. Their own experiences of violence give them unique ideas on how to apply best practices, but also pioneer new strategies. FRIDA makes sure that these ideas become a reality by providing accessible grants, opportunities for growth, and a community of action.