Priority Areas

Supporting feminist, women’s rights and gender justice movements to thrive, to be a driving force in challenging systems of oppression, and to co-create feminist realities.

Movement Building

Related Content

Snippet FEA Principles of work Transparency (EN)

A pink umbrella

TRANSPARENCY

Snippet - GII Intro (EN)

Gender Impact Investing & The Rise of False Solutions:

An Analysis for Feminist Movements

Gender Impact Investing (GII) is now trending as a solution to gender inequality. Yet, as our report indicates, it is actually part of the problem. Public and private institutions marketing GII equate it with promotion of gender equality and with increased resources for women and girls.

Neither claim is evidence-based.

Rather, GII is another expression of subjecting our lives and societies to the same financial logic that has shaped, and continues shaping, the profound inequalities in our world.

With this report, AWID offers the readers - feminists, gender justice advocates and stakeholders in gender impact investing - a critical analysis and substantiated evidence to understand GII, its narratives, and economic and political implications for feminist movements.

Body

What is the AWID International Forum?

Every three to four years, AWID hosts its flagship international event. It is the world’s largest event that wholeheartedly centers feminist and gender justice movements in all their diversity. It is a global gathering of feminist activists, allied movements, scholars, funders and policymakers. The Forums rotate between different regions and countries in the global South.

Our Companion Sites

The Young Feminist Wire

An online community for and by young feminists working on women’s human rights, gender equality and social justice around the world.

Visit the site

The Observatory on the Universality of Rights (OURs)

The platform is the go-to place for information and resources on safeguarding the universality of rights in international and regional human rights spaces.

Visit the site

The Young Feminist Fund-FRIDA

Provides funding for young feminist-led initiatives. It aims to strengthen the capacity of young feminist organizations to leverage resources for their work and to increase donors’ and allies’ commitments to resourcing young feminist activism.

Visit the site

Online Directory of Urgent Responses for WHRDs

A go-to site to learn about the urgent responses undertaken to protect women human rights defenders and to find tools and resources to support the work and wellness of WHRDs.

Visit the site

IM-Defensoras (Mesoamerican Initiative for Women Human Rights Defenders)

A regional initiative created to prevent, respond, document and make public all cases of violence against women human rights defenders in the Mesoamerican region.

Visit the site

The WHRD International Coalition

The WHRD IC is a resource and advocacy network for the protection and support of women human rights defenders worldwide.

Visit the site

Post-2015 Women´s Coalition

A Coalition of feminist, women´s rights, women´s development, grassroots and social justice organisations working to challenge and reframe teh global development agenda. 

Visit the site

Women´s Major Group on Development

The role of the Women’s Major Group is to assure effective public participation of women’s non-governmental groups in the UN policy processes on Sustainable Development, Post2015 and Environmental matters. 

Visit the site

Women Working Group on Financing for Development

An alliance of women’s organizations and networks to advocate for the advancement of gender equality, women’s empowerment and human rights in the Financing for Development (FfD) related UN processes.

Visit the site

Body

Olivia Arévalo Lomas

Olivia was the spiritual leader of the Shipibo Konibo indigenous peoples.

A wise Indigenous woman and grandmother, she was known for cultivating traditional medicine and the sacred songs of her people (Íkaros). Olivia Arevalo was an active defender of the cultural and environmental rights of her people. Olivia’s murder occurred in a context of territorial conflict between the Shipibo community and companies that desire to take over their land to cultivate palm oil.

Members of her community have said: “Her death is an aggression against the entire Shipibo community. She was the living memory of her people”.

 


 

Olivia Arévalo Lomas, Peru

Will there be pre-Forum regional, thematic or other convenings?

We believe so! It is still very early in the planning process, so please stay tuned as plans are forming.

WHRDs from the South and Southeast Asian region

7 Women Human Rights Defenders from across the South and Southeast Asian region are honored in this year’s Online Tribute. These defenders have made key contributions to advancing human and women’s rights, indigenous people’s rights, and the right to education. These WHRDs were lawyers, women’s rights activists, scholars, and politicians. Please join AWID in commemorating t their work and legacy by sharing the memes below with your colleagues, networks and friends and by using the hashtags #WHRDTribute and #16Days. 


Please click on each image below to see a larger version and download as a file

 

Madiha El Safty

Madiha was a prominent Professor of Sociology who actively engaged with civil society as an advocate for women’s rights in the Arab region.

She chaired the Alliance for Arab Women and was a member of the Committee on Civil Society and the Committee on the Development of Minia Governorate with the National Council for Women. She produced numerous papers that shed light on, and analyzed, gender inequalities and discrimination against women.

She is remembered fondly by colleagues, students and friends.


 

Madiha El Safty, Egypt

CFA 2023 - Who, where, when - EN

When: 2–5 December 2024
Where: Bangkok, Thailand; and online
Who: Approximately 2,500 feminists from all over the world participating in- person, and 3,000 participating virtually

9. Advocate and tell the world!

The results of your research will also shape your advocacy – for example, your results will have revealed which sectors fund the most and which sectors you feel need donor education.

In this section

Build your advocacy strategy

In the “Frame your research” section of this toolkit we recommend that you plot out what goals you hope to accomplish with your research. These goals will allow you to build an advocacy strategy once your research is complete.

An advocacy strategy is a plan of distributing your research results in a way that allows you to accomplish your goals, falling under the broader goal of advocating with key sectors to make positive changes for resources for women’s rights organizing.

Using the goals defined in your research framing:

  • List the potential groups of contacts who can be interested in your research results
  • For each group, explain in one sentence how they can help you achieve your goal.
  • For each group, mark what tone you are supposed to use to talk to them (formal professional, commentary casual, do they understand the field’s jargon?)
  • List every media that can allow you to reach these audiences, in the proper tone (social media to build community feeling, press release for official announcement to a general audience, etc.)

From this list – as exhaustive as possible, chose which ones are the most efficient for achieve your goals. (See below for specific examples of audiences and advocacy methods)

Once you have a strategy, you can start the dissemination.

Back to top


Reach out to your network

To disseminate your results, reach out first to the contacts through whom you distributed your survey, as well as to all your survey and interview participants.

  • First, take this opportunity to thank them for contributing to this research.
  • Share with them the main survey results and analysis.
  • Make it easy for them to disseminate your product through their networks by giving them samples of tweets, Facebook posts or even a short introduction that they could copy and paste on their website.

Do not forget to state clearly a contact person and ask for a confirmation once they have published it.

On top of making you able to track who disseminated your report, it will help build stronger relationships within your network.

Back to top


Adapt your strategy to the sector

As an example, we present below a list of sectors AWID engages in advocacy.

  • Use this list as a point of departure to develop your own sector-specific advocacy plan.
  • Create an objective for what you hope to accomplish for each sector.
  • Be sure to add any additional sectors to this list that are relevant for your particular research, such as local NGOs or local governments, for example.

Your list of advisory organizations and individuals will also be useful here. They can help you disseminate the report in different spaces, as well as introduce you to new organizations or advocacy spaces.

1. Women’s rights organizations

Sample objectives: Update women’s rights organizations on funding trends; brainstorm collaborative efforts for resource mobilization using research findings; influence how they approach resource mobilization

Examples of possible advocacy methods:

  • Offer seminars, learning cafés or other events throughout your region, in relevant languages, in order to update women’s rights organizations with the findings of your research.

  • If you can’t physically reach everyone in your region, think about setting-up a webinar and online presentations.

  • Present your findings at larger convenings, such as the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).

  • Beyond your own organizations’ newsletters and website, write articles on different platforms that are frequented by your target audience.
    Some examples: World Pulse, OpenDemocracy, feministing.

2. Bilaterals and multilaterals

Sample Objective: Raising awareness about how funding is not meeting established commitments and how this sector needs to improve funding mechanisms to finance women’s rights organizing.

Identify which bilateral & multilaterals have the most influence on funding – this could include local embassies.

Examples of possible advocacy methods:

  • Enlist ally organizations and influential individuals (some may already be your advisors for this research process) to do peer education.
  • Seek their assistance to disseminate research finding widely in large multilaterals (like the UN).
  • Present at and/or attend influential spaces where bilaterals and multilaterals are present, such as GENDERNET .
  • Publish articles in outlets that are read by bilaterals and multilaterals such as devex, Better Aid, Publish What You Pay.

3. Private foundations

Sample Objective: Expand the quality and quantity of support for women’s rights organizations.

Examples of possible advocacy methods:

4. Women’s funds

Sample Objective: Encourage them to continue their work at higher scale.

Examples of possible advocacy methods:

  • Hold presentations at the women’s funds in your region and in countries that you hope to influence.
  • Disseminate your research findings to all women’s funds that impact the region, priority issue or population you are focusing on.
  • Consider doing joint efforts based on the results of the findings. For example, you could propose to collaborate with a fund to develop an endowment  that closes the funding gaps found in your research.

5. Private sector and new donors

Sample Objective: Increase their understanding of the field and encourage coherence between their philanthropic interests and business practice.

Examples of possible advocacy methods:

  • Enlist ally organizations and influential individuals (some may already be your advisors for this research process) to do peer education.
  • Arrange meetings with influential private actors to present your research findings.
  • Host your own meeting, inviting private sector actors, to share the findings and to advocate for your position.

Make sure to adapt your presentations, propositions and applications to each targeted group.

Back to top


Previous step

8. Finalize and format


Are you ready to start your own research?

We strongly recommend referring to our Ready to Go worksheet to assess your own advancement.


Estimated time:

• 1-2 years, depending on advocacy goals

People needed:

• 1 or more communications person(s)

Resources needed:       

• List of spaces to advertise research
• List of blogs and online magazines where you can publish articles about your research finding
• List of advisors
• Your WITM information products
Sample of Advocacy Plan


Previous step

8. Finalize and format


Ready to Go? Worksheet

Download the toolkit in PDF

Body

Selena “Rocky” Malone

Rocky showed inspirational leadership and direction in working with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer, Brotherboy and Sistergirl (LGBTIQBBSG) youth at risk.

Rocky started her career with the Queensland Police Service as a Police Liaison Officer. Making a difference was important to her. She led an impressive career working with young LGBTIQBBSG people as the Manager of Open Doors Youth Service.

Rocky worked through complex situations with clients relating specifically to gender and sexual identity. She was a natural in this line of work - a strong community leader, a quiet achiever, a loyal friend, a compassionate nurturer, and a change maker. Rocky was a founding member of IndigiLez Leadership and Support Group.

In 2016 at the Supreme Court in Brisbane, Former High Court Justice Michael Kirby mentioned Rocky by name when praising the work of the LGBTI Legal Service over the years. Rocky fought extremely hard for the human rights of the LGBTIQBBSG community, pushed boundaries and created change in a respectful, loving way.  


 

Rocky Malone, Australia

2023 - Hybrid like never before: in person - ar

هجين (hybrid) كما لم يحدث من قبل

لأول مرة، يعرض منتدى جمعية حقوق المرأة في التنمية ثلاثة طرق للمشاركة

الحضور الشخصي

سيجتمع المشاركون/ات في بانكوك، تايلاند. ننتظر بفارغ الصبر!