Author: Kiersten Marek

Kiersten Marek, LICSW, is the founder of Philanthropy Women. She practices clinical social work and writes about how women donors and their allies are advancing social change.

Equality Is Good For Business and Business Is Good For Equality

Editor’s Note: The following essay on this pivotal moment in the fight to pass the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) is by Suzanne Lerner, co-founder and president of Michael Stars, and vice-chair of the Fund for Women’s Equality.

The Fund for Women’s Equality, of which Suzanne Lerner is vice-chair, is moving swiftly to ensure the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment. In this essay, Lerner describes the strategy we must all support. (Image credit: Krista Niles of www.KristaJoyNiles.com)

Something extraordinary happened involving the ERA at the end of last week—day two of the new administration.

U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.) announced that the first bipartisan legislation they will introduce for the 117th Congress is their joint resolution to remove the deadline to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)

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Biden-Harris Comms Team: To End COVID, Tell Americans the Truth

On day two of taking over the White House, the communications team for the Biden-Harris team sat down with Errin Haines, editor-at-large of The 19th. Haines spoke with the four key women leaders who are now shaping the Biden/Harris message for public consumption. And what is the overarching goal of this new group of self-described “qualified, capable, barrier-breaking” women? To tell Americans the truth, with the underlying belief that if more American know the truth, “they can handle anything.”

Jen Psaki, Press Secretary for the Biden Harris Administration, discussing the work of shaping the administration’s message, what their early priorities are, and how having an all-woman comms team might change how the White House works. (Image Credit: The 19th)

Haines held an hour long rap session with White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, and Chief Spokesperson for the Vice President, Symone Sanders. 

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Founding Mothers Reflect: America Now Free to Be You and Me Again

It’s a herstoric moment. It’s a historic day. It’s the end of the reign of terror that lasted four years under President Donald Trump. It’s the day that a woman of color ascends to one of the highest roles of leadership for our country.

Ms. Foundation Founding Mothers, from left to right: Gloria Steinem, Letty Cottin Pogrebin, Marlo Thomas, Patricia Carbine. (Image credit: Ms. Foundation for Women)

Many women leaders have been inspired to speak today, to tell of how they are experiencing this massive shift in representation for our leadership, which we believe will lead us to becoming a better country. Here are some great responses and reflections from the Founding Mothers of the Ms. Foundation, all incredibly strong and enduring women leaders who capture the monumental nature of this event with their words. They are introduced by Teresa C. Younger, President and CEO of the Ms. Foundation for Women.

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Jaana Rehnström: Bigger Not Always Better, Especially for Women

Dr. Jaana Rehnström, Founder and President of the Kota Alliance, an organization fostering international collaboration for women-centered nonprofits, recently authored an article that struck a deep chord with me. Readers here at Philanthropy Women will also likely feel a strong resonance with Dr. Rehnström’s words.

Dr. Rehnström begins by summarizing the current status of gender equality in the world:

Dr. Jaana Rehnström, Founder and President of the Kota Alliance, discusses the need for funders to step up for women and girls if we are to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. (Image Credit: Kota Alliance)

Gender equality has been talked about in Europe and the United States since the late 1800s. The Equal Rights Amendment was passed by Congress in 1972, falling short of state ratifications by the original deadline. The CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women) was adopted in 1979. The 4th World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995 and SDG #5 commits governments to take measures to comply by 2030.

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Leaders Discuss Using WPI Research to Fund Women and Girls

For those of us studying funding for women and girls and/or doing the actual funding, it’s often helpful to get together and talk about the data. It’s also elucidating when feminist giving leaders reveal how they use research to make funding for women and girls more plentiful and impactful.

These and other important topics about feminist giving were the subject of discussion in a recent webinar hosted by the Women’s Philanthropy Institute (WPI).

Jeannie Sager, Director of the Women’s Philanthropy Institute, moderated a recent webinar with feminist giving leaders, discussing the Women and Girls Index. (Image Credit: WPI)

Jeannie Sager, Director of WPI, welcomed guests and thanked people for making time to discuss the state of giving for women and girls causes as laid out by the Women and Girls Index (WGI), which is now in 2.0 or second edition. WGI provides key insights and measurements on giving to women and girls’ causes. Sager noted that The WGI is the “only comprehensive index that measures charitable giving to women and girls in the U.S.”

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Driving Opportunity for Women and Girls in the COVID World

Editor’s Note: The following essay is by  Brenda Darden Wilkerson, CEO of AnitaB.org, a leading organization and grantmaker for women in technology.

2020 has had no shortage of challenges. The many losses of COVID-19 compounded with the painful yet necessary ripple effects of the rising social justice movement have called into question how we personally and professionally work.

Brenda Darden Wilkerson, CEO of AnitaB.org, shares her expertise on how to employ and empower more women in the COVID world. (Image credit: AnitaB.org)

While the events of 2020 have impacted everyone, women – and especially women of color – face the greatest burden. With over 11 million jobs disappearing from February to May of this year, and with lifestyle impact of gender pay parity so profound, the “she-cession” is upon us. 

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Top 10 Posts for Zinger of a Year 2020 on Philanthropy Women

What a stressful, challenging, and world-view altering year. Between COVID, the free-fall of the economy, and the ongoing lack of clarity from the election, it feels like there’s no end to the new harm and instability in the world, particularly for women and girls. Here’s a look at what went wrong, and right, for gender equality funding strategies this past year, as represented by our Top 10 posts here at Philanthropy Women.

Photo by lucia on Unsplash

Listed below are the top 10 posts on Philanthropy Women for 2020, factoring in page views and social media shares, as well as stats on high-authority backlinks for each post. These are the posts that produced the most reverberations across the culture, from what we could tell.

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MacKenzie Scott and the $14.2 Billion Dollar Question for Women & Girls

What a week for women’s philanthropy. MacKenzie Scott has shown herself to be a woman who is true to her word, as she continues to give away her fortune at a staggering rate compared to most philanthropists.

MacKenzie Scott
Photo of Stockholm, Sweden by Lindsey LaMont on Unsplash


“Economic losses and health outcomes alike have been worse for women, for people of color and for people living in poverty,” said Scott, in the Medium post where she announced her new gifts totalling $4.2 billion.

Who were the grantees specifically for women and girls? Ms. Foundation for Women, National Women’s Law Center, Global Fund for Women, and a huge proportion of this funding went to 63 different community YWCA programs across the country. Hispanics in Philanthropy, which has a grantmaking strategy focused on gender and racial equity, also received $15 million in funding. The YMCA National office received $20 million and many local YMCA’s also got funding. There were big groups of grants for United Way organizations across the country as well as Feed America, Easterseals, Meals on Wheels, and Good Will. Many universities for people of color also received substantial gifts. Most gifts appeared to be in the $10 to $50 million range.

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Briefing Biden for Bold Action on Reproductive Rights

Reproductive rights under Biden: what will it look like?

Since the Biden/Harris team clinched the US Presidency, feminist advocates and policy makers have begun to discuss the massive reclaiming of women’s rights that must occur to recover from the last four years of Trump-era regressions. To dig deeper into this mandate, leaders from several high profile organizations gathered recently online to make explicit what must happen to begin the recovery of rights for women and girls around the world.

Leaders gathered recently online to examine the necessary steps for the Biden administration to take to restore reproductive, sexual and health rights for women around the world. (Image credit: December 10, 2020 webinar)

Author and Attorney Jill Filipovic moderated the discussion, which featured Serra Sippel, President of the Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE), Anu Kumar, President and CEO of Ipas, and Akila Radhakrishnan, President of the Global Justice Center.

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Sharing Power to Unlock Collective Giving Growth and Systems Change

Editor’s Note: The following Op-Ed is by Sara Lomelin, executive director of Philanthropy Together and Sudha Nandagopal, chief executive officer of Social Venture Partners International and Reimagine Giving.

2020 has been a year of crises on top of crises. Yet despite millions being out of work and the COVID pandemic raging, Americans are civically engaged like never before—whether through the elections, protests for Black Lives Matter, forming mutual aid groups or giving in record numbers. 

sharing power
Sudha Nandagopal, chief executive officer of Social Venture Partners International and Reimagine Giving (Image Credit: Sudha Nandagopal)

Indeed, donations during the coronavirus crisis quickly surpassed amounts given following the September 11 terrorist attacks. And giving to racial justice organizations, civil rights groups, and bail funds reached unprecedented levels following the murder of George Floyd.

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