Feminist Strategy Archives

How Structural Inequality for Older Women Thwarts Social Progress

As I spend more time reflecting on my own life course, I have come across some startling, and very grounding, realizations for older women that I want to take the opportunity to share. At the end, I will circle back to philanthropy and how we can build out a funding ecosystem to address the issues I discuss in this post, but let’s start first with synthesizing some of the existing knowledge about women’s life course. What happens when women age and are further removed from whatever positions of power they may have gained over their earlier lives and careers?

Happy Holidays if you celebrate, and triple the good wishes if you don’t.

Men’s Power Consolidates While Women’s Power Diminishes in the Final Career Phase

For men, the research tells us that their earnings often peak in the period from age 40 to 60. Their leadership roles persist longer than women’s leadership roles. And society in general as well as workplace cultures allow their progression to be linear.

I Get Knocked Down, But I Get Up Again: Philanthropy Women Lives On

Sometimes it seems like I’ve tried so many times and so many ways to reimagine Philanthropy Women into a place where it would have sustainability and the opportunity to grow in its capacity to move the needle on women’s rights. So, for many of you who have followed Philanthropy Women over the years, I want to share an update that clarifies where things stand now:

Kiersten Marek, MSW, MBA, still here, still feminist, get used to it.

I didn’t disappear.
I didn’t give up.
And I still believe more than ever in the power of women’s giving to drive real systems change — the kind of change the world needs most.

Like many independent media platforms, PW has experienced both tremendous growth and real structural challenges. Along the way, I’ve explored multiple paths, including potential partnerships that could expand its reach and deepen its impact. One such opportunity remains in limbo, having moved from conversations to a detailed proposal. While nothing is finalized yet, I remain hopeful that a strong forward path is emerging.

Beyond Philanthropy: Mobilizing Feminism in an Authoritarian Age

Editor’s Note: The following Op-Ed by Yifat Susskind, Executive Director of MADRE, helps to shine a light on the setbacks being faced by feminism in today’s authoritarian world, and offers some key insights on how feminist movements might become more self-sufficient and remain powerful in today’s hostile political environment.

Yifat Susskind, Executive Director of MADRE, offers timely and relevant thought leadership for funding and sustaining women’s rights organizations. (Image credit: MADRE)

2025 will be remembered as the year that transformed both philanthropy and the global women’s movement as we know it. All around the world, women’s rights organizations are caught between an increasingly emboldened right-wing opposition and an unprecedented funding shortfall. Until recently, these gathering threats were treated as separate problems. But democratic backsliding and donor retreat are not merely trending together: they are twin symptoms of the same malady, which has reached epidemic proportions with Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

G4GC’s Dr. Monique Couvson Listed a Prestigious ‘Closer’ by TIME

G4GC’s Dr. Monique Couvson Named to TIME’s 2025 List of ‘The Closers’

Philanthropy Women is thrilled to announce that Dr Monique Couvson has been recognized and honored by TIME Magazine. She has been placed on the magazine’s list of “The Closers”. This prestigious award recognizes 25 Black leaders who are driving powerful change by working to close gaps in racial equity.

Monique Couvson, president and CEO of Grantmakers for Girls of Color. (Image credit: G4GC)

Dr. Couvson is the president and CEO of Grantmakers for Girls of Color (G4GC), the primary national philanthropic intermediary organization with an explicit focus on girls and gender-expansive youth of Color in the U.S. and territories. In the short span of four years, she has helped convene 100 funders, moved more than $26 million to 400 organizations, and developed four signature funds such as The Black Girl Freedom Fund, The New Songs Rising Initiative for indigenous girls, the Holding a Sister Initiative for trans girls of color, and the Love Is Healing Fund. In addition, she co-founded the #1Billion4BlackGirls campaign.

New Initiative Launches to Bolster Support for Local Abortion Funds

The Frontline Repro Freedom Lab (FRFL) has been launched to provide critical funding and resources to abortion funds in neglected states. This new initiative was founded in response to the overturning of Roe being overturned by the US Supreme Court.

The Frontline Repro Freedom Lab has launched. (Image credit: FRFL website)

FRFL announced its first ventures in an exclusive article in The New Republic. This initiative will partner with Arkansas Abortion Support Network, Prairie Abortion Fund and the Wild West Access Fund of Nevada. These three funds provide desperately needed care for five states.

These organizations will receive grants, resources, and first hand practical expertise designed to build the organizational capacity of each group, which will allow them to maximize impact within their respective areas. The goal is to call for a collective effort that will allow more sustainable investment.

The Fearless Fund Has Been Taken Down. Who’s Next?

The Fearless Fund (FF) made the heartbreaking decision to end its grant program for companies owned by Black women. The program has been under attack from right-wing activists who claimed the program was discriminatory.

On June 3, 2024, the 11th Circuit Court ruled that the program was discriminatory and forced FF to suspend its Striver’s Grants program.

Ariana Simone and two young volunteers make the point about the impact of this ruling. (Image Credit: Fearless Fund Twitter Page)

As of September 11, 2024, Fearless Fund has chosen to settle the lawsuit by shutting down that program completely. Given the conservative super-majority on the US Supreme Court, with its record of hostility to Affirmative Action, FF decided that the best path forward was to find other ways to accomplish its mission.

US News Measures Global Gender Equality in Best Countries Report

US News & World Report Provides Important Data on Gender Equality in its Best Countries Rankings

The Best Country report from US News & World Report is in its ninth year. As part of its ranking, the report includes information on a country’s commitment to gender equality.

Denmark is ranked number one on the category of Social Purpose, of which Gender Equality Commitment is one indicator. (Screenshot of US News and World Report)

The results show that international support for gender equality remains strong all across the globe, despite generational gaps. The very good news is that 89% of respondents believe that women should have the same rights as men. Oddly, support for gender equality is stronger among those aged 46 and older, with 94% in favor.

How Trump’s Tax Policies Decreased Philanthropic Giving

According to the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), signed into law in 2018 eliminated incentives for charitable giving for about 20% of US taxpayers.

One of the signature moves in the act was to increase the amount of the Standard Deduction to $25,000, which more or less doubled the threshold for itemizing deductions.

Taraji P. Henson has been given the AARP Purpose Prize. Read more below. (Image credit: Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation)

Overall, the reform decreased charitable giving by about $20 billion annually.

While many middle-class taxpayers give to charity such as a church, most are not able to give enough to put them over the threshold for itemizing deductions. In effect, the TCJA eliminated the incentive for making these donations. For middle-class taxpayers, this eliminated the incentive to give money to charity since these donations could no longer be used for itemized deductions from annual income tax payments.

Expert Interview on the Fight for Women’s Bodily Autonomy

Vice-President Kamala Harris issued a stinging rebuke to the “hypocrisy” of conservatives in a speech delivered on the anniversary of the overturning of Roe v Wade, in which she pointed out that conservatives continuously seek to restrict access to health care. “How dare they?” she demanded.

Kamala Harris speaks out for women everywhere.(Image credit: ABC News video screenshot)

There are reasons for her charges. The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) recently published a study showing that the number of women aged 18-30 choosing to undergo tubal ligation has increased dramatically since Roe was overturned. The rate of vasectomies has also increased, but only at half the rate of tubal ligations. It appears that, in the age of shrinking space for abortion rights, women are now much more fearful about their own bodily autonomy.

It IS Rocket Science: Astrophysicist Amber Miller New Hewlett Prez

The Hewlett Foundation has named Amber Miller as its new president. The selection of Dr Miller is a paradigm-changing move; she will be the first woman and the first scientist to hold the position, and she represents a new generation of leadership for the foundation. She will take up her responsibilities at the beginning of September.

Amber Miller has been named the incoming President of the Hewlett Foundation. (Image credit: Hewlett Foundation)

Dr Miller is an astrophysicist who is currently Dean of The Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences at the University of Southern California. In her role, Dr Miller oversees a staff of over 2,000 faculty who teach a wide variety of subjects. In addition, she previously served as Dean of Arts and Sciences at Columbia University.

Category: Feminist Strategy