Gender Lens Thinking Archives

The Political Will to Change Patriarchy: Where Women Sit Matters

For inspiration today, I’d like to turn to a news story set in Rosh Ha’ayin, a municipality in the northeast of Tel Aviv. The municipality was recently promoting a children’s performance where the seats closest to the stage were reserved for men, while the seats in the back of the hall were reserved for women. They claimed that this arrangement was made to “meet the needs of the entire population, based on their preferences.

Getty Images and Dove announced a new program called #ShowUs to grant funding for women. (Image credit: Getty Images)

The Israel Women’s Network demanded that Rosh Ha’ayin end the gender segregated seating.

“Separation between men and women in the public space, particularly between boys and girls, as part of an event supported by public funding, is forbidden and violates the law,” Gili Zinger, the director of the legal department at the Israel Women’s Network, wrote to the Rosh Ha’ayin municipality.

Esports, Motorsports, Meteorology: More New Gender Lens Funding

For the better part of a decade, Philanthropy Women has provided unique content and special insights into the world of feminism in general and feminist giving in particular. As a man, I am too often horrified by the way women’s contributions in so many fields are belittled or simply ignored. I’ve been enormously proud of the work that Philanthropy Women has done over the years to provide journalism about the efforts and accomplishments of women in so many different endeavors. Please help us keep up the good work by subscribing. It doesn’t cost much, less than $10 per month, the price of 2 or 3 coffees. Unity is strength.

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – MAY 19: Danica Patrick during qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May19, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)

On a slightly different angle, I’ve started reading a book called “Of Boys and Men”by Richard V. Reeves of the Brookings Institute. I ran across a reference to it in the Washington Post, and it piqued my curiosity. As you may be aware, there has been a caterwauling of complaints about the problems men and boys face in these troubled times. Reeves wrote the book as an attempt to uncover the reasons for these difficulties. I’m about halfway through, so I will provide some comments on the book and its thesis in my next post. For the time being, let’s just say that Reeves presents an interesting case, but I’m not sure it’s the case he intended to present.

E. Jean Carroll Prevails in Triumph for Sexual Assault Survivors

Greetings, friends of Philanthropy Women! This week brings some very good news: E. Jean Carroll, American journalist who sued Donald Trump for sexual abuse and defamation, has won her suit. Her victory is evidence of her incredible stamina and persistence in pursuing justice, and it sets a new standard for how survivors of sexual assault can take action to address past crimes committed against them.

Journalist E. Jean Carroll has won her lawsuit proving that Donald Trump sexually assaulted her. (Image credit: AP)

When it comes to feminist giving, many give with their financial resources primarily. But someone like E. Jean Carroll gave not only with her financial resources, but with her time and energy, and her gift of endurance in the long fight to attain justice as a sexual assault survivor. We congratulate E. Jean Carroll and hope many other women will follow in her footsteps.

Fighting the Tide of Women Being Taught Not to Love Themselves

Greetings and welcome to Philanthropy Women! It’s Kiersten Marek here, the founder and editor of PW. Today there are many new happenings I want to share with you from the feminist giving realm, but first I want to take a moment to acknowledge an issue that has caused difficulty for us as a publication: the phenomenon of feminist givers being taught not to love themselves, and to see funding news about their work as an indulgence.

feminist giving realm — Feminist Funded ’23 is now taking registrations for its next conference which will be in September 2023. (Image credit: Women’s Funding Network)

As women, broadly speaking, we are taught not to love ourselves, to discredit our own work, and to downplay our own accomplishments. One of the reasons I started Philanthropy Women was because I wanted to reverse that trend — to make it possible, and, dare I say, easy, to feel good about yourself as a funder of gender equality.

Ms. Foundation Honors Duchess Meghan and LaTosha Brown

Hello there, lovely philanthropy women friends! We are having a beautiful start to spring here in New England, and as we head into spring there will be some exciting new events in feminist giving. Here are just a few of the big doings in gender lens philanthropy.

LaTosha Brown and Duchess Meghan to be Honored by Ms. Foundation

The Ms. Foundation for Women announced the honorees for the 2023 Women of Vision Awards: Celebrating Generations of Progress & Power.” This year’s annual gala, marking the 50th anniversary of the nation’s oldest women’s foundation, will take place at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York City on May 16. Among those to be honored are Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and (familiar to readers of Feminist Giving!) LaTosha Brown. Each year, the foundation honors visionary leaders and game-changing grantee partners committed to the Ms. Foundation’s mission of advancing women’s collective power and creating safe, just and equitable futures for all.

Women’s Philanthropy Via the Inclusion, Equity and Diversity Lens

Women’s Philanthropy thought leader, Kathleen Loehr, is retiring. In a truly unique model of legacy, she is leaving her papers and research to the Women’s Philanthropy Institute (WPI) at Indiana University. And, she’s leaving her exclusive methods, treasured insights and archive to me and seven other hand-selected women she has chosen to continue living out her legacy and growing Women’s Philanthropy: The Women’s Philanthropy Alliance.

Yolanda F. Johnson shares a bullet point list of strategies to make sure your women’s philanthropy has a DEI lens. (Image credit: YFJ Consulting)

I am honored to be a part of this elite group of industry experts and thought leaders on Women’s Philanthropy, and I will do my best each and every day to make Kathleen proud. My journey thus far is a personal one, which led me to understand how, even as an expert in DEI for Philanthropy and a philanthropist myself, I had somehow compartmentalized gender along the way. The danger here is that if I can do it, anyone can, and so I vowed to craft my work in Women’s Philanthropy in the most impactful way as possible.

Top 10 Feminist Giving Moves for March 2023 and Bargain on Book

Well, hello my lovely feminist giving friends! I hope you are all getting on fine. It’s time for another update on some of the gender lens philanthropic and investing activity in the world. Before we start, I want to alert readers that we have a limited number of copies of Feminist Giving available at a reduced rate for sale on Ebay. So if you don’t already have your copy of the book, now is your chance to pick one up at a great price, either for yourself, a friend, or even your local library if you so choose. Our book is particularly suited to libraries that are aiming to be a resource for marginalized groups.

ESOMAR has released new information for best practices regarding gender for multi-country work. (Image credit: ESOMAR)

What’s Going On in the World of Feminist Giving?

1. Our Partners at Alliance are Doing it Up for Women’s History Month

Now that I have had to step back a bit from my writing to pursue a top secret second career (it’s a don’t ask, don’t tell situation, so I appreciate your cooperation!) our partners at Alliance Magazine have taken on a much stronger agenda to serve the feminist giving community with news and views on this more essential form of philanthropy. There’s lots of great content there, including a piece from the Women’s Funding Network on the importance of Black giving. They are also dedicating a whole webinar to the topic of women’s funding which will take place on March 14. Register here to participate.

What Makes An Idea Valuable? Feminist Giving Explores

Have you ever wondered why, if we care so much about gender equality in the US, we make no progress on basic indicators like wage equality, which has been at a virtual standstill since 1994?

*Feminist Giving* explores the terrain of how we give for gender equality.

One of the themes that my book, Feminist Giving, explores is the question of what makes certain ideas valuable, so valuable that they enter the mainstream of culture and become practiced in significant behavior changes.

The book demonstrates that what philanthropy does to change its behavior is very much a mirror of the rest of society. Sadly, the book concludes that it’s still a man’s world, and philanthropy remains a part of that problem.

Get Your Copy of Feminist Giving, and Send in Your Reviews!

It’s official! Feminist Giving: Creating New Frontiers in Social Change is now available as a hardcover book! Grab your copy on Lulu to give the biggest resource boost to Philanthropy Women!

Feminist Giving is out! Get your copy today!

You can also buy the book on Kobo, or Amazon. This book is packed with the latest and greatest information from the feminist giving sphere. Loaded with interviews and insights from some of philanthropy’s top voices, Feminist Giving is a comprehensive look at modern feminist philanthropy and the themes, campaigns, and people leading the charge in transforming our world.

Review the Book on Amazon, Kobo, and Lulu

At this time, we’re also asking for your reviews! We want to hear everything you thought about Feminist Giving. You can add a review wherever you buy the book: Amazon, Kobo, and Lulu. You can also give us a shout-out on sites like Goodreads to help spread the word about this unique and groundbreaking book.

Feminist Giving Holiday Vibes, Plus THE HARDCOVER BOOK IS OUT!

Hello again my feminist giving allies! I have some very good news: the hardcover edition of Feminist Giving: Creating New Frontiers in Social Change is now available! Please buy the book on Lulu as we get three times the percentage of revenue if you buy the book on Lulu as opposed to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or any other major distribution outlet.

There is lots of other feminist giving news to get to, but before we go there, let’s just take a moment to pause, reflect, and be thankful. We are so thankful for our subscribers, especially those who hung on this past year while we produced less internet content and created our first real world physical product, a 405 page book with over 240 citations, in order to bring more awareness about feminist giving to the world. So thank you, subscribers! Without your help, we couldn’t have done it.

Category: Gender Lens Thinking