Research Archives

From Dream, Dare, Do to Now: What’s Changed in Women’s Philanthropy

I still remember walking into my first Women’s Philanthropy Institute conference in Chicago nine years ago. At the time, women’s giving felt like a promising subfield — important, yes, but still fighting for intellectual legitimacy. The room had a distinct charge and energy of mutual recognition and appreciation. Many in attendance had contended with a snow storm to get there (sound familiar?) and were expressing gratitude for making it there before airports started cancelling flights.

The upcoming Women’s Philanthropy conference offers new insights and conversations on how women donors and their allies are pursuing social change.

The room was filled with researchers, funders, and advocates trying to articulate something that many of us felt intuitively: that women’s philanthropy was not simply a niche category, but a force capable of reshaping the broader giving landscape. That gathering quietly shifted the trajectory of my work as a publisher. In many ways, it helped clarify the role Philanthropy Women would go on to play.

Laughing and Linking Arms with Suffs, a Fierce Take on Women’s Rights

I had the great pleasure of seeing Suffs recently. What an amazing show and tribute to the women who changed the world by fighting for the right for women to vote. The songs of the musical riffing on marriage and questioning “Is it worth it?” to put your life and health on the line for women’s rights, and “How do we stay together as a movement?” were a joy to encounter — the writing being both tremendously insightful, and also quite funny.

Alice Paul and other 19th Amendment advocates share their stories in the musical number “I’m a Great American Bitch.” (Image credit: Suffs)

What made the most impact for me was not the history lesson, although I learned some new tidbits and details. More striking for me about Suffs was how much the show felt like it mirrored the contemporary struggles for women. Somehow, the players change, but the story stays the same.

Too Vulnerable? The Unaddressed Flaws in Women’s Organizing

I can’t say I’ve seen it all, but I’ve seen enough over the past 10 years in feminist movements to make some comments that might prove useful to big picture thinkers and organizational leaders in the sector. I’ve seen:

movements diluted by demands to serve everyone, causing them to lose sight of the core constituency of women
organizations with a lack of fiscal planning and/or oversight
reactive, fear-driven decision-making from women’s rights leadership
mission drift
underprepared boards
exhausted women leaders
funders who like the idea of feminist work but won’t invest in infrastructure
unsophisticated or non-existent budgets

We all know it’s not pretty out there for women looking for a better tomorrow. We are currently facing severe political and social backlash. On top of that, many women’s organizations struggle mightily with internal issues.

Who Cares? What to Do About Our Careless Care System

Summary: Feminism has struggled to gain broad, durable support. This is not so much because people oppose women’s freedom, although some still do, but primarily because our society has failed to replace the caregiving labor women historically provided. Philanthropy, in prioritizing empowerment narratives over care infrastructure, has unintentionally deepened this anxiety—undermining feminism’s legitimacy among those most dependent on care. The following discussion offers five philanthropy-forward ideas to enhance the synergy between feminism and caregiving in a world that still wants and needs caregivers.

Here on Philanthropy Women, we have discussed the importance of caregiving in many posts, mostly in the context of philanthropic funding for health care and childcare, but today I want to talk about caregiving more explicitly as a labor issue that may be getting in the way of feminism becoming more mainstream.

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?

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.

Health Care Donors Urged to Take a Stand Amidst Ongoing Funding Cuts

Editor’s Note: As a healthcare provider myself, this statement from Cara V. James, President and CEO of Grantmakers in Health, struck a deep chord. Now is the time for funders to do what they can to mitigate the damage of the US government’s extreme and unprecented withdrawal of funding for health.

Cara V. James, President and CEO of Grantmakers In Health and former Director of the Office of Minority Health at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), urges health care funders to take action to protect health care nationally. (Image Credit: GIH)

This week marks 100 days since the start of the current administration. In that time, we have experienced a wave of harmful policies; devastating funding cuts; significant federal workforce reductions; and direct threats to freedom of speech, democracy, and the rule of law. As a country, we have witnessed the use of unlawful executive actions to intimidate, restrict, or punish organizations for addressing important societal challenges. While much remains uncertain, it is clear these changes will not make us healthier, and they threaten the foundation of our democracy. In the end, it is people—especially the most vulnerable—who will suffer the consequences.

In the New Trump Era, It Matters More than Ever Where Women Live

Editor’s Note: Dear Readers, Please allow me to introduce our newest writer, David L. Jaffe. David is a fellow social worker, environmentalist, and an all-around great human. He has joined our small pool of male allies writing for Philanthropy Women. Please welcome David and give him lots of love for taking on the ultimate uphill battle by becoming a writer-activist feminist in these ultra-regressive times. I am confident David’s perceptive and insightful ways will contribute handily to Philanthropy Women’s discourse about women donors and their allies.

“Location, location, location”—it matters! Not just in the context of real estate but in the context of women’s health. Where you live in this country, the state you reside in, has a direct bearing on your overall health (both physical and mental); the care and support you can expect to receive; the accessibility and cost of that care; your reproductive rights and maternal care; and even the number of local health and wellness charities providing services and advocacy.

Pivotal’s New $250 Million Open Call for Women’s Health Globally

This past year, we saw how the Biden-Harris administration made large new commitments to addressing women’s health, particularly health research on women. Today, another milestone for change in this arena took place as Pivotal, a Melinda French Gates organization, launched Action for Women’s Health, a $250 million global open call that will fund organizations around the world improving women’s mental and physical health.

“To fully exercise power over their lives, women need to be mentally and physically healthy. And yet, women’s health is being neglected everywhere,” said Melinda French Gates. “More than 1 billion women and girls suffer from malnutrition. Reproductive health care is being denied in the U.S. and other countries. And globally, a woman dies in childbirth every two minutes.”

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.

New: Convicted Felon Trump Tries to Roll Back Climate Justice

Maya Angelou famously said: “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” She may not have been talking about Donald Trump, but the advice seems especially pertinent to him.

There is no distinction between social justice and climate justice. The poorest suffer from a deteriorating climate and the majority of those suffering are women. They are often women with children who do not have the means to relocate to a safer location.

Donald Trump has taken extreme positions on climate action both in the past and today. (Image credit: We Don’t Have Time)

We Don’t Have Time is the world’s largest media platform for climate action. The organization was created after the election of Trump in 2016. This event made it plain that world leaders were not going to take significant action that would even slow down climate degradation. “Trump digs coal” was a slogan and an election pitch that helped him get elected.

Category: Research