Many organizations have attempted to track funding for gender equality in recent years and we’ve all reached the same conclusion: The data is a mess.
For well over a decade, there has been mounting political support for advancing women's and girls’ rights and economic opportunities. Despite this, the current data doesn't allow us to know whether rhetoric is being matched with effective investments.
In a year when financing for gender equality is high on the agenda, we must find ways to better measure the programs and impact we’re having. If we really want progress on gender equality, we need a new approach.
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About the authors
Alex Farley
Alex Farley joined Publish What You Fund as a project manager in April 2020. She is responsible for coordinating advocacy, research, and donor engagement to improve the transparency of aid and development finance for gender equality and women’s economic justice.
Fionna Smyth
Fionna Smyth, director of influence and growth at Development Initiatives, is a passionate internationalist and development, human rights, and gender equality professional. She is a strategic communications and advocacy expert who believes in the power of data and evidence to change the systems and structures that keep people trapped in poverty.
Mareen Buschmann
Mareen Buschmann is the U.K. and global advocacy lead on women’s economic justice at CARE International UK and provides advocacy/thought leadership on gender-just crisis recovery, caring economies, and the green transition across the CARE confederation. She represents CARE in the UN Economic Justice Action Coalition and ILO Global Coalition for Social Justice.
Hellen Malinga Apila
Hellen Malinga Apila, gender and advocacy lead at the SDGs Kenya Forum, leads a platform that brings together over 300 diverse civil society organizations, government entities, academia, media, and the private sector who work to influence multistakeholder policies and actions for the achievement of the 17 SDGs in Kenya. She has over 18 years of experience in gender and sustainable development.
