Show me the Money: Feminist Stories on Shifting Power and Resources to Movements

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Download the Feminist Accountability Report: Show Me The Money: Feminist Stories On Shifting Power And Resources To Movements

Published March 13, 2024

Feminist Accountability Generation Equality Forum

Feminist activists are at the frontlines of advancing gender justice. Yet, with only 1% of global funding invested in feminist organizations, the disconnect between funding priorities and the needs of women, girls, and gender non-conforming people advocating for their own communities are stark.

Since its launch in March 2023, the Feminist Accountability Framework has worked to advocate for the reported $40 billion USD in Generation Equality Forum commitments to applied to meaningful and measurable progress towards gender, racial, and social justice.
We've assessed the relevance, transparency, and accessibility of commitments; identified gaps between needs and commitments; and determined the extent to which GEF is aligned with the country-level needs of feminist movements.

As we approach the end of the first year of implementing the Feminist Accountability Framework, we offer this updated report with stories from over 110 feminist actors from Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and Africa to amplify the often unheard voices of grassroots feminist organizations on the impact of funding to movements. In the report, they explore the intersections of accountability and economic justice, advocating for a shift in the overall funding ecosystem and for flexible resources to be directed to feminist grassroots and youth organizations.

What Do the Stories Uncover?

How is money moving to the grassroots level?

“Project-based funding ends, yet the problem that the project seeks to address remains. Most of the problems in our societies require 20 or 30 years of visioning for transformation.”

- Leader at a women’s rights organization in Kenya.

Who is left behind?

“As a trans woman, I think we get diluted resources even when international organizations are addressing intersectionality. We face resistance up to the point of how we are mentioned, or made visible.”

– Trans rights advocate in Guatemala

How do feminist movements navigate challenging political climates?

"We do see a rise in support for feminism, but there's still a lot of negative backlash as well. The political situation in Cambodia is tricky, so we have to be very careful in how we frame feminist work. It can be misconstrued as politically charged, making it dangerous for us."

– Advocate at a women's rights organization in Cambodia

How do feminist organizations access more resources?

“We always go into a consortium with other organizations that work in the field of SRHR or feminism. We try to work with others that espouse the same ideas and that may have skills that we don't have.”

– Leader working with a youth association in Burkina

Impact of GEF commitments:

“It is important to hold funders, governments, and private corporations to account because unless everyone is involved in creating a more gender equal world, the responsibility will again fall on non-governmental organizations and civil society organizations. Until that shift happens, we can not make progress.”

– Feminist youth leader in India

Who are the storytellers?

Civil society organizations, non-governmental organizations, community-based organizations, networks and coalitions, philanthropists, directly impacted communities, and GEF commitment-makers
Feminist groups and leaders working with women; youth; adolescents and girls; sex workers; people with disabilities; LGBTQIA+ groups; people from rural areas and informal settlements; women farmers; religious groups; Dalit communities; and Black, Quilombola and Indigenous communities
114 interviews were conducted across India, Nepal, Cambodia, Fiji, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Brazil, and Guatemala