Gender focus needed to tackle the nation’s big issues: philanthropists

The Melbourne Social Equity Institute and Australians Investing in Women have released twin publications, funded by the Paul Ramsay Foundation, that use a “gender lens” to analyse how philanthropy can address some of the nation’s most pressing social issues.

The publications are:

• Equitable Foundations: A Framework for Gender-wise Philanthropy in Partnerships
• Equitable Foundations: Case Studies of Gender-wise Philanthropy in Housing Partnerships

The framework lays out the method for applying a gender lens to partnerships and includes easy-to-follow guidelines that take organisations from the point of collaboration to post-project evaluation. The framework is aimed at helping any philanthropic organisation.

The case studies explore how that framework can be applied to examples of housing involving philanthropic partnerships aimed at women and gender minority groups. They include Viv’s Place, an apartment building for 60 families in Melbourne’s southeast, and the My Home project, a group of 18 small pre-fab homes for women over 55 in Fremantle in WA.

Reilly spoke with Grants Management Intelligence recently about the charity’s work to promote funding and investment decisions that take into account their impact on women and girls.

Formerly the Australian Women Donors Network, Australians Investing in Women (AIIW) is leading the push to encourage funders to apply a “gender lens” to all giving and investing decisions, through its advocacy, research, training and sector partnerships.

What is gender-wise giving?

“The whole concept of a gender lens is to really better understand the problem that you’re addressing with your philanthropy, in the belief that with better information and better data you will be able to make better funding decisions for greater impact,” Reilly said.

“At a top-line level, it’s really about making provision for any – what we would call – short-sightedness. As a wearer of glasses, I know the first time I put those glasses on, I was absolutely shocked to see what everyone else had been – with 20/20 vision had been – seeing for years. I didn’t even realise, really, the limitations of my vision.

“Metaphorically, we’re asking everyone to put on gender lens glasses and really look specifically to get some ‘photo realism’ clarity rather than an ‘impressionist painting’ view of a social issue.”

AIIW offers free resources and training to boards and grantmaking teams, and partners with organisations such as Philanthropy Australia on initiatives such as the Gender-wise Philanthropy Award.

While it does not provide grants, it equips both funders and not-for-profits to apply a gender lens to their work.

Australian Investing In Women (AIIW) chief executive Julie Reilly said that the project had the potential to improve the lot of all Australians.

“A gender lens can be used as a tool to hear from and empower people experiencing inequity and improves outcomes for everyone, not just women,” she said.

"Small but significant changes that bring women and girls into focus can maximise the impact of philanthropic investments in community and help create a fairer future.”

A high-powered panel comprising Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp, AIIW board member and CSIRO chief Doug Hilton, the Paul Ramsay Foundation’s chief of alliances, Liz Yeo, and Melbourne Social Equity Institute director Jo Barraket engaged in a robust debate on the significance of the new resource before an audience of scores of the nation’s top philanthropists.

Asked why such a resource was necessary, Professor Jo Barraket told the audience, “the case has been made, but justice hasn’t been achieved,” citing the 13% gender pay gap and the fact that women-led households experience poverty at twice the rate of men-led households as just two examples that came to mind.

She said a gender lens was a powerful tool for philanthropists and their partners.

"The lenses through which we view the world affect what we prioritise, who we see and what levers we pull to create positive change. Increasingly, such change relies on partnerships and collaboration to bring the best combination of resources, experience and will to solving wicked problems."

Reilly’s motivations run deep

Reilly’s commitment to gender equality is deeply personal.

Raised by a single mother who fled a violent marriage with four young daughters, Reilly (the youngest) experienced first-hand the power of access to housing, education, and social support – all made possible through acts of structured philanthropy.

She described herself and her family as “the living embodiment” of what happens when decent housing, education and employment opportunities can “change the course of lives”

“That might explain why I do what I do and why I care so passionately about gender equality.”

Reflecting on Australia’s current homelessness crisis, particularly among older women, Reilly underscores the need for gendered approaches to all social investment.

“Sometimes when the job gets really tough and it's difficult to see the change that … we're driving … I do draw on that experience.”

She said meditating on what could have been “makes you knuckle down, pull up your sleeves and just get on with it”.

The Lord Mayor told the audience she had witnessed startling growth in homelessness among women in Melbourne, and while she was excited by the promise of the report, change would not be easy.

“One of the biggest barriers is that we’re not willing to have what are often uncomfortable … and sometimes ferocious discussions to challenge the status quo,” Ms Capp said.

“I believe that this research is going to help us by forming the right sorts of alliances, by measuring and giving guidance on how we can work better together.”

Ms Yeo drew on a past role with Shelter NSW to cite the example of an attempted open day for homeless people that attracted largely men from rooming houses, mostly because hoped-for female clients did not feel safe to turn up to an event dominated by men.

Professor Hilton drew parallels with the nation’s scientific endeavours, noting “there are no meaningful problems nationally that we can work on alone”.

He said Australians were increasingly discussing and valuing intersectionality and diversity in their organisations. “Applying a gender lens isn’t just about equality, it’s about better outcomes for everyone.”

Knowing there’s a gender gap isn’t enough to trigger change

Despite growing awareness, many funders are yet to embed gender lens considerations into funding decisions.

Last year’s AIIW State of Gender-wise Giving in Australia survey of the Australian Financial Review’s top 50 corporate and philanthropic funders found widespread awareness of gender lens concepts, but inconsistent application.

Awareness of the concept of applying a gender lens was universal among respondents at 100%, while 93% of those surveyed knew of the concept of “gender-wise” giving.

The survey found:

• most corporate and philanthropic organisations surveyed reported an increased awareness of the need to apply a gender lens to giving
• while there was a greater awareness of gender balance in their giving practices, one in two corporate respondents still struggled to estimate how much of their funding was directed to women and girls
• organisations’ limited ability to capture data on gender-targeted giving meant some were unable to report where their giving was directed
• most corporates surveyed said they were committed to gender equity in their human resources policies and practices and organisational leadership, but this was not yet reflected in a wider application of a gender lens in their giving programs and investment in communities.

Reilly said many funders were still to integrate gender considerations into their application processes and funding strategies.

“The real challenge is having that awareness and understanding translate into behavioural change,” Reilly said.

“It’s about asking critical questions during the grantmaking process to ensure women and those of diverse gender identities benefit equally.”

Reilly warned of complacency about gender equity. “There’s a perception that the job is done because of anti-discrimination laws and workplace equality agencies, but the data tells us otherwise,” she said.

For instance, research just released through Plan International Australia’s Gender Compass project – supported by AIIW – showed a concerning gap between people’s perceptions and the reality of the gender gap.

Reilly noted that one critical pathway for grantmakers was integrating gender lens questions into grant management platforms such as SmartyGrants.

SmartyGrants provides numerous standard fields to support gender-wise grantmaking, but Reilly advocates hardwiring those questions into application processes.

"Ideally, gender lens considerations should be mandatory, not optional," she says. "It's becoming standard practice internationally."

AIIW has supported the push with publications such as the Gender-wise Toolkit for Grantmakers to help funders reflect on their values, assess grant processes, and educate grant seekers to embed gender analysis in project design.

More information

Equitable Foundations Case Studies and Framework

Report aims to dismantle gender inequality

More information

Gender focus needed to tackle the nation’s big issues: philanthropists

Focus sharpened on gender-giving lens

Gender-wise giving still lagging

Gender compass shows equity is still a work in progress

AIIW’s gender-wise toolkit for grantmakers