Funders seeing clearly on gender, but action lags

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.

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”.

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.

Involving grant recipients is essential for a sector-wide change

Reilly emphasised that systemic change meant grant recipients, not just grantmakers, should be encouraged to apply a gender lens to their work.

Many charities and not-for-profits, she said, could significantly strengthen their case for support by demonstrating how their programs intentionally addressed gender differences and ensured equitable outcomes.

“There are many not-for-profits that we interact with that are really looking to find a funding path,” Reilly said.

AIIW aims to connect gender-wise funders with not-for-profits able to achieve their goals and to help not-for-profits to demonstrate gender responsiveness in their project designs.

The organisation maintains a project portal featuring more than 100 initiatives across Australia applying a gender lens to a variety of social issues. Reilly said both funders and recipients were invited to make use of the resource.

AIIW’s toolkits, frameworks and case studies aim to help organisations reflect on gendered impacts within their programs, develop inclusive strategies, and prepare proposals that demonstrate a clear understanding of how different gender groups may experience interventions differently.

Reilly said this two-way support – equipping both funders and grant recipients – was vital to embedding gender-wise thinking across Australia’s philanthropic and grantmaking sector.

Beyond grants: Using investments to focus the gender lens

Recently, AIIW has broadened its focus beyond grantmaking to support philanthropists in applying a gender lens not only to their funding decisions but also to how they manage their corpus investments – recognising both as levers for social change.

This shift, Reilly said, is being driven by increasing demand for tools and guidance from within the philanthropic sector.

“We’re responding to a fair bit of demand in the philanthropic community for frameworks and support around how they can use … capital investment to advance women and girls and get us closer to gender equality.”

Research demonstrates what can be done

In housing, a sector critical to women’s economic security, AIIW commissioned research in 2023 from Per Capita and the Melbourne Social Equity Institute.

These studies spotlighted gender-specific challenges and provided case studies from two properties:

• Viv’s Place, an apartment building for 60 families in Melbourne’s southeast, supported by Launch Housing
• My Home, comprising 18 small pre-fab homes for women over 55 in Fremantle, WA.

The research also spelt out a philanthropic framework for applying a gender lens to partnerships, and produced easy-to-follow guidelines that take organisations from collaboration to evaluation. Readers can learn more in this report by Grants Management Intelligence.

AIIW will soon publish a case study that assesses the use of a gender lens in grantmaking practices by a major philanthropic giver, Perpetual, which has used gender lens questions in grant applications and evaluation forms for the past decade.

Reilly said early results showed that the practice successfully nudged behaviour towards more gender-wise thinking and action.

Why we can’t wait 300 years for gender equality

Reilly said despite progress on gender equity, the challenge ahead is immense.

She cited World Economic Forum reports that it could take 132 years to achieve global gender equality at the current pace, while the United Nations puts that period closer to 300 years, depending on social and economic indicators.

Reilly said she had come to accept that gender equality issues were “not going to be solved this year”, but she believed AIIW was well placed to invest in research, resources and advocacy to make a difference.

AIIW has recently produced a video series highlighting leading philanthropists explaining why they prioritised gender equity, which Reilly hopes will create “light bulb moments for funders and not-for-profits”.

“You may not be an expert overnight, but if you take the first step, it becomes so engaging and so interesting. People tell me once they started asking questions, they can’t see things without a gender lens.”

Australians Investing in Women is also running a series of roundtables across major cities, bringing together philanthropists, impact investors, and government funders to encourage practical adoption of gender lenses in funding decisions.

With Australia facing a critical decade for major investments in areas like housing – with women disproportionally negatively affected – Reilly has called on all funders to be more intentional. “If we’re serious about building a strong, equitable society, we need everyone at the table.”

How grantmakers can become more gender wise

According to AIIW’s gender-wise grantmaker toolkit, all grantmakers should:

• put gender on the agenda, and employ a gender lens to review past and current funding
• seek to support causes that support women and girls
• make application processes gender-wise by including questions and guidance that prompt applicants to consider gender impacts
• embed gender in design and measurement of funding outcomes
• consider other social factors through an intersectional lens, to recognise how gender intersects with other forms of disadvantage.

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