Feminist News and Information
WEEKLY NEWS // AUGUST 1, 2024
// FROM THE DESKS OF HAPPY MWENDE KINYILI & SARANEL BENJAMIN, CO-EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS, MAMA CASH
Change that lasts–40 years of impact
Dear Colleagues,
In 1983, five lesbian feminist activists got together in Amsterdam and launched Mama Cash—a pioneering force for resourcing feminist movements worldwide. Over the span of 40 years, Mama Cash has witnessed a remarkable era of social transformation driven by the relentless efforts of women, girls, and trans and intersex activists that it has supported.
In 1983, intimate partner violence legislation was virtually absent globally, with only Ireland having specific laws addressing it. By 2023, this had shifted dramatically with 162 countries, comprising 80% of the 193 UN member states, implementing such laws. Similarly, the accessibility of elective abortion saw a notable surge, with only 35 countries allowing it in 1983, compared to 77 countries in 2023. Furthermore, the decriminalisation of consensual same-sex sexual behaviour experienced substantial progress, with the number of UN member states criminalising it reduced by half from 118 to 68 by 2023, alongside 36 nations legalising marriage equality.
Even as women, girls, trans and intersex people worldwide face violence and inequality; even as the world is plunged in atrocity from Palestine to Sudan to Ukraine; even as a far-right surge threatens to drag us all back to more regressive times, feminist movements just keep going. With each push forward, they carve out more space, every small victory illuminating the path ahead.
In celebration of our 40th anniversary, we commissioned an Impact Study: Change that Lasts: 40 Years of Impact, which reveals how our funding has driven key advancements by these movements over the past 40 years. Our journey began with a budget of 1.2 million euros from an inheritance, and with the support of thousands of donors, we have invested over 140 million euros in the rights of women, girls, trans, and intersex people. Change that Lasts: 40 Years of Impact is a testament to the power of collective action and the enduring strength of feminist values.
Sincerely,
Happy Mwende Kinyili & Saranel Benjamin
Mama Cash
Co-Executive Directors
News from WFN
WFN MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS & NEW MEMBERS
Our network thrives on the strength and diversity of our members.
Please join us in welcoming new WFN members Foundation for a Just Society and Kim Andrews Nonprofit Consulting. We’re grateful to WFN member Unitarian Universalist Veatch Program at Shelter Rock for renewing another year of membership.
If you have questions about joining WFN as a new member, renewing your membership, or would like to learn more about WFN membership, please contact us.
News from WFN Members
MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS
Canadian Women’s Foundation announced Mitzie Hunter as new President and Chief Executive Officer. Mitzie is a dynamic, community-grounded leader who will play a pivotal role in advancing gender equality in Canada. Learn more about Mitzie here and please join us in welcoming her leadership.
The Fund for Women & Girls welcomes Cheryl Brubaker this week as The Fund's new Executive Director. Learn more about Cheryl here. Thank you to Cheryl for her leadership and to Blake Emmanuel for her leadership as Interim Executive Director.
Congratulations to Nurturing Wāhine Fund Executive Director Aleeka Kay Morgan for being an honoree at The Pōpolo Project's Black Futures Ball. Learn more about the event, Aleeka, and her fellow honorees here.
How do we tackle rigid gender norms? The report, written by Deloitte Access Economics in collaboration with Australians Investing In Women and Minderoo Foundation, Remaking the norm—the follow up to the 2022 Breaking the Norm—shares six core actions key to dismantling harmful gender norms and inequities in Australia.
Chicago Foundation for Women is searching for a Director of Marketing and Communications. To learn more, click here.
MEMBER EVENTS
VidaAfrolatina is hosting a virtual fundraiser, Celebrating Our Griots, to celebrate an Afro-Puerto Rican literary giant, Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa. She centers and champions the voices of Black and Afro-descendant women ancestors whose legacy their grantee partners carry forward today.
August 3, 2024 | 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. EDT | Register here
For the first time in history, the Saint Paul City Council Members are all women. To celebrate this historic milestone, Women's Fund of Greater Milwaukee organized this Community Talk Back to explore campaign financing, co-campaign strategies, governance, and how the Council uses a gender lens to address the needs of their constituents and city.
September 19, 2024 | 5:00 - 7:30 p.m. CDT | Register here
Be part of a beloved and embodied community at the Women&Money Gathering's Building a Beloved & Embodied Community: Exploring Money as Medicine. Learn from Tuti B. Scott and Gwendolyn VanSant about using your resources to foster equity and allyship. This workshop is designed to help you shift power, build trust, and create impactful social change.
October 25-27, 2024 | Register here
Opportunities and Resources
There is an urgent need for evidence to better inform strategies at the intersection of climate, gender, and sexual and reproductive health and rights. Frontiers in Global Women's Health is calling for research submissions that are gender-inclusive, particularly from climate-vulnerable settings and the global south. Watch the recording of a July webinar discussing the call for papers here. More information and research guidelines are here.
UN Women Asia-Pacific released a program brief, Scaling Innovations for an Inclusive Care Economy, which provides an overview of the Dharma Life Community Learning Centre. This learning center in India aims to increase women’s economic participation while providing their children with a space to learn, thrive, and grow.
Global Philanthropy Project's 2021–2022 Global Resources Report: Government & Philanthropic Support for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex Communities is now available. It provides detailed data on the distribution of LGBTI funding by geography, issue, strategy, population focus, donor type, type of support, and more—offering a tool for identifying trends, gaps, and opportunities in the rapidly changing landscape of LGBTI funding.
What We're Reading
Kamala Harris Faces a Faster, Uglier Version of the Internet — The New York Times
2024 State Scorecard on Women’s Health and Reproductive Care — The Commonwealth Fund
IWMF Spotlight: Reporting on Mexico’s presidential election — International Women's Media Foundation
What We're Watching
Attacks on gender-affirming care and abortion access are connected.
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