The Dependency Trap: Moving Women-Led Organisations Beyond External Aid
About the Session
Women’s rights organizations are being asked to do more with dramatically less. Funding for gender equality is contracting while demand for services is rising, civic space is shrinking, and movements for gender equality face growing political hostility. For many women-led organizations, the consequences are existential.
The immediate question is how to keep vital organizations and services going. But simply replacing disappearing aid with another source of donor funding will not solve the deeper problem.
What would it take to build a funding ecosystem in which women-led and community-rooted organizations can thrive on their own terms? That could mean more flexible philanthropy, but also a wider range of resources: earned revenue, investment, community capital, corporate partnerships, women’s self-help groups, digital platforms, and other models that strengthen local economies and reduce dependence on a small number of external funders.
Doing so requires change on both sides. Women-led organizations need greater access to different forms of capital and the ability to build long-term financial resilience. Funders need to examine who controls resources, what barriers their own systems create, and whether funding practices genuinely strengthen local leadership or perpetuate dependency.
This session will confront the current funding crisis while asking a bigger question: can this moment become an opportunity to build a more durable and equitable ecosystem for women’s rights?
Discussion Group Leaders
Alison Holder is Executive Director at Equal Measures, advancing gender equality by equipping advocates with data, evidence, responsible AI, and tools for greater accountability.
Denise Mishiwiec is Senior Manager, Grants and Operations at WomenStrong International, advancing feminist, trust-based philanthropy that shifts resources and power toward women-led organizations.
Helen Davies is Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Operation Fistula, advancing health systems that work for women and girls by supporting proximate leaders to deliver high-quality, data-driven care.
What to Expect
A candid working session bringing together women-led organizations, funders, corporate leaders, movement builders and others working to resource gender equality. Participants will examine the barriers preventing capital from reaching women-led organizations and explore practical alternatives to dependence on traditional development assistance.
The conversation will also look at emerging sources of power and resilience, from self-help groups and locally rooted financing to women-led digital platforms and technology-enabled movements.
Who This Is For
This session is for women’s rights and feminist organizations, funders, philanthropists, corporate partners, investors, movement leaders, civil society organizations and others concerned about the sustainability of gender equality work as traditional funding contracts.
What You Will Get Out of It
A clearer picture of how the funding crisis is affecting women-led organizations
Practical approaches to diversifying revenue and capital beyond traditional aid
Ideas for making philanthropy more flexible and supportive of long-term sustainability
Perspectives on community capital, self-help groups, technology and other locally rooted models
A framework for moving from keeping organizations alive to building ecosystems in which they can thrive