Private sector commits billions to tackle gender inequality

Several private sector organisations have committed billions to tackle gender inequality worldwide over the next five years.

The Gates Foundation, for example, has committed $2.1 billion; along with $420 million from The Ford Foundation and over $100 million from PayPal during the UN’s Generation Equality Forum in Paris, last week.  This investment will help to advance women’s economic empowerment; strengthen women and girls’ health and family planning; and accelerate women’s leadership. 

An estimated 47 million more women will fall into extreme poverty due to the pandemic, according to women’s rights advocacy group Women Deliver and research organisation Focus 2030. New data from the Gates Foundation revealed that the pandemic-driven inequality is growing at an alarming pace. This is driven by disruptions to women’s health services; job losses in sectors where women are overrepresented; and a sharp increase in caregiving needs and other unpaid work.

“The world has been fighting for gender equality for decades, but progress has been slow. Ripple effects of the pandemic have conspired to rob women and girls of opportunity. Now is the chance to reignite a movement and deliver real change,” stated Melinda French Gates, Co-chair of the Gates Foundation. “The beauty of our fight for gender equality is that every human being will gain from it. We must seize this moment to build a better, more equal future.” 

GATES FOUNDATION COMMITMENT

According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), unemployment for women rose by nine million in 2020, compared to 2019; and is projected to increase another two million in 2021. This is not the case for men, who are projected to see unemployment decrease in 2021. Total global female employment in 2021 will remain 13 million below its 2019 level, predicts ILO. By contrast, it expects total male employment to return to close to its 2019 level; exacerbating existing inequalities in the workforce. 

That said, new data by Eurasia Group has highlighted that gender-equal policies can fuel a global economic recovery from the pandemic. Providing women worldwide access to childcare could deliver up to $3 trillion of additional GDP annually; and enable them to participate in the labour force. Instituting cash transfer programmes globally could lift up to 100 million women out of absolute poverty; which is defined as living on less than $2 per day.

HOW FUNDING WILL BE SPENT

The Gates Foundation’s $2.1 billion commitment over the next five years will advance activity in three areas: economic empowerment; health and family planning; and accelerating women in leadership. Gender equality is core to the foundation’s work; and the Gender Equality division is focused on accelerating progress toward a more gender-equal world. Funding includes: 

• Economic Empowerment. $650 million over five years: An expansion of the foundation’s existing work on women’s economic empowerment. This funding will support women’s empowerment collectives; strengthen the care economy; improve women’s financial inclusion; and reduce barriers to paid work. 
• Family Planning and Health. $1.4 billion over five years: This reaffirms and expands the foundation’s commitment to family planning and women’s health; with a focus on increasing options and access to contraceptives and support for a network of family planning partners. This includes UNFPA Supplies Partnership; Family Planning 2030; the Global Financing Facility; and the new Shaping Equitable Market Access for Reproductive Health initiative. 
• Accelerating Women in Leadership. $100 million over five years/$230 million over 10 years: This is an all-new funding commitment to accelerate women’s inclusion in leadership roles; primarily in health, law and economics. It includes a contribution to a new fund by Co-Impact, which aims to dismantle systemic barriers to gender equality and women/girls’ leadership worldwide. 

PRIORITISING GENDER EQUALITY

“Women and girls already faced unique barriers to their full participation in social and economic life; and the latest data show that the pandemic has only sharpened gender disparities,” said Mark Suzman, CEO of the Gates Foundation. “Each data point represents a woman fighting for a better future; and this funding reflects our longstanding commitment to support all women in their fight for a fairer and more equal world.”

“Gender equality must be at the center of the world’s efforts to make progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals,” added Bill Gates, Co-chair of the Gates Foundation. “Prioritising gender equality is not only the right thing to do; it is essential to fighting poverty and preventable disease. The Generation Equality Forum is an opportunity to hold leaders accountable so that we can ensure that all people, everywhere, have the opportunity to live healthy, productive lives.”

FORD FOUNDATION COMMITMENT

The Ford Foundation has also committed $420 million over the next five years to tackle gender inequality around the globe; which has been further exacerbated by the devastating effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. The financial pledge is designed to focus on multiple issues including addressing the growing epidemic of gender-based violence, reinforcing the need for a care-based economy; increasing workplace equality; and bringing critical resources to feminist movements and women’s rights organisations addressing these global challenges.

The committed funding is part of the Ford Foundation’s ongoing commitment to gender equality; and reflects the widespread economic and social devastation felt by women and girls because of the Covid-19 pandemic. This commitment is also partly from the proceeds of the foundation’s unprecedented sale of $1 billion in social bonds in 2020 to help strengthen and stabilise organisations in the wake of the pandemic. 

“The pandemic has disproportionately affected women and girls and underscored how much more we all must do to address and achieve gender equality with greater urgency. The Generation Equality Forum is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape our society and to build an equitable future for all of us,” stated Ford Foundation’s President Darren Walker. “It is through genuine partnerships and the collective action of philanthropy, government, civil society, the private sector and feminist leaders themselves that we will achieve gender equality.”

GENDER EQUALITY ACTION

The Ford Foundation’s $420 million commitment spans across five of the Forum’s six Action Coalitions. These innovative and multi-issue, stakeholder committees are organised under the themes of Gender-Based Violence; Economic Justice and Rights; Bodily Autonomy and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights; Feminist Action for Climate Justice; Technology and Innovation for Gender Equality; and Feminist Movements and Leadership.

“Twenty-six years after the landmark Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, public discourse on gender equality has not been matched by action. Instead, Covid-19 has only accelerated gender inequality for millions of women and girls who bear the burden of the crisis,” added Ford Foundation’s international Programme Director for Gender, Racial and Ethnic Justice Nicolette Naylor. “As some parts of the world start to emerge from the pandemic, it is essential that gender equality is at the heart of building back better. It’s time to stop talking and start funding the organisations that are driving change and the necessary progress on global gender equality. We encourage others to join us in these efforts to make meaningful and lasting change.”

Ford is co-leading the Forum’s Action Coalition on Gender-based Violence (GBV) and will direct $159 million specifically to organisations working on key issues around preventing and responding to gender-based violence.  These funds will be allocated across the Foundation’s international efforts; as well as regional work in Latin America, India and Southern and Western Africa. This includes focusing on prevention and response to gender-based violence; scaling up evidence-based responses to gender-based violence; and increasing accountability and financing for sustainable women’s rights organisations to address gender-based violence.

STRENGTHENING WOMEN’S RIGHTS

Additionally, Ford will direct another $94 million towards strengthening the feminist and women and girls’ rights infrastructure. The primary goal for this funding is to increase resources dedicated to feminist, women and girl-led organisations in the Global South; and to leverage investments in the leadership of women and girls of colour, transgender, gender nonconforming people across social justice movements. 

The foundation recognises the urgency and the importance of centering women and girls in all spheres of society in this moment of opportunity; to build back better and equally. Recognising that women don’t live single-issue lives, it is providing $167 million in grants to support organisations working and advocating on multifaceted issues like economic justice and rights; sexual and reproductive health and rights; and technology and innovation. These organisations include the Black Feminist Fund (as reported), Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID), Equality Fund, CARE Fund and Prospera, amongst others.

PAYPAL’S INCLUSION COMMITMENT 

PayPal has also committed more than $100 million to advance financial inclusion and economic empowerment for women and girls around the world over the next five years. The commitment is part of PayPal’s mission to build a more inclusive global economy; and its role as a Generation Equality Forum Action Coalition Private Sector Lead. 

“Improving the financial health of women is essential to building prosperous and resilient communities. Women make up the overwhelming majority of the world’s unbanked and underserved adults; and the economic and social impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic have only exacerbated these disparities,” stated Dan Schulman, President and CEO of PayPal. “As we work to shape an equitable recovery and an inclusive digital economy, we believe we have a responsibility to help expand the role and participation of women in the financial system and economic growth. With the resources, tools and technologies now at our disposal, we’ve never had a greater opportunity to achieve economic equality.”

FUNDING COMMITMENTS

The commitment includes several external and internal investments over the next five years to support financial inclusion and economic empowerment of women and girls:

• PayPal will deposit $100 million into investment funds/depository institutions that are led by women or focused on serving women; as well as other efforts that can produce greater financial health or economic empowerment of women; amongst other gender equality outcomes. 
• The company will invest $7 million in partnerships to increase access to microloans for women entrepreneurs around the world. 
• PayPal will contribute $1 million to raise awareness and provide incentives to mobilise donations to civil society organisations that support gender equality through PayPal Giving Fund. As part of this, PayPal will recruit gender equality-focused charities to its platform in at least 34 countries by 2023; to further advance resource mobilisation to meet Sustainable Development Goals. 
• It will conduct an annual assessment to ensure that the company’s policies and benefits regarding pay equity, paid leave, caregiver support and workplace sexual harassment prevention meet/exceed best practices; starting in the US with the intent to expand the assessment globally. 
• Through the company’s Community Impact programme, PayPal employees in 22 countries will contribute more than 10,000 hours of capacity building and skill-based volunteer services to charities advancing gender equality. PayPal will match $10 for every volunteer hour dedicated through our employee matching gift programme. 
• PayPal will contribute its resources and expertise to Data2X, a collaborative technical and advocacy platform. The platform aims to improve the availability, quality and use of gender data; to make a practical difference in the lives of women and girls worldwide.

CREATING AN INCLUSIVE ECONOMY

The company’s commitment builds on the previous actions the company has taken to create a more inclusive economy; in which everyone has the opportunity to participate and thrive. Last year, PayPal pledged $535 million to address economic inequality among Black and underserved businesses and communities in the US. PayPal also has a longstanding track record of advancing gender equality within its workforce. For the last five years, PayPal has maintained 100% gender pay equity globally, as well as US ethnic pay equity; and has strong family leave policies to attract and retain women. The company has also been recognised by the National Partnership for Women and Families for its maternity, parental, family care and sick leave policies.

Click here for more information on the recent The Generation Equality Forum, which concluded with bold commitments; and a global five-year action plan to accelerate gender equality by 2026.