The Women's Funding Network asserts that all women and girls are entitled to inalienable human rights, including the rights to liberty, freedom of expression, and equality before the law, as well as social, cultural and economic rights.

The Issue

In many cases, women's rights are violated explicitly because of their gender. In some countries, women still struggle to assert their rights to inherit property or to own land. In others, women and girls are not empowered to gain the same access to economic or educational opportunities as their male peers. Across the globe, women and girls are disproportionately impacted by human rights abuses such as violence and human trafficking. This situation not only erodes the dignity of individual women and girls but inhibits the progress and prosperity of entire communities.

Why Invest in Women-led Solutions?

When women are empowered to assert their human rights, whole communities gain in terms of accelerated progress: skills are upgraded, economies are revitalized, families and society are safer. When women's rights are respected as human rights, previously invisible human rights violations are brought to center stage. For example, governments are brought to condemn sexual violence against women in armed conflict, policy makers are held accountable for protecting women from domestic violence, and world leaders are pushed to tackle trafficking as a human rights crisis.

How Women’s Funds Are Responding


Women's funds have played an active role in elevating human rights issues such as inheritance inequity, gender-based violence and human trafficking, both by funding programs that address the immediate issues and by investing in projects that address the policies and systems that perpetuate the problem. These funds offer holistic and sustained protection to women's human rights in every sphere, embracing issues that uphold women’s human rights, from freedom of expression and movement to access to healthcare, education, employment and assets.