Population

Women & Girls, 2017

Human rights funding for women and girls, including transgender people, protects and promotes their equal rights as described in the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women. This funding supports efforts to ensure gender equality, including in owning property, holding elected office, and earning fair wages, and addresses abuses like gender-based violence, sexual assault, and female genital mutilation. It promotes women’s reproductive rights.

21%
Share of foundation
human rights funding

$689.7 Million out of
$3.2 Billion for all rights
6,105 Grants

Top Foundation Funders

  1. The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation $126.5 M
  2. NoVo Foundation $79.5 M
  3. Ford Foundation $71.9 M
  4. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation $71.5 M
  5. Tides Foundation $40.3 M
  6. The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation $32.9 M
  7. The David and Lucile Packard Foundation $21.3 M
  8. Oak Foundation $21.0 M
  9. Open Society Institute $17.7 M
  10. Wellspring Philanthropic Fund $17.6 M
  11. Foundation for a Just Society $16.0 M
  12. Fund for Policy Reform $10.0 M
  13. The Global Fund for Women $9.3 M
  14. The Kendeda Fund $7.2 M
  15. Foundation For The Carolinas $6.9 M
  16. American Jewish World Service $6.2 M
  17. Fondo Centroamericano de Mujeres $6.1 M
  18. Hivos $6.0 M
  19. The Sigrid Rausing Trust $5.3 M
  20. African Women's Development Fund $5.2 M
  21. Mama Cash $5.2 M
  22. The New York Women's Foundation $4.7 M
  23. Silicon Valley Community Foundation $4.5 M
  24. International Development Research Centre $4.4 M
  25. The Libra Foundation $4.4 M
  26. M = Millions

Bilateral and Multilateral Funding

27%
Share of OECD
human rights funding

$1.0 Billion out of
$3.9 Billion for all rights
3,846 Disbursements

Top Funders

  1. Sweden $207.5 M
  2. Canada $144.2 M
  3. United States $77.9 M
  4. United Kingdom $77.0 M
  5. European Union Institutions $71.7 M
  6. Australia $70.6 M
  7. Spain $70.3 M
  8. Norway $56.7 M
  9. Finland $50.7 M
  10. Netherlands $41.6 M
  11. Germany $38.9 M
  12. Japan $29.9 M
  13. United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) $11.8 M
  14. Italy $11.0 M
  15. Ireland $10.0 M
  16. Switzerland $9.5 M
  17. Denmark $8.9 M
  18. Belgium $7.1 M
  19. Inter-American Development Bank $4.7 M
  20. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) $4.4 M
  21. Korea $4.2 M
  22. Luxembourg $4.2 M
  23. Austria $3.9 M
  24. United Nations Peacebuilding Fund (UNPBF) $3.9 M
  25. France $3.1 M
  26. M = Millions

Key Findings:    2017 Funding

Key Findings

Foundation Funding by Region

Asia & Pacific

$76,092,348 (11%)
879 Grants (14%)

Caribbean

$3,758,461 (1%)
72 Grants (1%)

Eastern Europe, Central Asia, & Russia

$6,590,221 (1%)
341 Grants (6%)

Global Programs

$113,964,603 (17%)
278 Grants (5%)

Latin America & Mexico

$64,882,307 (9%)
1,121 Grants (18%)

Middle East & North Africa

$20,155,241 (3%)
227 Grants (4%)

North America

$313,369,115 (45%)
1,867 Grants (31%)

Sub-Saharan Africa

$108,671,742 (16%)
1,189 Grants (19%)

Western Europe

$20,981,539 (3%)
250 Grants (4%)

Region totals include both foundation grants directly to recipients based in the region specified and foundation grants to recipients located in other regions to do work benefiting the region specified. Grants may mention more than one region of benefit and therefore be counted in more than one category.

Foundation Funding by Issue

Issue totals include foundation funding that could be identified as meant to address a specific issue. In order to provide unique totals and avoid double-counting, each foundation grant has been assigned to exactly one issue category within the human rights taxonomy.

Foundation Funding by Intersecting Populations

In order to show the intersections of multiple population groups, these graphics indicate other population groups supported within funding towards the group highlighted on this page.

Foundation Funding by Strategy

Strategy totals include foundation funding that could be identified as supporting a specific strategy. Grants may employ multiple strategies and would therefore be counted in more than one category.