Population

Women & Girls, 2019

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.

23%
Share of foundation
human rights funding

$928.8 Million out of
$4.1 Billion for all rights
7,690 Grants

Top Foundation Funders

  1. Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation $189.7 M
  2. Ford Foundation $124.6 M
  3. NoVo Foundation $53.6 M
  4. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation $52.8 M
  5. Wellspring Philanthropic Fund $32.4 M
  6. William and Flora Hewlett Foundation $31.8 M
  7. Foundation for a Just Society $31.2 M
  8. David and Lucile Packard Foundation $29.3 M
  9. Oak Foundation $27.8 M
  10. Foundation to Promote Open Society $21.0 M
  11. Comic Relief $17.7 M
  12. UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women $16.6 M
  13. EEA and Norway Grants $15.6 M
  14. Silicon Valley Community Foundation $12.2 M
  15. Global Fund for Women $9.6 M
  16. Tides Foundation $8.2 M
  17. Libra Foundation $8.1 M
  18. African Women's Development Fund $7.6 M
  19. Open Society Policy Center $7.1 M
  20. Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies $6.6 M
  21. American Jewish World Service $6.5 M
  22. Chicago Community Trust $6.5 M
  23. Sigrid Rausing Trust $5.7 M
  24. Kendeda Fund $5.7 M
  25. BHP Foundation $5.4 M
  26. M = Millions

Bilateral and Multilateral Funding

32%
Share of OECD
human rights funding

$1.9 Billion out of
$5.8 Billion for all rights
5,858 Disbursements

Top Funders

  1. Canada $384.2 M
  2. Sweden $357.1 M
  3. United Kingdom $158.9 M
  4. Spain $119.4 M
  5. International Development Association $98.3 M
  6. United States $89.4 M
  7. Norway $82.1 M
  8. European Union Institutions $78.6 M
  9. Netherlands $76.5 M
  10. Germany $68.5 M
  11. Australia $57.7 M
  12. Finland $49.5 M
  13. France $37.1 M
  14. Belgium $30.4 M
  15. Italy $26.6 M
  16. UN Institute for Disarmament Research $20.2 M
  17. Switzerland $20.1 M
  18. Japan $19.3 M
  19. United Nations Peacebuilding Fund (UNPBF) $15.2 M
  20. Austria $12.9 M
  21. Korea $11.1 M
  22. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) $9.9 M
  23. Ireland $9.7 M
  24. Denmark $9.5 M
  25. Central Emergency Response Fund $7.8 M
  26. M = Millions

Key Findings:
2019 Funding

Key Findings

Foundation Funding by Region

Asia & Pacific

$67,077,537 (7%)
860 Grants (11%)

Caribbean

$2,921,220 (0%)
70 Grants (1%)

Eastern Europe, Central Asia, & Russia

$26,147,676 (3%)
561 Grants (7%)

Global Programs

$163,602,031 (18%)
368 Grants (5%)

Latin America & Mexico

$76,907,130 (8%)
1,584 Grants (21%)

Middle East & North Africa

$11,806,229 (1%)
247 Grants (3%)

North America

$442,363,374 (48%)
2,173 Grants (28%)

Sub-Saharan Africa

$105,993,620 (11%)
1,425 Grants (19%)

Western Europe

$30,744,894 (3%)
394 Grants (5%)

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.