Population

Women & Girls, 2015

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

$560.6 Million out of
$2.4 Billion for all rights
6,464 Grants

Top Foundation Funders

  1. The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation $109.4 M
  2. NoVo Foundation $47.8 M
  3. Ford Foundation $33.3 M
  4. Oak Foundation $23.2 M
  5. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation $21.0 M
  6. Nationale Postcode Loterij $20.3 M
  7. Comic Relief $18.8 M
  8. Big Lottery Fund $17.2 M
  9. Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors $15.1 M
  10. The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation $14.5 M
  11. Foundation for a Just Society $13.1 M
  12. Tides Foundation $13.0 M
  13. The UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women $12.9 M
  14. American Jewish World Service - Donor Advised Funds $11.9 M
  15. Cordaid $9.3 M
  16. National Endowment for Democracy $8.5 M
  17. The David and Lucile Packard Foundation $8.0 M
  18. Human Dignity Foundation $7.7 M
  19. ViiV Healthcare $7.6 M
  20. Fund for Women's Equality $7.3 M
  21. Esmée Fairbairn Foundation $6.5 M
  22. American Jewish World Service $5.6 M
  23. The Freedom Fund - London $5.5 M
  24. The Global Fund for Women $5.3 M
  25. Howard G. Buffett Foundation $5.0 M
  26. M = Millions

Bilateral and Multilateral Funding

26%
Share of OECD
human rights funding

$968.9 Million out of
$3.7 Billion for all rights
3,542 Disbursements

Top Funders

  1. United Kingdom $129.1 M
  2. Canada $96.1 M
  3. Norway $93.8 M
  4. Global Fund $85.1 M
  5. Sweden $82.6 M
  6. Australia $74.9 M
  7. European Union Institutions $65.4 M
  8. Finland $53.5 M
  9. Netherlands $51.1 M
  10. Spain $47.5 M
  11. United States $33.8 M
  12. Germany $29.6 M
  13. Belgium $23.4 M
  14. Switzerland $17.5 M
  15. Italy $14.7 M
  16. Japan $14.0 M
  17. United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) $10.5 M
  18. Denmark $10.4 M
  19. Ireland $8.2 M
  20. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) $6.3 M
  21. Korea $5.7 M
  22. International Labour Organisation $3.4 M
  23. Austria $2.7 M
  24. France $1.9 M
  25. United Nations Peacebuilding Fund (UNPBF) $1.7 M
  26. M = Millions

Key Findings:
2015 Funding

Key Findings

Foundation Funding by Region

Asia & Pacific

$52,866,995 (9%)
1,111 Grants (17%)

Caribbean

$2,712,096 (0%)
73 Grants (1%)

Eastern Europe, Central Asia, & Russia

$20,888,175 (4%)
533 Grants (8%)

Global Programs

$98,014,313 (17%)
331 Grants (5%)

Latin America & Mexico

$36,163,288 (6%)
910 Grants (14%)

Middle East & North Africa

$20,326,864 (4%)
291 Grants (5%)

North America

$180,013,411 (32%)
1,434 Grants (22%)

Sub-Saharan Africa

$102,371,414 (18%)
1,477 Grants (23%)

Western Europe

$57,187,711 (10%)
387 Grants (6%)

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.

Sample Grants

  • Fondo Lunaria Mujer
    Soyla Crew (Colombia)
    To create spaces for young women to discuss gender-based violence in their communities, transform dialogue, and seek empowerment through arts or sports.
  • Both ENDS
    Forest Peoples Programme, based (United Kingdom)
    To work with the Sengwer forest peoples in Kenya, supporting women to share experience of forced evictions, and secure Sengwer rights to collective community land tenure, water, food and healthy environment under Kenya's new constitution.