THE WYDE | Women’s Leadership Initiative is a collaborative global effort aimed at advancing women’s full and effective political participation and decision-making at all levels, especially those most often left furthest behind. Women and young women leaders remain unequally represented in decision making globally due to entrenched barriers to the full and effective participation of women in public life.
This funding, through this Call for Proposals of approximately USD
$1,000,000, will directly support women’s organizations and youth movements which are advancing the AC6’s targets to support women and girls’ meaningful participation, leadership, and decision-making power.
This Call for Proposals is the second round of funding under WYDE | Women’s Leadership for civil society and women’s rights organizations. The first round of funding awarded approximately USD
$900,000 to eight civil society and women’s rights organizations in four regions.
To be able to fully meet their potential as leaders and commitment makers, women’s organizations and youth leaders require long-term funding to strengthen and capacitate their organizations, promote knowledge-sharing and cross-learning and common action to meet the AC6 targets. During a time of increasingly shrinking space for women’s rights organizations around the world and reduced funding for these organizations and the work of advancing women’s leadership, this funding aims to mobilize feminist movements globally. The EU-UN shared ambition to fast-track progress on achieving SDG 5 gender equality goals, and to support partners to advance women’s participation in public life globally in line with CEDAW GR40 presents an important opportunity to leverage collective action, partnerships, coordination, knowledge, and resources at a global level to help address key obstacles to the full and effective participation and decision-making of women and girls in all their diversity.
WYDE welcomes applicants from civil society and women’s rights organizations, and encourages those who are commitment makers of the Generation Equality Action Coalition on Feminist Movement’s and Leadership (AC6), to respond to this Call for Proposals. Based on expertise in their specific context, applications may focus on strategies including the following:
- Building women’s political leadership capacity: CSOs/WROs may choose to build women’s leadership skills through enhancing their capacity such as through the delivery of training materials or methodologies.4 In addition, organizations focusing on building the leadership capacities of underserved women and girls including women living with disabilities, Indigenous and representing the LGBTQI+ community, as non exhaustive examples, should be prioritized to meet the goals of advancing inclusive feminist movements.
- Mentorship for emerging leaders: CSOs/WROs may connect existing networks or feminist movements with youth-led or other emerging leaders with experienced activists to build their ability to make collective change. For instance, women’s and especially young women’s organizations may benefit from networking with organizations who have long histories of advocacy and impact in feminist movements. Activities can include funding programmes which equip feminist leaders with skills to mobilize communities towards shifting social norms through advocacy and coalition building. This may also include the use of new or innovative technologies to engage with young activists and encourage young women’s political engagement and participation. Youth-led organizations are highly encouraged to apply as the lead organization and/or be included as a sub-partner or as a member of a consortium involved in implementation.
- Leverage convening powers for social norms change: CSOs/WROs partners will engage men and boys and key stakeholders, like the media, as agents of change, and as strategic partners in eliminating all forms of discrimination against women and girls, by understanding and addressing unequal power relations, gender stereotypes and practices that perpetuate discrimination, combating gendered disinformation and supporting the design and implementation of policies and programmes that address the roles and responsibilities of men and boys in transforming negative social norms and attitudes. Further, as an illustrative example, organizations may work to prevent and address violence against women in public life through transforming social norms at all levels of society. In addition, supporting narratives shifts is a key strategy in transforming social norms. Therefore, organizations may work through the media, media training, or other campaign related initiatives to change social norms surrounding women’s political participation through supporting local narrative shifts.