The afternoon mainstage plenary will feature several key conversations between philanthropic leaders and allies examining the movement today. Funders and activists alike will discuss how philanthropy can create a more gender equal future. Hosted by emcee Ada Williams Prince, Senior Advisor, Program Strategy and Investment, Pivotal Ventures.

Policing, Gender and Communities of Color

• Connie Wun, Co-Founder/Executive Director, AAPI Women Lead 

• Joy Messinger, Director of Training and Leadership Development, Funders for Justice 

How can funders invest in the enabling conditions where women of color and gender-expansive persons lead a movement to end institutional violence and criminalization while also creating healing communities for gender-based violence survivors? What role does divestment, sex-worker rights and liberation play in feminist philanthropic practice? Learn how these distinguished thought leaders grapple with how to organize women of color within a system that encourages them to utilize police force and incarceration against their families and neighborhoods – while also meaningfully participating in Black, Brown, and immigrant-rights movements where gender-based violence is often silenced and subjugated to so-called racial unity. 

Equation for Transformation: Give Generously, Trust Deeply 

• Denise Raquel Dunning, Founder and Executive Director, Rise Up 

• Linda Weisert, Director, Strategic Engagement & Communications (Gender, Youth & Equity) Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) 

• Jennifer Okwudili, Interim Deputy Director, Gender Equality, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation 

• Alicia Tauro, Project Coordinator, Youth for Voluntary Action, India 

Successfully advancing gender equity requires us all to act more boldly, trust more deeply, and give more generously. Powerful community activists and pathbreaking funders are already leading the way – breaking down barriers to transform patriarchy and investing boldly to advance gender equity globally. In this panel discussion, philanthropists and activists will come together to discuss strategies we can each take to create a more gender equal future.  

As the global community rebuilds from the COVID-19 pandemic, feminist activists are holding leaders accountable and demanding better than a return to ‘normal.’ Individual philanthropists like MacKenzie Scott are making transformative gifts that shift power to organizations like Rise Up that invest directly in country-based leaders who are creating change. Philanthropic institutions like the Gates Foundation and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation are making bold investments to accelerate gender equity in unprecedented ways. 

Jennifer Okwudili from Gates and Linda Weisert from CIFF will discuss how philanthropy is shifting to effectively meet this pivotal movement. Rise Up Leader Alicia Tauro will share her powerful work to advocate for women and girls in India, highlighting how funders can effectively resource country-based leaders who are leading change. Panelists will highlight concrete actions that we can all take to accelerate gender equity in our own institutions, communities, and countries. 

Funding Gender Equity Research 

• C. Nicole Mason, President and CEO of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) and Elizabeth Barajas-Román, President and CEO of the Women’s Funding Network, will join together in conversation to announce a ground-breaking partnership to quantify the pandemic’s economic impact on women—and to identify evidence-based policies for a gender-equitable recovery. 

Poderistas in Philanthropy: How Latina/x Feminists are Leading Multi-racial Solutions Rooted in Cultural Practice

Only about 6 percent of executive leaders in U.S. philanthropy identify as Latino/x – yet informal giving networks and mutual aid are deeply rooted practices within the U.S’s second-largest racial group. Further, Latina/x feminists are grounded in a sociopolitical movement that honors their diverse linguistic, historical, cultural, ethnic, and spiritual past united against racial, gender and class oppression. Presenters discuss how investing in the visibility and leadership of Latina/x feminists within philanthropy could dramatically increase the effectiveness and impact of institutional strategies.

• Mónica Ramírez, Co-Founder, National Farmworkers Women’s Alliance, The Latinx House.  

• Carmen Perez-Jordan, President and CEO, The Gathering for Justice