Economic Security and Opportunity

WomenStrong believes that it is nothing less than transformational programs that will enable women and their families to move out of poverty. Rather than invest in strategies that may only incrementally improve women’s purchasing power, income, and security, WomenStrong is looking to support and share learnings from those programs that disrupt the status quo governing supply chains, ownership, and markets and amplify the power of women through the formation or strengthening of cooperatives, networks, and unions. In coming together, women can share knowledge and strategies, forcefully express their needs and demands, and leverage their collectivity against all who would deny them equal access to assets and influence.

And so, we are seeking to build a cohort of women-led organizations striving to build the collective power of women who are willing to share their solutions and knowledge in the Learning Lab.

Specifically, we are looking to work with organizations around the world which:

• work with women and women cooperatives that collectivize and negotiate power in the marketplace and the workplace (e.g., in manufacturing, care work, entrepreneurship, etc.);
• are testing solutions to the burdens of unpaid or underpaid care work, including by forming worker associations or cooperatives and accessing adequate social protections;
• build leadership and financial inclusion among women and girls seeking economic independence.

We hope to cultivate the synergies between our new grantee partners working on economic security and those already in our Learning Lab, working on girls’ education, women’s health, or stopping violence against women and girls. All our grantees will come together in the Lab to explore common topics for discussion, encourage each other’s learning and growth, and share resources and lessons learned.