New State of Gender-wise Giving Survey reveals key insights

Australians Investing In Women (AIIW) has released the findings from the second annual State of Gender-wise Giving Survey. It provides an important benchmark to better understand the degree of gender-focused philanthropic giving in Australia. AIIW have also released the seventh video in their Empowered Giving for a Fairer Future series. 

Piloted in 2022 and launched in 2023, the survey reviews the philanthropic efforts of the ‘Australian Financial Review Top 50’ corporate and philanthropic organisations in relation to gender equity and giving, providing an annual snapshot of philanthropic investment in women and girls. The survey offers Australia’s leading giving organisations the opportunity to benchmark their gender-wise giving strategies against an emerging sector standard.

While the 2024 results revealed an increased awareness of the importance of applying a gender lens to giving, the results also highlight several challenges preventing the broader adoption of gender equity into philanthropic practices.

The State of Gender-wise Giving Survey was produced in partnership with The Evolved Group and leverages research by John McLeod, JBWere Philanthropic Services and Jarrod Miles, Strive Philanthropy and GivingLarge.

The Evolved Group Founding Partner, Garreth Chandler highlighted how the results showed progress but also highlighted the need for continued advocacy. “The key metrics of success for AIIW are all moving in the right direction. You can see there is now a core of committed and engaged donors.  This group can be expanded by communicating to the whole giving community the importance of applying a gender lens and how it actually amplifies benefits across all interest groups.”

Reflecting on the research and survey findings Julie Reilly OAM, CEO Australians Investing In Women said “As we face the reality indicated by the World Economic Forum that it will take 134 years globally to achieve gender equality, we must act urgently to ensure future generations inherit a fairer, more inclusive world.

“In Australia, we still rank 24th on the Global Gender Gap Index. Despite being a modern and sophisticated economy, harmful gender norms persist, limiting equal power and opportunities in both domestic and professional spheres. This inequality hinders individual and collective progress.”

While the survey sample does not cover the entire AFR Top 50 (with two key completion barriers identified as competing priorities and lack of data to measure), the 28 leading organisations that took part in the research represented more than $1.031 billion in the reporting period, including cash donations, grant programs, in-kind products, services, and volunteering.

2024 key findings:

• High awareness of gender lens
• Increased focus on gender-wising giving
• Limited data on gender-targeted giving
• Committed to gender equity in HR and organisational leadership
• Co-design in giving programs
• Increased recognition of Australians Investing In Women

2024 identified key challenges:

While awareness is high, many organisations continue to face significant barriers in implementing gender-wise giving effectively:

• Political sensitivity: Trustees’ individual interests and the part-time nature of their roles can make it difficult to align gender-wise giving with broader organisational strategies.
• Trustee knowledge gaps: Trustees often lack the necessary training and insights to prioritise gender equity in their organisations’ giving strategies.
• Influence of founder and family interests: Family foundations continue to be influenced by the wishes of founders or family members, influencing the focus (or lack of) on gender equity in giving decisions.
• Lack of formal tools and processes: Many organisations, particularly those in the early stages of their philanthropic efforts, lack the formal tools, systems, and processes to confidently measure and track gender-wise giving.
• Appetite to implement: Some organisations are concerned that imperfect assessment is worse than no assessment.

For more information on the survey and gender-wise research and resources visit: https://www.aiiw.org.au/