{"id":2721,"date":"2021-05-11T15:16:52","date_gmt":"2021-05-11T15:16:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.womenwin.org\/win-win-strategies\/news\/announcements\/launching-the-resilience-fund-for-women-in-global-value-chains\/"},"modified":"2024-09-25T17:45:16","modified_gmt":"2024-09-25T17:45:16","slug":"launching-the-resilience-fund-for-women-in-global-value-chains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.womenwin.org\/win-win-strategies\/news\/announcements\/launching-the-resilience-fund-for-women-in-global-value-chains\/","title":{"rendered":"Groundbreaking New Fund Launches to Support Women in Global Value Chains"},"content":{"rendered":"

Groundbreaking New Fund Launches to Support Women in Global Value Chains\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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An innovative funding model will lift up local solutions and build long-term resilience for women workers and communities.<\/em><\/p>\n

A first-of-its-kind collaborative funding initiative, the\u00a0Resilience Fund for Women in Global Value Chains<\/a>, launches today, bringing together corporate investors, foundations, and NGO partners to\u00a0invest in the health, safety, and economic resilience of the women who form the backbone of global value chains. The\u00a0Fund aims to raise at least US$10 million in pooled funding over three years\u00a0to support locally driven solutions to the systemic problems that make women more vulnerable to crises like the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

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The Resilience Fund is a joint initiative of BSR, the United Nations Foundation\u2019s Universal Access Project, and Women Win\/Win-Win Strategies in close collaboration with founding corporate partners and investors Gap Foundation, PVH Foundation, H&M Foundation, and The VF Foundation.\u00a0Today, the Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation announced it will also join the Fund as a founding investor to support women workers in global supply chains.<\/p>\n

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This innovative collaboration provides unrestricted funds to organisations in the Global South\u2014trusting local and regional women\u2019s funds, women-led organisations, and feminist leaders to know what their communities need and enabling them to direct resources to yield the strongest outcomes. The Fund is embarking on its first phase in South Asia, with planned expansions to additional regions by early 2022.<\/p>\n

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A representative advisory board places grassroots and feminist leaders as equal partners with investors in determining how funds should be expended, using real-time feedback and learning to respond flexibly to changing realities on the ground. Global Fund for Women, the Naz Foundation, Prospera International Network of Women\u2019s Funds, and Women\u2019s Fund Asia will serve as representatives of women\u2019s funds and grassroots women\u2019s organisations on the advisory board. The Fund is open to investors across a wide range of sectors, offering them the opportunity to build new, long-term connections with women\u2019s funds and locally-led organisations that focus on women’s safety, security, and sexual and reproductive health as long-term drivers of economic resilience.<\/p>\n

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Quotes from Across the Partnership:\u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Maria Bobenrieth, Executive Director of Women Win\/Win-Win Strategies\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s exciting to see corporate foundations coming together to pool their resources to support women and girls in this novel way. The Fund is infusing new and needed resources into the ecosystem of women\u2019s funds and their model of change\u2014tapping into trusted women-led grassroots organizations for design and delivery of locally-led action.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Alexandra Garita, Executive Director of Prospera International Network of Women\u2019s Funds<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWomen\u2019s funds have legitimacy, trust, and strong relationships with girls and women\u2019s groups,\u00a0 organizations, and movements, and are effective partners in supporting local transformative action for human rights, health, and economic resilience. This Fund, with an innovative governance mechanism, will channel resources where they need to go\u2014into women\u2019s hands\u2013in sustained and meaningful ways.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Seema Jalan, Executive Director of the United Nations Foundation\u2019s Universal Access Project<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a new way to do corporate philanthropy. We\u2019re joining a growing movement that is challenging the traditional notion of solving problems through pre-ordained approaches or ideas of success. Instead, we\u2019re recognizing that transformative change comes from local organizations and feminist leaders who are driving priorities, strategies, and solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Aditi Mohapatra, Managing Director at BSR
\n<\/strong>\u201cWomen, who are essential to the resilience, success, and sustainability of global value chains, have suffered the brunt of impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic. This innovative new fund is an opportunity for companies to address these impacts by centering the voices of these women in identifying solutions for themselves and their communities. In doing so, companies have an opportunity to bring to life their commitments to equity and social justice.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Kalyani Subramanyam, Chief Operating Officer, The Naz Foundation (India) Trust
\n<\/strong>\u201cThere are many gaps in advancing gender equality and this calls for innovative solutions. We\u2019ve seen some powerful initiatives at the grassroots which struggle without access to funds! I believe the Resilience Funds with its democratic style of governance can serve to be an extraordinary transformative opportunity that can accelerate equality, women\u2019s leadership and economic empowerment.\u201d<\/p>\n