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Financing for Gender Equality and Feminist Foreign Policies: Innovation, Investments and Challenges

  • Sciences Po, Chapsal Ampitheater 27 Rue Saint-Guillaume Paris, 75007 France (map)
Registration is required. Please register here.

About the Event

Despite the optimism 30 years ago at the Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing, progress towards gender equality has been slow. Recent reports note stagnation, decline and backlash on women’s rights. Just when resources are needed to reverse these trends and support new momentum, official development assistance (ODA) budgets are being cut and traditional philanthropy is under attack.

In recent years, the adoption of feminist foreign policies has provided one glimmer of optimism. Although there are critiques of these policies, they have provided a platform for discussion and opened new conversations on foreign policy and the potential of reframing global relations. They may also open spaces for increased ODA investments in gender equality.  New research from the Feminist Foreign Policy Collaborative found that until 2023 (the latest year with available data) countries with feminist foreign policies — on average — provided more gender equality development assistance than their peers.

The discussions on ODA are shifting rapidly in a context of evolving security challenges. Contemplations of a post-ODA world also contain new discussions on South-South circular cooperation and reflections on new forms of resourcing feminist movements. It is a moment of change, yet also possibly an opportunity. What role can feminist foreign policies play?

In the framework of the Fourth Ministerial Conference on Feminist Foreign Policy in Paris, join us and the Alliance for Feminist Movements to explore these questions and to launch our latest publication, “Feminist Foreign Policy and Development Finance for Gender Equality: Momentum Under Threat?,” which updates our earlier analysis of feminist foreign policy countries’ development finance commitments to gender equality.

Event Details

Date: Wednesday, October 22, 2025

Time:

  • 8:30-9:00 AM CEST: Breakfast Reception

  • 9:00-10:00 AM CEST: Panel, Report Launch and Q&A

Location: Sciences Po, Chapsal Ampitheater, 27 Rue Saint-Guillaume, 75007 Paris

Important Logistical Notes:

  • Deadline to register is Monday, October 20th.

  • To access the premises, you must be registered and have a valid ID.

  • This event will not be livestreamed. A recording will be available with subtitles in multiple languages on our Youtube (@TheFFPCollab).

  • For in-person registrants, breakfast will be served on a first come, first served basis.

Speakers

Rachel Jacobson (she/her/elle)

Rachel is the Co-Director of the Alliance for Feminist Movements, which she joined in 2021. She has a long history in women’s human rights activism and service delivery with Human Rights Watch, the Youth Coalition for Sexual and Reproductive Rights, the International Women’s Health Coalition and Whole Woman’s Health.

Laila Alodaat (she/her/elle)

Laila is a seasoned feminist leader with two decades of experience in advocacy, movement building and a proven track record as a litigator and strategist. She is the Executive Director of Prospera - International Network of Women’s Funds. Laila Alodaat joined the feminist peace movement through the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, where she held different positions and was appointed Deputy Secretary General in 2021. Laila is from Syria, and has extensive experience spans across women’s rights, resource distribution, and effective governance. She has served in various advisory and governance roles, including as a Trustee of the Feminist Review Trust since 2019. Laila holds a law degree from Damascus University and an LLM in Human Rights, Conflict, and Justice from the School of Oriental and African Studies. Laila is a mother of two, a qualified Forest School and Natural Reservation leader, and an active community organizer.

Beth Woroniuk (she/her/elle)

Beth has worked to advance gender justice and feminist approaches to policymaking for over 35 years. She is particularly interested in analyzing resource investments in gender equality and feminist movements, feminist foreign policies and women, peace and security. Beth has advised and worked with bilateral aid agencies, women’s funds, UN entities, international NGOs and feminist organizations, strengthening their work on gender equality and women’s rights in numerous contexts and countries. She has developed analytical tools, supported policy development, carried out research, blogged, conducted evaluations, organized, lobbied and testified before the Canadian Parliament. Until early 2024, Beth served as the Vice President of Policy at the Equality Fund. In 2025, Beth was nominated to the G7 Gender Equality Advisory Council and selected as co-chair of the Women7 (W7). As part of the inaugural class of the Feminist Foreign Policy Collaborative’s Visiting Fellows Program, Beth will focus her scholarship and thought leadership on current feminist foreign policy discussions, Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy and feminist funding.

Nicolas Rainaud (he/him/il)

Nicolas is the Advocacy Manager at Equipop, a feminist international solidarity CSO. A graduate of Sciences Po Paris, he has been working in the field of international solidarity for more than fifteen years. He contributes to a variety of advocacy initiatives in favor of feminist public policies at both French and international levels, and participates in several collective spaces such as Coordination SUD, Walking the Talk and Countdown 2030. In France, Nicolas has been a member of the Gender Equality High Council for six years, and has co-chaired its “Feminist diplomacy, European and international issues” Commission between 2022 and 2025.

About the Organizers

Feminist Foreign Policy Collaborative

The Feminist Foreign Policy Collaborative (the Collaborative) works to advance feminist approaches to foreign policy worldwide. By curating convenings, conducting field-shaping research and analysis and amplifying expertise, the Collaborative serves as a meeting point for feminists inside and outside of government to work together to ensure that feminist foreign policies (FFPs) are ambitious, transformative and effectively implemented. The Collaborative works in a secretariat capacity supporting the work of two coalitions: the Global Partner Network for Feminist Foreign Policy and the Coalition for a Feminist Foreign Policy in the United States. The Global Partner Network for Feminist Foreign Policy is an informal body comprised of more than 100 organizations, governments and individuals working on feminist foreign policy around the world; the Coalition for a Feminist Foreign Policy in the United States unites more than 80 organizations advocating for a more feminist foreign policy in the US. While the focus of each of these coalitions is different, the goal is the same: to ensure wider adoption of feminist foreign policy principles advancing a better future for people, peace and planet.

For any questions or inquiries, please contact general@ffpcollaborative.org.

Alliance for Feminist Movements

The Alliance for Feminist Movements is a collaborative multi-stakeholder initiative between governments, private philanthropy, feminist funds, and civil society organizations dedicated to (1) Increasing and improving resources dedicated to supporting diverse feminist movements, and (2) Mobilizing partnerships and political support for diverse feminist movements. The strength of the Alliance for Feminist Movements comes from bringing together a range of stakeholders to tackle issues on funding and political support for feminist movements that are bigger than any single donor-grantee relationship or sector. The Alliance for Feminist Movements acts as facilitators, communicators, and educators in the feminist resourcing ecosystem. With its members it convenes, collaborates and advocates for more and better resourcing for feminist movements. The Alliance is guided by a Steering Group directly chosen by its members. Current Steering Group members include the governments of Canada and Malawi, the Ford Foundation, and Foundation for a Just Society, Women’s Fund Asia, Mama Cash, XOESE, Resurj, APWLD, and Mujeres Transformando.

For any questions or inquiries, please contact info@allianceforfeministmovements.org.