Like many organizations in the women’s funding community, Women’s Funding Network had a robust year of working on the issues most important to women, including financial empowerment, collaborating with men as allies, and strategic leveraging as a donor and an advocate.

To go a little deeper into this past year of activity in feminist philanthropy, we decided to talk to Cynthia Nimmo, CEO of the Women’s Funding Network, and hear about what it felt like to run one of the most important organizations in the women’s funding space.

By operating regionally or at the state level, women’s funds add an essential level of leadership to gender equality work, since they are not controlled by government or corporate entities. This gives women’s funds the freedom to speak and act on issues that impact women, with less fear of political or corporate retaliation.

In Cynthia Nimmo’s responses below, you will hear how WFN increased knowledge and strategy for gender equality on so many critical issues this past year.

KM: What epiphanies about gender equality came up for you or your staff this year?

CN: The epiphany came around how many people are involved in gender equality, men and women, from within philanthropy and beyond.  Another is about the necessity of including a racial equity lens in gender equity work.

KM: In the next 10 years, where do you see gender equality movements taking us?

CN: The conversation will become far more nuanced than a general push for equal rights.  We’re already seeing the beginnings of this, from why it’s important to have more women in the corporate boardroom, to why having a representative government is critical for our democracy.

Read the full article about gender equality by Kiersten Marek at Philanthropy Women.