The news of gender-based atrocities, domestic violence, rape and lack of free expression are causes of tremendous discomfort. The last two-and-a half years of the COVID crisis have made it more obvious that such emergencies affect people highly disproportionately. Disadvantaged groups such as migrant workers, women, tribal communities, people with disabilities, LGBTQIA+ groups, and religious minorities who face multi-layered social inequalities have experienced more severe consequences. The pandemic has only made it clearer that for realising transformative social change in any area, we must take a systemic approach that addresses the root causes of social inequities - and gender inequality is at the core of our most intractable problems. Gender inequality which is so deeply embedded into our mindsets, practices, policies compounds the injustices faced by many.

There are reasons to be optimistic. We are now in an era that is seeing a lot of advancement in the socio-development sector in India. There are several grassroots organisations, individuals and movements that are working tirelessly to dismantle the rules and structures that reinforce injustices. They are working on empowering girls, women and non-binary people for better outcomes whether in health, education, water and sanitation or children’s needs and striving for better-distribution of economic growth.

By having the capacity and the autonomy, philanthropy has immense potential to test new ways of promoting equity in social programs. It can be viewed as society’s risk capital that can be directed towards currently underserved complex issues like gender justice. However, according to the India philanthropy Report, gender equality received less than 1 per cent of domestic philanthropic and CSR funding¹. Globally too, while only 5 per cent goes to women and girls for creating gender equality, an even lesser 0.6 per cent of funding currently supports women’s rights, according to the latest figures from Candid².

Furthermore, the pandemic has triggered an unprecedented need for directing resources towards funding life-saving services, further limiting funding for programs related to gender justice. Traditionally, funding for social justice-related work in India has come from foreign sources, but this has also been gradually drying up. The need of the hour is two-fold. Firstly, there is a need for more funding for advancing gender justice and human rights. Secondly, there is a need to focus on ‘how’ funders are unpacking the root causes of discrimination and violence and how they are empowering those who are living that reality.

Philanthropy, whether by individuals, foundations or corporates, can adapt a lens of gender equity in all their support in different areas, even if this might not be their core area of work. Philanthropists and funders can create greater social impact by adopting practices like having an inclusive board and team, providing multi-year flexible support to grassroot organizations, listening to and empowering the marginalized, supporting women’s funds, rights-based, community-driven approaches to development, and policy advocacy aimed at social justice.  

There are examples of Indian philanthropists who are supporting efforts focused on the root causes of injustices, and are finding structural solutions to them. We need to give further impetus to this trend. Because without gender justice, achieving the audacious sustainable development goals will remain impossible.