Dear Friends, 

As Australians Investing in Women enters its next chapter, I’m pleased to share a snapshot of our 2026–2030 Strategy, a refined, ambitious plan to accelerate gender equality and strengthen the systems that enable it. 

Our purpose remains constant: to increase funding for women and girls that delivers greater gender equality, productivity, and a stronger, safer society for all. But how we bring that purpose to life has matured and will continue to evolve. 

From awareness to activation 

Exactly five years ago, we announced our evolution from the Australian Women Donors Network to Australians Investing in Women. 

Today, as we mark 15 years of progress, we reflect with pride on the strong foundations AIIW has built, strengthening advocacy for gender-wise giving and establishing a credible, trusted voice across the philanthropic and social investment sectors. We thank the many people who have been part of this collective effort. 

Over that time, we’ve seen the conversation shift from why gender equality matters to how to embed it in practice. 

Our new strategy takes that next big step: moving from awareness to activation, from individual influence to coordinated impact across philanthropy, investment, and policy. 

From advocacy to alignment 

We’ve refined our focus around three interconnected pillars that, together, drive systemic change: 

• Leadership & Influence: shaping mindsets, norms, and policy so that gender equality becomes a shared national priority. 

• Practice Change: equipping funders and investors with tools, data, and shared learning to integrate a gender lens in decision making and capital flow. 

• Convening Collective Action: bringing funders, investors and partners across sectors together through shared research and demonstration projects to scale what works. 

Through our convening work, we’ll continue to produce flagship research and resources on the domains that matter most, including gender norms, housing, and economic participation, and expand the evidence base on intersectionality and First Nations priorities.  

From philanthropy to the whole of capital 

While philanthropy remains central to our work, we are expanding our reach to influence the flow of all forms of capital. From wealth managers and corporate leaders to policymakers and funders, our aim is to embed gender-lens thinking wherever money moves, because, as we’ve seen through our work with Perpetual and informed giving, that’s where real, measurable progress begins. 

From insight to measurable change 

Our research, data and stories will continue to anchor our work, but with renewed focus on activation. Initiatives like the State of Gender-wise Giving Survey, and Stories of Impact will demonstrate how gender-lens funding delivers tangible returns for women, girls, and the broader community. 

This next chapter is a deliberate evolution: focused, collaborative, and bold in its ambition. We’re not just strengthening a movement; we’re accelerating a systems shift. 

As always, we invite you to walk alongside us. Together, we can ensure that investing in women and girls is recognised as smart, strategic, and essential to our collective prosperity. 

To keep up to date with more on this strategy roll-out, please subscribe to our quarterly publication, Through the Lens.  

With thanks and warmest regards,
Julie Reilly OAM
CEO, Australians Investing in Women