Dear Friend,

Today is International Day of the Girl and the 10^th anniversary of the United Nations sanctioned day. The theme is: Our time is now – our rights, our future, a powerful message to leaders that girls are ready for a decade of acceleration forward.

Investment in girls’ rights remains limited and girls continue to face many challenges to fulfilling their potential. Girls around the world face barriers to their education, their physical and mental wellness, and the protections needed for a life without violence, especially girls with disabilities.

COVID-19 has only worsened existing burdens on girls globally and worn away important gains made over the last decade. Around the world, 129 million girls are out of school, including 32 million of primary school age, 30 million of lower-secondary school age, and 67 million of upper-secondary school age.

International Day of the Girl is an important reminder and call to action to invest in a future that recognises their agency, leadership and potential.

We know that to increase resources for, and investments in, girls and women, we need robust research, evidence and data.

Last week we launched an important new research report, ‘A Home of One’s Own: Philanthropic and social sector solutions for women’s housing’, undertaken by Per Capita Australia.

The report, which highlights the experience of women in Australia’s mounting housing affordability crisis, reinforces the need to apply a gender lens to the available data to get the full picture, as well as centring women in the solutions.

This theme of the crucial role that research and evidence has in driving progress towards gender equality, was central to our annual Gender-Wise Event held in partnership with the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership (GIWL).

We were honoured to hear from The Hon. Julia Gillard AC, and the Directors of GIWL, Professor Rosie Campbell and Professor Michelle Ryan about GIWL’s achievements and ambitions.

We have also invested in a new research report, undertaken by Deloitte Access Economics, on the economic impacts of gender norms, which will be launched next month on 3 November. We hope you can join us for the virtual launch.

Beyond our growing research agenda, we were thrilled to team up with Australian Environmental Grantmakers Network and GiveOUT to deliver a masterclass as part of the recent Philanthropy Australia Conference on how to apply different lenses to giving – taking the evidence, considering intersectionality, and transforming insights into tangible action on gender.

This past month has also seen Australians Investing In Women (AIIW) welcome a new board member, Professor Doug Hilton AO; and a new team member to take on the role of Communications and Engagement Manager.

This is an exciting time for AIIW as we grow our capacity to strengthen society and advance gender equality by increasing investment in women and girls.

Tonight, for the International Day of the Girl we are proud to partner with The Funding Network on a live crowdfunding event to spotlight the remarkable work of three local not-for-profits creating positive outcomes for women and girls in Victoria.

If you’re looking for other actions to take today – take a look at the UNICEF website for a range of ways to get involved in #IDG2022.

Thank you for your continued support of Australians Investing In Women and Happy #DayOfTheGirl.

With thanks and warm regards,