Research conducted by The Centre for Regional, Economic and Social Research (CRESR) at Sheffield Hallam University, and commissioned by Rosa, National Lottery Community Fund, and Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, details the perilous state of funding for women’s and girls’ organisations across the UK.
The report aims to provide a snapshot of the women and girls sector across the UK and its funding for the year 2021.
Dr Christopher Damm, Research Fellow at the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research at Sheffield Hallam University, explains:
“Our team at CRESR were delighted to have the opportunity to map the UK women’s and girls’ voluntary sector and its funding for the first time. The results highlight the sectors’ important and diverse work with women and girls across the country, which remains vital in a climate of persistent gender inequality.”
The research reveals that in 2021, a total of £4.1 billion worth of grants was awarded to charities, but the women and girls sector received just 1.8% of these. In addition, one-third of all grants for ‘women and girls’ focussed activity – worth £24.7m – went to organisations with no specific focus on women and girls. This suggests a worrying lack of priority for the women and girls sector.
Rebecca Gill, Rosa’s CEO, shares her reflections on the research:
“The UK’s women and girls sector is not getting the investment it needs or deserves and this is putting its long-term sustainability at risk, to the detriment of women and girls across the country. As the research shows, there is a tiny pot of funding available to deliver campaigning, advocacy and service delivery for over half the population.
Not only are the odds for securing funding stacked against them but the majority of grants given to women’s and girls’ organisations were for less than £10,000. To add to this, the tiny amounts of funding are unevenly distributed: micro and small organisations make up 86.5% of the sector by number, yet they receive just 3.9% of the total income. In our experience, these organisations often have women with lived experience driving this work, bringing unique perspectives, expertise, and insight that can help shape the sector.”
The researchers analysed data from a range of sources, including Charity Commission, 360Giving, Contracts Finder and Companies House data, among others. This allowed for a comprehensive mapping of the funding of women’s and girls’ organisations in the UK in 2021.
Annabel Durling, Funding Manager at Esmée Fairbairn, explains:
“In nearly two decades of funding organisations supporting women and girls in the UK, we know the crucial role that women and girls’ organisations play in supporting women and girls to live safe and full lives. We’ve also seen where their tireless advocacy has had a huge impact – changing the course of legislation, policy and practice. This research highlights the extent the sector is underfunded and need for more investment to ensure they are able to continue their valuable work.”
All three funders helped to develop the research brief, interviewed researchers, and steered the research.
David Knott, Chief Executive of The National Lottery Community Fund, said:
“Funding women-led organisations is important to us at The National Lottery Community Fund and is part of our commitment to ensuring we help communities across the UK to thrive. We’re proud to be one of the partners of this report as we know its invaluable insights will help us, and fellow funders, shape how we support, invest and have a positive impact in the women and girls sector in years to come.”
The researchers did encounter many challenges and gaps relating to voluntary sector data, but their research provides the most comprehensive attempt yet to explore the overall size and shape of the women and girls sector and its funding across all four UK nations.
Rebecca Gill, Rosa’s CEO, adds:
“It is our hope that our fellow funders across the UK and internationally will use this research to consider how they actively and sustainably support, invest in and commission the women and girls sector over the coming years. We also hope that women’s and girls’ organisations will be able to use this information to support and fund their work, particularly as they make the case to funders for investment.
Whilst this research has made significant progress in mapping the funding that is going into the women and girls sector, further research is needed, and our next steps will be to gather insights from leaders of women’s and girls’ organisations to better understand the income they receive, their funding requirements and future outlook.”
To find out more about the research and its findings, please download a copy of the report here.