Reflecting on Skoll World Forum 2024: the time is now to invest in girls' and women’s movements

It’s hard to attend the Skoll World Forum and not leave feeling energised, uplifted, and inspired. Hearing the stories of and sharing ideas with some of the world’s most influential and enduring change-makers acts as a jolt of adrenaline as we consider the challenges we face in our own work.

Movements are powerful catalysts for change

Our week in Oxford reminded us of a few core truths that should underline everything we do. The first is that movements are powerful. Focusing on movements with a shared agenda for change is pivotal in achieving gender equality. These movements are connected by solidarity, care, and togetherness, but they are also made up of incredible people who need investment and funding to thrive in their work. Our CEO, Dr Faith Mwangi-Powell, spoke on a powerful panel convened by the Alliance for Women and Girls to share how networks are the agents of change in our own work to end child marriage.

But it is important to remember that for social change to be truly transformational we must reshape systems and power, so they work for everyone. Representation alone does not equate to power, so change needs to be deep and about reimagining the narrative so that everyone feels like they are a stakeholder in the world.

In these challenging times, we need more investment in girls and women

This work takes courage, conviction, and time. In the face of so many interconnected crises, increasing conservatism and shrinking space for civil society, along with increased (often legislative) restrictions on women and girls, we need more investment during these challenging times but official development assistance (ODA) to girls and women is in decline. These growing challenges may be seen as risky by many donors so there is more onus on philanthropy than ever to show up, but the same applies to governments: they need to be more accountable and proactive.

It also means that players who have not traditionally operated in more challenges spaces should start to think about it. With so many conflicts and humanitarian disasters, organisations need to consider whether this is a space they need to move into. Worldwide, there are 340 million people reliant on aid, 20 million people in Afghanistan. These crises are changing how we think about our work and the face of funding, but it’s important that we continue to look for solutions from those individuals, and organisations, who have been there from the start. They are the experts, the people who know the place, the power dynamics, and the personalities.

Courageous and compassionate leaders can pave the way

Even in the face of these daunting challenges, though, there are grounds for optimism. We were reminded of the importance of compassionate leadership by Jacinda Ardern and courageous and actionable leadership by Mary Robinson, Amal Clooney, and Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein. And we are starting to see the shoots of our next generation of leaders emerging. There are more women in university than ever before. There is growing energy and optimism from young women in the global south. That alone meant we could leave Oxford feeling connected, creative, collaborative and — above all — hopeful.