The Women’s Leadership Initiative is a worldwide collaborative effort focused on promoting women's full and meaningful participation in politics and decision-making at all levels, with a particular emphasis on supporting those who are often the most marginalized.

As a multi-stakeholder initiative funded by the European Union, UN Women will advance the Generation Equality Action Coalition's commitments on Feminist Movements and Leadership by directly supporting civil society and women’s rights organizations, including those led by young women.

The program will focus on collective action, partnerships, coordination, knowledge-sharing, and resource mobilization at global and regional levels through key areas:

- Advocacy & Networking: Strengthen women’s leadership through coordinated advocacy, intergenerational networking, and access to resources and knowledge.
- Global Knowledge Sharing: Expand and disseminate global knowledge on women’s political participation for policy makers and capacity-building efforts.
- Social Norms Change: Promote gender-transformative social norms using evidence-based advocacy and capacity-building initiatives.

Priorities:
- Thematic Expertise: Proven experience in promoting women’s political participation and transforming social norms to advance women’s inclusion, such as work with men, boys, media, and communities.
- Experience: Demonstrated track record in coalition-building among relevant civil society organizations, including collaboration with local stakeholders, government agencies, and women's networks or feminist movements.
- Championing Diverse Leaders: Support for diverse women leaders, including those living with disabilities, Indigenous women, LGBTQI+ women, and those from low-income groups.
- Capacity Building: Experience in empowering women leaders and training young women in political leadership.

Organizations:
- Women’s Rights Focus: Organizations must demonstrate their core mission is dedicated to advancing women’s rights and gender equality.
- Young Women’s Leadership: Organizations led by young women (ages 18-35) will be prioritized, with at least 51% of leadership roles held by young women.
- Marginalized Groups: Preference will be given to organizations led by women with disabilities, or Indigenous women.
- Partnerships for Capacity Building: Lead organizations are encouraged to partner with others to enhance women’s movements and build capacity through collaboration.

The funding will enable UN Women to support the implementation of the AC6 commitments by directly supporting civil society and women's rights organizations, including young women's organizations. These organizations are at the forefront of shifting and redefining social norms to promote gender equality. Strategies may focus on building women's political leadership capacity, mentoring emerging leaders, leveraging convening powers for social norms change, and strengthening feminist movement building.

CSOs/WROs may enhance women's leadership skills through training materials or methodologies, prioritizing underserved women and girls, and connecting existing networks or feminist movements with youth-led or other emerging leaders. Activities may include funding programs that equip feminist leaders with skills to mobilize communities towards shifting social norms through advocacy and coalition building.

Leveraging convening powers for social norms change involves engaging men and boys and key stakeholders, like the media, as agents of change and strategic partners in eliminating discrimination against women and girls. This includes understanding and addressing unequal power relations, gender stereotypes, and practices that perpetuate discrimination.

Bolstering feminist movement building involves direct sub-partnering with additional civil society partners and ensuring representative perspectives in project implementation. Implementation strategies should aim to increase opportunities for women leaders to engage in consultations around new policies and legislations.

Don't miss out on the application deadline which is 11-Nov-2024.