Hey 2020, grateful for all the lessons learned!

At Women Win we pride ourselves on being a learning organisation, but 2020 was a record year for lessons – fast and furious. As we impatiently wave goodbye to 2020, we want to share with you some of the most important ones that we learned together, as a team:

Take care of each other.

With COVID-19 impacting organisations all around the world, we quickly prioritised the preservation of healthy and robust feminist ecosystems that we remain privileged to be a part of. Together we supported each other, co-created tools and provided a light wherever it was needed. We acknowledge with deep gratitude the great unity, flexibility and adaptability shown by all of our collaborators, from our committed funders to our global community of partners. We are so very grateful for this sisterhood.

Continue to adapt and innovate.

The past year has compelled us to explore innovative and flexible ways of working, without leaving our doorstep. We challenged ourselves to think of even better ways to achieve our mission. One such innovation is our new open-source learning platform, Women Win Learning Lab, through which we offer bespoke services to women’s funds, women’s rights organisations and sport for development organisations. Watch this space in 2021.

Disrupt the structures.

Since 2019 we have been embarking on a journey of questioning inequitable power structures, our own included. This process has been deeply personal, at times overwhelming, but always inspiring. We understand that we have a long way to go, but we are very committed to the journey. Moreover, we took a big step in dedicating ourselves to democratising philanthropy. This year we engaged in several innovative pooled-fund initiatives, such as the Global Resilience Fund for Adolescent Girls and Young Women, the ONSIDE  Fund to advance gender justice in sports, and the Numun Fund to advance feminist digital strategies. All of these efforts place girls and women significantly more at the centre of philanthropy.

Celebrate your daughters.

This year also saw our own family expand. In 2020, our girls’ rights through sports work received an exciting rebrand: GRLS, along with Win-Win Strategies forming the two key pillars of the mother organisation, Women Win. Embedded within our multifunctional girls’ and women’s fund, these pillars will work collectively towards a future where every girl and woman exercises their rights, each in their focused area of expertise:

• GRLS, whose mission is to advance the playing field that empowers adolescent girls and young women through sport and play.
• Win-Win Strategies, whose mission is to connect the power of business with the deep assets of women’s funds and organisations.

Have a look at our newly rebranded website and learn more about our work!

But most of all, be grateful.

Lastly and most importantly, 2020 brought us perspective. We have been motivated and exhausted, strong and vulnerable, empowered and helpless, and sometimes, often at the same time. And yet, we continue to be deeply inspired by the girls and women around the world who come together to create alternative visions of what the world can look like, reclaiming their rights as fervently as they reclaim the playing fields, public spaces, and executive suites.

A heartfelt thank you to all of our partners and friends. But most of all, a very deep thank you to all adolescent girls and women out there, your restless passion is the light at the end of our tunnel.