Development financing for gender equality amounted to 40% of official development assistance (ODA) in 2021. However, only 8% of private development philanthropy was focused on gender. This difference in gender priority in public and philanthropic actors is stark. Therefore, it is not surprising that activists are calling for greater philanthropic investment for gender, particularly in long-term, core grants to women's funds and feminist movements.

This framing note presents an overview of governmental gender financing trends, revealing that things are not as robust as they appear. It also provides an analysis that contextualises the activists’ demand for more and better quality funding from all development funders and outlines the core challenges faced when funders design their strategies and build their investment portfolios.