Announcing the Gender Economic Equity Program
We’re thrilled to announce the launch of our newest initiative – The Gender Economic Equity Program (GEEP).
This initiative will provide multi-year general operating grants to organizations in the care sector – one of the most essential yet underfunded pillars of the economy. Encompassing child care, elder care, health care, domestic work, and disability care, the care economy relies heavily on women and other marginalized genders to shoulder a disproportionate share of both paid and unpaid care work. This imbalance remains a key driver of gender inequity.
By investing in the care sector, GEEP aims to advance the efforts, knowledge, and impact of organizations working in this industry to strengthen innovative care models that are equitable, inclusive, and contribute to long-term social transformation.
The Gender Economic Equity Program will:
- Strengthen organizational capacity: Support grantees in integrating gender equity into their operations and workplace culture.
- Build collaboration: Foster shared learning, collaboration, and support through a Community of Practice.
- Advance equitable care model innovation: Deepen understanding of how to develop and strengthen equitable care models.
- Guide systems-level change: Develop evaluation tools to measure change and inform sector-wide improvements.
- Advocate for increased investment: Encourage policymakers and funders to prioritize equitable care systems.
In its inaugural year, four grantee organizations will participate. These grantees will be announced in April 2025. Applications for GEEP are by invitation only.
The Details
Grant Amount: Each grantee organization will receive $235,000 over three years, allocated as follows:
- $50,000/year (3 years) for general operating support.
- $25,000/year (3 years) for staff wellness initiatives.
- $10,000 one-time grant to pilot a gender equity initiative (Year 2).
Gender Equity Designer Program: GEEP prioritizes peer learning, exchange, and collaboration. In addition to receiving multi-year funding, grantee organizations will convene in a cohort that meets regularly over the grant period to learn about gender equity design, practice implementation, and share challenges and best practices. Each grantee organization will send four representatives to participate in the 6-month Gender Equity Designer Program. The curriculum prepares grantee organizations to design and evaluate effective equity strategies that center individuals and communities historically impacted by gender inequities by adopting an equity mindset and a gender lens. Participants will learn best practices, powerful techniques, and key performance indicators for designing equitable organizations, communities, and systems. These training sessions will be held twice monthly for two hours each and run from June to December 2025.
Community of Practice: The Community of Practice aims to explore and determine best practices as grantees relate gender equity to care work. Community members will implement a gender equity initiative in Year Two, using and engaging in continuous learning by discussing challenges, sharing evidence-based solutions, and fostering mutual support. This will run from January 2026 to April 2028.
Through these elements, GEEP will catalyze meaningful systems-level change and drive the care sector toward a more just and equitable future. We’re excited to see how these incredible organizations will innovate and lead the way in advancing gender economic equity!
