From Igniting Change to Embedding Gender Equity
What Philanthropy Must Do to Build an Economy That Works for All
What will it take for philanthropy to create measurable, sustainable impact in the communities we serve and transform the systems that shape economic opportunity?
That question was at the heart of the 2026 Asset Funders Network National Conference, Igniting Change for Inclusive Prosperity, which brought more than 300 grantmakers together in Philadelphia this October. Across conversations about equitable wealth building, economic mobility, and economic security, one message emerged with unmistakable urgency: Philanthropy cannot build a more equitable economic system while clinging to the very practices, power dynamics, and mindsets that have helped sustain inequity.
“Philanthropy cannot build a more equitable economic system while clinging to the very practices, power dynamics, and mindsets that have helped sustain inequity.”
Funders were challenged to break down silos, collaborate with communities experiencing economic insecurity, invest for the long term, redefine risk, shift from caretaking to changemaking, and prioritize the well-being of those advancing gender and racial equity.
These are not new demands. For years, advocates, nonprofit leaders, and communities closest to economic injustice have called on philanthropy to share power, trust those doing the work, and challenge the systems that perpetuate inequality. And yet, the sector continues to struggle to put these principles into practice.
At WOMEN’S WAY, we believe gender equity must be at the center of this transformation. Women and all gender marginalized people, particularly those facing intersecting forms of racial and economic discrimination, experience some of the most persistent barriers to economic security and wealth building. These inequities are not isolated problems. They reflect how our economic systems have been designed, whose contributions are valued, and whose needs and experiences have been overlooked.
When we design an economy that works for those who have been most marginalized, we create the foundation for an economy that works for all.
We Have Seen What Is Possible. So Why Did We Go Back?
During the COVID-19 crisis, philanthropy demonstrated that it could operate differently. More funders provided unrestricted support, moved resources more quickly, relaxed reporting requirements, and trusted organizations closest to their communities to determine how best to respond.
For a moment, philanthropy disrupted its own conventions. It demonstrated that trust, flexibility, and collaboration were possible, even under extraordinary pressure.
But as the immediate crisis receded, much of philanthropy returned to familiar patterns: restricted grants, short funding cycles, burdensome reporting requirements, and a preference for immediate, measurable outcomes over long-term systems change.
Why can philanthropy embrace flexibility in a crisis but struggle to sustain it when addressing the deeply entrenched gender and racial inequities that shape our economy?
At WOMEN’S WAY, we believe part of the answer lies in the gap between believing in gender equity and knowing how to embed it into the everyday practices, policies, relationships, and cultures of institutions. Closing that gap requires both an equity mindset and an equity process.
Gender Equity Is Not Simply What We Fund. It Is How We Operate.
Gender inequities are deeply embedded in the structures of our economy — from how paid and unpaid work are valued to who has access to capital, wealth-building opportunities, economic security, and decision-making power. These inequities are compounded by race, class, and other intersecting forms of discrimination.
Addressing them requires more than funding programs that support marginalized genders. It requires philanthropy to examine how its own assumptions, policies, and practices may reinforce the inequities it seeks to dismantle.
A gender equity mindset challenges us to question whose expertise counts, what constitutes risk, who deserves trust, and what success looks like. It asks us to recognize how gender, race, and power shape economic opportunity — and how these same dynamics operate within philanthropic institutions.
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A gender equity process translates that mindset into action. It changes how funding decisions are made, how investments are structured, how grantees are treated, how impact is measured, and how accountability is shared. It ensures that the experiences and perspectives of women and gender non-conforming people inform not only what philanthropy funds, but how it operates.
Without the mindset, gender equity practices can become a checklist. Without the process, a gender equity mindset remains an aspiration. Transformational change requires both: a willingness to unlearn the assumptions that sustain gender and racial inequities and the practical tools to build something different.
From Inspiration to Transformation: The Deep Work of Embedding Gender Equity
Conferences can inspire us, challenge our assumptions, and introduce new possibilities. But inspiration alone does not change institutional behavior.
Developing a gender equity-centered mindset — and putting that mindset into practice — is deep, intentional, and ongoing work. It requires learning, unlearning, honest reflection, and sustained practice. It demands that we question deeply ingrained beliefs about gender, power, economic value, and whose knowledge matters. It requires engaging with perspectives that challenge our own, sitting with discomfort, and recognizing that even well-intentioned practices can perpetuate inequity.
And changing individual mindsets is only the beginning. A funder may recognize the economic consequences of unpaid caregiving but continue to support strategies that overlook care infrastructure. A foundation may champion women’s economic mobility while maintaining investment practices that fail to consider gender disparities. An institution may commit to advancing gender equity while requiring grantees to demonstrate short-term outcomes for challenges rooted in generations of structural discrimination. Or it may champion women’s leadership while maintaining funding requirements that disproportionately disadvantage smaller, women-led and grassroots organizations. Without changes to institutional policies and practices, even the strongest individual commitments can falter.
At WOMEN’S WAY, our approach is grounded in our Gender Wealth Framework, which recognizes that gender inequities are structural, interconnected, and deeply embedded in the systems that shape economic security and wealth building.
We believe transforming philanthropy requires creating opportunities for funders to learn alongside peers and people with lived experience, challenge assumptions, examine institutional barriers, experiment with new approaches, and build shared accountability. Equally important is creating the conditions — time, resources, leadership commitment, and space for reflection — that allow new ways of thinking and working to take root.
This is not a one-time training, a checklist, or a new strategic plan. It is an ongoing practice of aligning institutional behavior with gender equity-centered values and continually examining whether our decisions are shifting power, resources, and opportunities toward those who have been historically marginalized.
The goal is not simply to help funders think differently about gender equity. It is to build their capacity to act differently — and embed gender equity into the institutional practices that determine how power and resources flow.
The Call to Action: From Igniting Change to Embedding Gender Equity
The economy we envision — one grounded in equity, liberation, self-determination, and joy — cannot be built without centering the experiences, expertise, and aspirations of women and all marginalized genders, particularly those facing the greatest structural barriers to economic opportunity.
Philanthropy has both the opportunity and the responsibility to help build that future. But doing so requires more than funding programs that address gender inequities (which still receives only a little over 2% of overall philanthropic giving [Source 1] [Source 2].) It also requires embedding gender equity into how philanthropic institutions think, operate, invest, share power, and define success.
The question is no longer whether we know what needs to change. It is whether we are willing to commit to the learning, unlearning, reflection, and sustained practice required to make that change real.
“The question is no longer whether we know what needs to change. It is whether we are willing to commit to the learning, unlearning, reflection, and sustained practice required to make that change real.”
At WOMEN’S WAY, we believe this is how philanthropy moves from caretaking to changemaking, from intention to implementation, and from igniting change to embedding gender equity. Because when we build an economy that works for those who have been most marginalized, we build an economy that works for ALL.
To learn more about our work to equip leaders and organizations with the tools, resources and support they need to redesign with a gender equity lens, visit womenway.org/GEDP.
About The Author
Diane Cornman-Levy is a nonprofit leader, advocate, and educator with more than 30 years of experience advancing gender and economic equity. As Chief Disruptor at WOMEN’S WAY, she leads efforts to challenge systems that perpetuate inequity and develops innovative approaches to build collective action and advance gender equity across the greater Philadelphia region.
