Women & Girls in MENA Underfunded Without Next-Generation Female Philanthropists

With a rise in political and humanitarian crises and genocides incessantly affecting our region, it is crucial to empower female philanthropists to prioritize women and girls at the center of funding, reconstruction, and recovery. 

The Middle East & North Africa (MENA) has a chronic data deficit in policy, humanitarian management, and community crises. The Pearl Initiative and the Zovighian Partnership (ZP), with the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, teamed up to respond to this dearth of data. They studied next-generation philanthropy in the region and published a first-time regional report, titled, “Grounded in tradition, looking to the future: Understanding next-generation philanthropy in the Middle East.” 

We surveyed 83 next-generation philanthropists in or from the MENA region in an extensive survey that took participants an average of 16-25 minutes to complete. The data collected is not just diverse but also deep and unique. Our cohort of next-generation philanthropists largely come from or are based in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries (55%) and the Levant and Egypt (28%); some are based in Europe and North America (17%). The top three represented countries were the United Arab Emirates (27%), the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (24%), and Lebanon (22%). Of note, women represent almost 70% of the sample. 

Women & girls are an under-supported group 

While over 45% of the cohort shared that they support women and girls, female philanthropists demonstrated a clear pattern of giving to empower women and girls. Fifty percent of surveyed female philanthropists (compared to 20% of male philanthropists) focus their efforts on this giving priority.  

The case for diversity 

This finding presents a clear case for having empowered female decision-makers on boards and funding committees. Without them, women and girls are significantly less likely to receive support. In the MENA region, less than 17% of seats in the national parliament are held by women, which significantly restricts policies and regulations regarding women and girls. In this environment, women and girls affected by economic, environmental, and political conflicts will continue to be barred from development and growth. Without access to philanthropic support, the region will be unable to fully leverage the potential of more than half its population. 

In 2022, women held less than 9% of corporate board seats in 1,148 publicly listed companies in MENA and Turkey. Furthermore, 55.5% of listed companies had zero women board directors. Our research highlighted the harms of philanthropic boards and committees that are not diverse and inclusive.  

We also identified important predictors for investing in women and girls. Next-generation philanthropists with higher annual giving budgets and those who consider empowerment to be an important value for giving are more likely to support initiatives aimed at women and girls. Those who support women and girls are also more likely to invest in youth and children. Our data demonstrated that being a female philanthropist and being motivated to give to build relationships also predicted supporting women and girls.  

Next steps 

By better understanding the barriers to funding women and girls, philanthropists, NGOs, governments, and communities alike can drive women-centered leadership and investment. Not only is restructuring philanthropic boards of family foundations, businesses, and public charities a morally responsible strategy, it is immeasurably harmful if organizations do not step up and transform.  

Critically, boards and organization leaders must not implement quotas just to fill up seats but to ensure that the women brought in to serve in those decision-making capacities (and there is an immense talent pool to choose from) have the capacity and competencies to do so. They must also be empowered and given the direly needed space to share their expertise and priorities. Organizations that embrace reinventing their governance by tapping into the distinctive moral values and principles of women leaders will be able to impact communities and generations in unmatched ways.  

The future of the region relies on these changes. With a rise in political and humanitarian crises and genocides incessantly affecting our region, it is crucial to empower female philanthropists to prioritize women and girls at the center of funding, reconstruction, and recovery. This approach will contribute to a more sustainable, inclusive, and thriving region. The alternative is continued stunted growth, limited sustainability, and few chances for meaningful prosperity and peace. 

The full report and an executive overview are available online in English and Arabic. 

The views represented in this piece are those of the author and do not express the official position of the Wilson Center.