By Surita Sandosham, President and CEO, Heifer International

Yazmin Judit Hau Tun, right, holds ears of corn harvested from her milpa, a traditional Indigenous farming system that sustains families and local food production. Photo by Phillip Davis/Heifer International.

I am writing this in the lead-up to International Women’s Day on March 8 — an occasion each year when we recognize the need to ensure that women everywhere have equal opportunities to learn, grow, work, innovate, speak up and lead.

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By Allie Renar, Sahar Education

Afghanistan is facing one of the most severe gender apartheid regimes in modern history. Since the Taliban regained power in 2021, Afghan women and girls have been systematically erased from public life—barred from education, employment, and even the freedom to move independently. The world is witnessing an extreme rollback of women’s rights, where generations of progress are being wiped out.

Yet, despite these oppressive restrictions, Sahar Education is keeping hope alive. By offering underground and virtual education programs, Sahar is ensuring that Afghan women and girls can continue to learn, build independence, and prepare for a future beyond the bans imposed on them.

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By buildOn Staff

Sandra de Jesús Gurdián in Santa Teresa, Nicaragua. Photo: buildOn

In communities around the world, access to education is not just about learning—it’s about equity, opportunity, and breaking cycles of poverty. For women and girls, the barriers to education can be even greater, with societal expectations, financial hardship, and outdated gender norms often standing in the way. But when women like Sandra de Jesús Gurdián gain access to education, they don’t just transform their own lives—they uplift entire communities. Sandra’s journey, from a young girl who refused to let poverty keep her out of school to a teacher empowering the next generation, is a powerful testament to the role education plays in achieving gender equity. With the support of buildOn, communities like Santa Teresa are ensuring that both girls and boys have the opportunity to learn, grow, and build a brighter future together.

In Santa Teresa, Nicaragua, Sandra de Jesús Gurdián stands in her beautiful new classroom, surrounded by students who are excited to learn. Her brand new school is just the latest chapter in an inspiring life filled with hard work and dedication in the face of adversity.

Her journey from a barefoot student to confident teacher reveals the transformative power of education.

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By Meera Satpathy, Founder and Chairperson, Sukarya

Adolescent Girls Advocate for Gender Equality and Safety through Powerful Posters. Photo: Sukarya

Understanding Gender Equality: A Foundation for Change

Gender equality ensures that women, men, girls, and boys have equal rights and access to resources, opportunities, and protections. Investing in gender equality has lasting positive impacts on children and their communities, creating significant benefits across generations. When women’s rights and well-being are upheld, children’s rights and overall well-being also improve.

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By Agnes Rogo and Estefanny Molina, Women’s Link Worldwide

Defective contraceptives have become a silent weapon in the systemic neglect of women’s health, disproportionately harming communities particularly in low-income countries. While access to family planning is a fundamental human right, racialized disparities in pharmaceutical quality control and regulatory oversight have turned contraceptives into sources of trauma rather than empowerment. From Africa to Latin America, the consequences of this injustice—unplanned and forced pregnancies, economic destabilization, and shattered life plans—reveal a pattern of corporate negligence and governmental failure that demands urgent redress.

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By Esther Mwaura-Muiru, Stand for Her Land Global Advocacy Director

The S4HL Uganda Coalition launches in 2022. Photo: Landesa

A non-profit organization focused on smallholder farmer livelihoods. A government land governance learning week. An investigative radio show protecting human rights.

In Uganda, development initiatives pursuing a common agenda to address gender inequality and sustainable development have found a unifying theme: women’s land rights. The Stand for Her Land (S4HL) Uganda Coalition—part of S4HL, the global campaign for women’s land rights—brings together civil society organizations, government stakeholders, and other key actors in a collective movement to realize women’s fundamental rights to land, properties, housing, and natural resources.

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By Katherine Redington, Vice President of Social Impact Journeys, Elevate Destinations

Donor trips, journeys that take funders to see the work they are investing in abroad, have long been used as a catalyst for transformational giving, donor retention, and cultivating more meaningful relationships. However, not all donor trips achieve these outcomes. That is because the outcomes from trips directly result from how a journey’s priorities are implemented before, during, and after the trip. After designing 300 donor trips with over 80 different organizations, I have seen a lot of mistakes that can derail these desired outcomes. Below are five of the most common mistakes nonprofits make when designing their donor trips.

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By Randi Hedin, Board Member, buildOn

Men and women mixing concrete to build a school; Malawi. Photo: buildOn

On the surface, the fight for gender equity seems to be making tremendous strides. Women are graduating from college in record numbers—as many as 46 percent of women aged 25-34 in the U.S. currently hold bachelor’s degrees (up from only 8 percent in 1970.) Across the world, 41 percent of women hold post-secondary degrees. Here in Seattle, at the University of Washington, 56.7% of all undergraduate and graduate degrees were awarded to women. Women wield considerable economic clout, too. Within the next five years, women are expected to control as much as 75 percent of all discretionary spending worldwide. 

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Summary prepared by Janet Pearson on behalf of the site visit team that also included Betsy Hale and Diane Logan.

Pangea site visits are unique opportunities to further a core element of our mission, which is to engage in trust-based partnerships with grassroots organizations. Our recent visit to Guatemala provided the opportunity for careful listening and deep conversations.

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By Irene Nyambura and Julia Boharski, World Concern

Women leaders in OVT Azanga, DRC. Photo: World Concern

In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), gender inequality is deeply rooted in cultural norms and further exacerbated by over thirty years of conflict. DRC ranks 140^th out of 146 countries on the Global Gender Gap Index 2024, which assesses economic participation, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment.[1] Recent research shows that over 50% of women are survivors of domestic violence, nearly 40% marry before the age of 18, and only 7% of women occupy high level positions in the national government and parliament in DRC.[2] To reduce the outcomes of gender disparity, World Concern, in partnership with local communities and the Diocese of Aru, is implementing holistic programming that addresses the root causes of gender inequality. Through these initiatives, World Concern is witnessing transformative change in the lives of women, their families, and their communities.

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