Johnson Sirleaf: Aid cuts could erase women from public life

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was Africa’s first democratically elected woman head of state, leading Liberia as president between 2006 and 2018. She is also a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and the founder of the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center for Women and Development.

The dismantling of USAID and cuts to aid funding by other traditional donors is causing nothing short of an existential crisis for the international development sector.

The void left by USAID leaves a $60 billion hole to fill, while the U.K. government’s roll-back adds another $6 billion to the tally. If we do not mobilise a coordinated, global response, we risk doing irreparable damage and falling further behind on critical development milestones.

This crisis will affect women’s public leadership particularly hard. The U.S. has historically been one of the biggest funders for global gender programmes; in 2023 alone, the Biden administration requested a record $2.6 billion in funding for foreign assistance programmes that promoted gender equality.

This money has supported a global ecosystem of civil society organisations focused on women’s public leadership.

These organisations are in a precarious financial situation even at the best of times. One grant cancellation can make the difference in their ability to keep the lights on and pay their staff. If the funding gap isn’t filled urgently, many of them will close. Their work will come to a halt, and the ecosystem will be dismantled.

This will have a knock-on effect for the pipeline of women seeking positions of public leadership; the programmes run by these groups play a critical role in helping them develop the leadership, communications, and campaigning skills they need to succeed.

If this is allowed to happen, it won’t just be catastrophic for women who want to enter public service, it will be bad for all of us.

With 2030 around the corner, we are losing time to make progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which set critical targets on the pathway towards creating a more equal and sustainable world.

Almost 75% of all SDGs are significantly influenced by gender equality. So, if we slow progress in that area, we risk progress across the board.

Plenty of women ready to lead

The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), which takes place from March 11- 22, provides a crucial opportunity to mobilise global action, but we have to make the most of it. While it is less well-known than International Women’s Day – which it follows every year – CSW is hosted by the United Nations and brings together gender equality groups, activists, and funders from around the world to discuss how to advance women’s rights and equality.

This year’s gathering is particularly important because it will mark the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action — the roadmap created in 1995 to steer the world towards a more gender-equal world. Like Beijing, CSW needs to be a true “platform for action” and not just another “talk shop”.

There are three critical priorities we must address. The first is to elevate gender in the global discussion about the aid cuts.

Much of the conversation so far has focused on other areas such as climate change and public health. These are critical, of course, but they are also deeply intertwined with gender equality work. We must make those connections clear and ensure that funding for gender programmes is prioritised.

Second, we need to mobilise new funding sources to help close the gap. It has been heartening to see action from funders such as Pivotal Ventures to help fill funding shortfalls. We need more of these commitments from philanthropic donors, and they should be closely coordinated.

Finally, we must continue to invest in women’s public leadership.

Supporting women with ambitions to run for public office can sometimes seem risky for philanthropic funders not familiar with this space.

It’s tricky territory with important lines that can’t be crossed, particularly when elections are in the offing. But it is also critical for building strong and resilient democracies that invest in development.

There are plenty of women ready to lead. Women like those in the Amujae Initiative, a network of highly accomplished women public leaders on the African continent, convened by my organisation.

There are many issues competing for attention and funding during this tumultuous time, and gender equality must remain high on the agenda. If we don’t invest in women now, we will look back at this moment as a missed opportunity with significant consequences for global development.