Our assessments of impact in recent years show strong results at both community and movement levels. Project monitoring indicates a clear concentration on initiatives that directly engage women, girls, and structurally marginalized groups.
A significant number of projects achieved direct, tangible impact, particularly those working with adolescent girls, displaced women, women in penitentiary and probation systems, and LGBTQI+ communities. These initiatives created safer spaces for learning and dialogue, supported income generation through small businesses, and increased visibility of issues such as menstruation, body image, gender-based violence, displacement, and queer identity.
Even where feminist language was not always explicitly used, especially in adolescent and STEM-focused projects, activities still contributed to feminist outcomes. They expanded girls’ access to knowledge, created leadership opportunities, and strengthened their public voice.
From a feminist impact perspective, the most transformative projects were those that combined rights-based analysis, advocacy, and sustained engagement with systems of power. Work with women in penitentiary and probation systems stands out as a high-impact feminist intervention. These initiatives centered women’s lived experiences, challenged institutional violence, and directly engaged state actors, contributing to structural change despite often limited resources.
Projects supporting displaced women from Nagorno-Karabakh generated meaningful economic and social empowerment. They strengthened women’s financial autonomy while building solidarity among those affected by conflict and displacement. At the same time, some of these initiatives relied on more traditional empowerment narratives, indicating space for deeper feminist politicization and intersectional analysis.
Youth- and art-based projects played an important role in long-term movement building and narrative change. Peer-led initiatives addressing menstruation, body image, media literacy, and adolescent girls’ issues contributed to early feminist consciousness-raising. They helped break silence around gender norms and bodily autonomy among younger generations.
Cultural and media projects, including documentary filmmaking, feminist and queer art performances, and public discussions, expanded feminist discourse into the public sphere. These efforts influenced perceptions, fostered empathy, and legitimized women’s and queer stories as political. While their impact was often indirect, they strengthened the cultural foundations necessary for sustained advocacy and social transformation.
Across the portfolio, monitoring also revealed structural constraints affecting feminist impact. These include overreliance on individual leaders, uneven capacity among younger participants, and limited delegation and collective leadership. Such patterns reflect broader challenges within feminist and civil society movements, including burnout, stalled generational transition, and fragile solidarity.
Nevertheless, projects that intentionally shared visibility, mentored younger activists, and practiced collective approaches demonstrated stronger sustainability and deeper impact.
Overall, the monitored initiatives advanced feminist goals by increasing women’s agency, visibility, and participation.
