Since our inception in 2007, Women Win has quickly emerged as a thought leader, strategically positioned at the intersection of the adolescent girls’ and young women's rights and sport for development sectors. We believe sport is a powerful strategy to empower girls and address gender inequity. Gender inequity remains one of the most pervasive and entrenched problems in the world. It directly and indirectly affects all of us and prevents our societies from developing and thriving.
We employ a rights based approach and target three key thematic areas that we see as accelerators in helping girls and women achieve their rights:
• Addressing gender based violence
• Accessing sexual and reproductive health and rights
• Achieving economic empowerment
Our mission, to equip adolescent girls to exercise their rights through sport, is achieved by connecting the global sport, development and women’s movements. We seek to introduce products that give access to knowledge, effective strategies and models to promote the work through open-source tools based on grassroots approaches. Moreover, Women Win aims to develop a “bank” of strategies, knowledge, skills and tools to create, influence and expand policies and practices that promote gender equality.
Women Win’s Target Group
Women Win believes that girls and young women are powerful agents of change. When a girl is empowered and given a chance, she will grow into a strong leader. There are more than 580 million adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in the world aged 10 to 19 years, of which roughly 90 million are in low-income countries1 where the per capita income for those who live in poverty2 is less than USD 1,005 per year. This group is Women Win’s primary target group.
How We Work
Women Win is most effective as a convener, innovator and pollinator of impactful strategies, resources and tools. There is a real need at every level for strategies, direct and indirect support, capacity building, and tools to create quality sports programmes that empower girls and young women in achieving their rights. In 2011 we launched our first interactive, online guide: International Guide To Developing Sport Programmes for Girls. We have continued to build on its success by developing and launching the following:
• International Guide to Addressing Gender-Based Violence Through Sport
• Addressing GBV Through Sport in Conflict/Post Conflict Regions
• International Guide To Economic Empowerment Through Sport
Partnerships and strategic alliances make our work more valuable and impactful. These collaborations (formal and informal) allow us to work closely with key organisations, influencers and innovators. Partnerships help us to identify existing opportunities, needs and gaps and include the sharing of promising practices, expertise and in-kind support. Our partnerships are based on equity, transparency and mutual benefit.