WHY WOMEN

Poverty, violence, and a lack of health options or access affect women differently,
and sometimes disproportionately.

We target that disparity.

Why does gender matter?

Gender affects perspectives, experiences, aspirations, needs, and priorities. To get a clearer look at the issues women face - and develop effective strategies for tackling them - funders and policymakers alike must learn to look through the gender lens.

To see how it works in action, take a minute and answer the following question. Then click on the Results button below.

What steps do you take to prevent yourself from being sexually assaulted?


RESULTS

In hundreds of lectures and workshops, educator Jackson Katz has asked his audience this same question; the answers are aggregated below.

 

 

  • "Nothing, really. I don't think about it."
  • Hold my keys as a potential weapon.
  • Look in the back seat of a car before getting in.
  • Carry a cell phone.
  • Don't go jogging at night.
  • Lock all the windows when I go to sleep, even on hot summer nights.
  • Be careful not to drink too much.
  • Don't put my drink down and come back to it; make sure I see it being poured.
  • Own a big dog.
  • Carry mace or pepper spray.
  • Have an unlisted phone number.
  • Have a man's voice on my answering machine.
  • Park in well-lit areas.
  • Don't use parking garages.
  • Don't get on elevators with only one man, or with a group of men.
  • Vary my route home from work.
  • What what I wear.
  • Don't use highway rest areas.
  • Use a home alarm system.
  • Don't wear headphones when jogging.
  • Avoid forests or wooded areas, even in the daytime.
  • Don't take a first-floor apartment.
  • Go out in groups.
  • Own a firearm.
  • Meet men on first dates in public places.
  • Make sure to have a car or cab fare.
  • Don't make eye contact with men on the street.
  • Make assertive eye contact with men on the street.

Source: "Gender Inequality." Jackson Katz, in Gender Lens for Inclusive Philanthropy, Crooks, Mary (2009). The Victorian Women's Trust, Melbourne, Australia.

ECONOMIC SECURITY: THE ELEANOR NETWORK

In 2013, the average working woman in the U.S. earned just 77 cents for every dollar that a man earned. In Chicago, that number falls to 65 cents.

There are lots of reasons, from lower pay for a women performing the same job as a man to more women stuck in low paying industries and occupations.

The bottom line is this: too many women are working hard and still not making it.

That's where the Eleanor Network at Chicago Foundation for Women comes in.

Learn More

MIND THE GAP

Fifty years after the Equal Pay Act, women at both ends of the salary scale are still living with the gap.

Source: Institue for Women's Policy Research, 2011

mind-the-gap-graph

WHY THE GAP?

Source: Institute for Women's Policy Research, 2011

why-the-gap-piechart

FREEDOM FROM VIOLENCE

Domestic violence is five times more likely to affect women than the most prevalent communicable disease in Chicago.

It's not just the misery that is staggering.

COST OF VIOLENCE WORLDWIDE

Source: Fearon and Hoeffler, 2014

cost-of-violence-graph

Violence in the home doesn't attract much attention among policymakers. Yet it is 6.5 times more costly than homicide, and 50 times more costly than civil war.

> $5.8 billion*
Annual cost of interpersonal violence against women in the U.S.

$428.7 million
Annual U.S. spending on prevention programs.

*Direct cost of medical treatment ($4.1 billion) plus indirect costs such as lost productivity ($1.8 billion)

HEALTH

For every 100 breast cancers diagnosed among white women, 18 will be fatal.

Among black women, that number rises to 27.

At the time of diagnosis, 45% of black women will be told their cancer has already spread to their lymph nodes or other organs.

Preserving a woman's reproductive rights is only part of the health story.

Learn More

IMPACT

WE TARGET THE MOST CRITICAL ISSUES

impact-most-critical-issues-piechart

 

In 2014, we made grants totaling more than $2 million dollars, our biggest year to date.

70%
of the fledgling organizations we single out for funding are still going strong after 10 years.

100%
CFW has played a role in 100 percent of the biggest policy wins for women and girls in the last 15 years.

53,165
individuals directly and indirectly impacted by our grants over a yearly period.

918
new donors/investors inspired to support women and girls over the past year.

281
women and organizations trained through the Women's Leadership Development Initiative over the past two years.

RETURN ON INVESTMENT

Every $1 invested in reducing domestic violence returns $17.

CFW's 2014 investment of $486,390 returned $8,268,630.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, March 2003