This March 8th, we invite women who are part of the organizations that make up the Network to share their experiences in the field
By Camila Guedes
International Women's Day is always a date of great reflection. Women are predominant among the member organizations that make up the Network, but this scenario does not stop there
The publication Profile of Civil Society Organizations in Brazil, launched in 2018 by the Institute of Applied Economic Research (IPEA), found that 65% of the workforce in Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in the country is made up of women, also extending to voluntary work, where data from Continuous National Household Sample Survey (PNAD) 2019, from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), indicate that the female audience is also the majority.
For Diane Pereira Sousa, president of the Baixada Maranhense Community Institute, women are having more and more visibility “It makes sense for me to understand that, as a woman, we are the opposite of Maria Firmina in her first novel and we are not “a Maranhense woman” – Maria Firmina in her first novel “Ursula” had to use a pseudonym to be published. Working in the third sector with this data that demonstrates that the female public represents the majority, is precisely arriving at a place where we are no longer “a woman from Maranhão”, but have our names made visible. So it is Diane Pereira Sousa, who is at the head of an organization that contributes to the local development of her region, that talks about human rights, that understands that it is important to break the cycle of inequalities.”
Women and the third sector
Is there an explanation for this majority female percentage working in the field? There is no consensus. However, there is a consensus that women bring greater balance to different work environments, connection and technical skills with emotional and interpersonal aptitude, fundamental skills in the context of third sector institutions, which work directly with social, social justice and humanitarian issues.
“Community and social justice philanthropy is a pact of co-responsibility for a fairer society and, a pact like this, dialogues directly with the female universe. Women, historically, have looked at complex problems and sought to build solutions that are collective, that respond to the uniqueness of each individual and that are aligned with what serves their families, communities, their territory and society as a whole.” says Fernanda Lopes, program director at the Baobá Fund for Racial Equity.
For Ana Patrícia Arantes, journalist from the Brazilian Environmental Education Fund (FunBEA), the work is rewarding: “It is inspiring and rewarding to see something that we think collectively happen collectively. It also adds to our feminine daily lives, which involve motherhood and work. Each project placed in the territory is another 'child' that is born and that is good for humanity.”
“I was born and raised in a female-oriented family structure. When I say guided, it is not just from the point of view of care, but also from the central power of balancing and structuring a home, a family, 100% being done by women. This was very important for the entire process of building me as a person until I got to where I am. In all the spaces in which I work, within my professional field, I am in spaces that strengthen women's participation, within spaces of power: producing, creating, cooperating, employing, deciding. For me that is the meaning.” shares Diane.
The strength of women in the context of donation and social justice
Amid different social, territorial and political realities, women continue to increasingly enable and be part of community philanthropy and social justice. The numbers and examples show that women have played a fundamental role when it comes to articulating and contributing to the financing of CSOs and their different agendas.
Fernanda states: “Women make a difference in this field and, in partnership with people who adopt other gender universes, they work in this construction that is oriented towards justice. We are always willing to look at apparent problems and intervene in the causes. This is the magic of this space of community philanthropy and social justice that is emancipated, that expands the repertoire of rights and that is willing to contribute to the expansion of that repertoire and not to the maintenance of status quo. Women have shown that this is the way.”
RFJS program coordinator, Luisa Hernandez, believes in the power of the culture of donation “In my career I have worked for more than 10 years in the area of fundraising for social organizations and, within this work, I have identified the importance of building a culture of donation in the country that recognizes and values the potential of grassroots communities and social movements. My wish is that my work contributes to this, that we are increasingly able to ensure that resources reach the forefront and that they strengthen groups, movements, collectives and social minorities... Working within the third sector as a woman also means enabling more women to take on these leadership roles, have access to resources to develop their projects and contribute to their communities.”
The process of choosing a career, in general, is not simple and almost always requires foundation, direction and goals. When we talk about community philanthropy, social justice and CSOs, the scenario is no different. The field also stands out because, beyond just being a job option, it brings a feeling of acting with purpose to those who work in it.
In Fernanda's trajectory, working in the area was a consequence of her long journey working with social inequalities: “For more than 20 years, she has worked in this field of promoting human rights, confronting racism and sexism, promoting sexual and reproductive rights, of the women. For me, my work in the different ecosystems I have been in has always been a means to promote development opportunities for all people and with very special attention to young people, women and the black population. Philanthropy for Social Justice dialogues with this path, which is why I say that it was a result for me,” says the director.
Diane shares that from an early age she traced the paths that brought her to work in the field: “This was a choice from the beginning until now, I started at the age of 13 with a public that benefited from actions that the Training Institute developed in my region, which is the Baixada Maranhão. I was invited to join the organization when I turned 18 and, despite going through other training processes, I chose and understood that this was my space in the world, that this was my social work space. That, all this structure that I had, added to this experience and experience that I already had in life, would be a space for me to materialize my dreams, so that I could transform scarcity into abundance, so that I could develop and to my territory, so that I could invest in people who could transform it into reality, just as they invested in me to do the same.”
Journalist Ana Patrícia sees her decision to act as a tool for social transformation “My choice was due to wanting to transform the socio-environmental situation with my own hands, as soon as I graduated in journalism, in mid-1998. The experience of “governing with the people, without being an institutionalized government”. The third sector offers this, different opportunities and possibilities for social change.”
True Powers
Women in Networks are powers. This March 8th, it is necessary to recognize the journey and strength of different women in their sectors, especially when talking about social justice and community philanthropy, which transform reality.
“It is very important to talk about where we are and what our responsibility is, on a daily basis, to realize the strength that we can create together, but not only that. Also realize that the spaces where we are not lose, because we are power. We have already made it very clear and defined that we have the ability to reframe, command, reconstruct, deconstruct and enable processes, policies, steps, homes, companies and other places.” concludes Diane.
