Women's rights and democracies are under siege globally. Inclusive technology can help mount a comeback.

Authoritarian regimes and tech titans are consolidating unprecedented power while women's rights are systematically rolled back. Gender equality is 123 years away at the current pace, with $2.8 billion slashed from women's organizations worldwide this year.

But a counter-force is emerging: Women-led digital movements are proving their transformative potential despite minimal investment. From #WomenLifeFreedom to grassroots AI initiatives, these platforms are rapidly reshaping cultural and political landscapes on shoestring budgets.

The missing pieces? Strategic coordination and investment.

Imagine if these scattered efforts became a resilient global ecosystem. Vast human potential and trillions in economic value could be unlocked to strengthen democracies and accelerate solutions for humanity's greatest challenges.

A digital visualization of interconnected blue lines and points resembling a complex neural network or web, with a space-like background of dark colors and bright glowing areas.
A Sudanese woman standing on a car addressing a large crowd, many holding up smartphones to record her, in an outdoor setting during dusk.

Photo: Alaa Salah, a 22-year-old student leading demonstrators during the 2019 Sudanese anti-government protests.

the current reality: Underheard, under attack, and under-resourced online

  • A blue pie chart segment labeled .5%.

    of recorded history devoted to women's voices and stories

    The New York Times

  • Light blue circle with black text reading '15%' in the center.

    women contributors on Wikipedia

    Wikipedia

  • A blue circle with black text displaying "58%" in the center.

    of women and girls experience cyber violence globally

    UN Women

  • Light blue circle with black text that reads '10-15%'.

    venture investment in women tech entrepreneurs

    Crunchbase

  • Light blue circular graphic with the text '<3%' in bold black font at the center.

    of venture funding to women-led AI start-ups

    The Alan Turing Institute

  • A blue circle with black text in the center that reads '2%'.

    funding to women's orgs

    Women's Philanthropy Institute

    *All figures are lower for women of color and gender-diverse people of color

A digital illustration of a complex interconnected web of blue lines and points against a black background, resembling a network or neural connections in space.
People gathered at a night-time protest or rally, holding up their phones with flashlight enabled, some wearing masks and glasses.

Photo: Protestors shine their phone torches toward detained protestors at a solidarity rally in Hong Kong.

Sandra Sanders, 2019

Connected Power fills this critical knowledge gap while building collective power through the mapping process itself:

Democracy's Infrastructure

Women's digital organizing is not niche—it's essential to democratic participation worldwide

$524 Billion

The economic opportunity represented by closing the gender digital divide.

200+ Stakeholders

Grassroots movements, platforms, funders, and policymakers across six continents

First of Its Kind

The world's first comprehensive scholarly and participatory research on feminist digital infrastructure

why this matters now