Economic Independence for Bisexual Women: The Work We're Already Funding
Last week I wrote about why economic empowerment for bisexual women can't wait for a hashtag. Economic independence for bisexual women in the Global South and East is not a slogan—it's a cooperative, a loan, a set of tax forms filed correctly for the first time, and a bisexual woman who no longer has to ask anyone's permission or beg to afford food.
This is the part that is rarely talked about, and that is why LesbianGlobal works to elevate the lives of LBQ+ women, and we do this exclusively in the Global South and East. So take a peek into what economic independence for bisexual women looks like from some of our grantee's economic empowerment initiatives.
Last week I wrote about why economic empowerment for bisexual women can't wait for a hashtag. Economic independence for bisexual women in the Global South and East is not a slogan—it's a cooperative, a loan, a set of tax forms filed correctly for the first time, and a bisexual woman who no longer has to ask anyone's permission or beg to afford food. This is the part that is rarely talked about, and that is why LesbianGlobal works to elevate the lives of LBQ+ women, and we do this exclusively in the Global South and East. So take a peek at what economic independence for bisexual women looks like through some of our grantees' economic empowerment stories...
Economic independence for bisexual women starts with real data
In Côte d'Ivoire, Initiative Tilé didn't start with a theory. They started by talking to more than 500 LBTIQ+ women, which includes bisexual women very distinctly, and asking what was actually happening in their lives. What they found was unemployment and economic insecurity at levels that made everything else harder—including violence and forced dependence on people who controlled resources for their survival, like their families.
Their response, "Yê bo yokoun (solidaires)," is built from that evidence. Learn more about this project here.
Economic independence for bisexual women also means setting up a formal business
Some of the bisexual women we fund aren't hidden and aren't struggling to imagine a business—they've already started one. What they're missing is the paperwork, the bank account, and the tax status that lets a business survive past its first year.
In Bogotá, Corporación Femm runs "Ruta LBQTNB: a formalizarnos y sin miedo al éxito"—a program built around exactly that gap. It supports ten businesses led by lesbian, bisexual, and LBQTNB AFAN migrants, refugees, and internally displaced women.
Formalization sounds bureaucratic until you consider what running an informal business may cost—fewer contracts, no credit history, no legal protection when a client doesn't pay, and less visibility and credibility.
Economic independence for bisexual women can be a form of safety
Most of the bisexual women in this cohort aren't fleeing anything; they're building. But for some, income is the difference between staying safe and staying trapped.
In Rivers State, Nigeria, the Women in Innovation and Tech Initiative runs a twelve-month project called "Beyond Forced Marriage: Building Economic Independence for LBQ+ Women." It exists because the evidence is plain: many LBQ+ women, including bisexual women, stay in forced marriages and abusive situations for many reasons, which ultimately spells out that they have no income of their own.
This is a project that names the stakes most directly, and it's worth sitting with: sometimes economic independence for bisexual women isn't about growth. It can also be about safety.
These three grantee partners are part of a first cohort of 13 organizations, funded through the LesbianGlobal Economic Empowerment Fund with Outright International as our intermediary. The rest of the cohort is doing equally serious work: poultry cooperatives in the Dominican Republic, a traveling trades school in rural Mexico, regenerative agriculture in Guyana, and more.
You can meet the full cohort here: lesbianglobal.org/lesbianglobal-economic-empowerment-fund
"Bisexual Awareness Week" and "Celebrate Bisexuality Day" are worth marking. Say the word. Fly the flag. But if you want to do something that outlasts the week, fund the work that's already creating economic independence for bisexual women.
Donate here: every.org/the-lesbianglobal-fund
We're not waiting for visibility to turn into income. We're already building it and will keep building it for LBQ+ women in the Global South and East.
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