The Global Sisters Impact site exists to elevate the extraordinary women who are changing their world and the world around them through business.
By sharing their stories, we can acknowledge and celebrate the vital role that female founded micro business and social enterprises play in our economy and society. They enable economic participation, create jobs, provide incomes and create value in communities.
Through this site we are proud to share our impact framework, methodology and findings with the Global Sister community – all our wonderful partners and supporters who #BackHerBrilliance. Our impact model was designed by and for our Sisters – the women that Global Sisters exists for. We hope you are informed and inspired by the content available here.
Before joining Global Sisters:
Were unemployed or in unsuitable, or unstable employment
Had an existing business that was not yet profitable to support themselves and their family
Of Sister households were receiving government support and for 34% this is their primary income
Our online model enables us to reach Sisters from across Australia, including regional and rural areas that often lack access to adequate services.
Global Sisters tracks change across six impact domains over time for all new and existing Sisters. Our impact framework was designed at inception, with and for the women we exist to support – our Sisters. The original five domains expanded to six when Sisters informed us that the most valuable impact Global Sisters creates is connection and community. These are considered to be “direct impact” domains that are attributable to our “roadmap” of programs and support. The outer rim of the circle are the systemic, macro change areas that are necessary to shift the dial on women’s economic security. These are reflected in the Impact Roadmap and Theory of Change.
Measures progress on business knowledge and entrepreneurial skills.
Measures progress in stage of business and income generation through the business.
Measures improvements in financial independence and security.
Measures progress on confidence and self-belief as a business founder.
Measures leadership as a business founder, hiring others and giving back to community.
Measures connections with and contributions to business networks and communities.
Global Sisters exists to remove barriers to women’s economic security. As described above, our direct “programs support women to participate economically and improve their financial resilience through self-employment. The barriers to women’s economic security are rarely personal circumstances, but rather a complex web of government, corporate, and societal structures, systems, beliefs, and practices that hold women back.
Systems change is “shifting the conditions that are holding the problem in place” (Social Innovation Generation).
Global Sisters has four systems change interventions that are integrated to our Impact Roadmap© that will shift the dial on the foundational conditions for women’s economic security: 1.Financial security, 2. Housing security, 3.Health & Wellbeing and 4. Recovery from Violence.
This diagram illustrates, at a high level, our four Systems Change Impact Domains and how we will shift the conditions that are preventing women’s economic security.
Direct and systems change interventions to long-term macro impact.
Our impact framework is anchored in our Theory of Change, which outlines how Direct Impact and Systems Change Domains generate outputs and outcomes over time. Together, they drive measurable progress toward women’s economic security. We intentionally define economic security as tangible, macro-level change—addressing the most critical structural and systemic conditions affecting Australian women.
