Enjoy this preview of the SFGI platform!
Additional features and functionality are in development.
SFGI’s Story, So Far
Our North Star
Step Forward Global Initiative (SFGI) was born of its North Star: if women are 51% of the global population, why are we 13% of global leaders? Following our North Star from inception to current presentation, this platform preview is the product of 8 months, January to September of 2026. By “platform” is meant SFGI’s website, social media, and the engine that drives these: our global data hub, NOVEL, powered by AI and data analytics.
Early 2026
First, the concept crystallized. Second, Governing Board materialized. Third, SFGI incorporated. Then, in the first quarter of 2026, two international affairs masters-level interns began the research needed to begin building SFGI’s NOVEL prototype. Evaluating our capacity, we limited the research scope to executive (e.g., president, prime minister, chancellor) elections and to women who were stepping forward in them. This translated into approximately 30 global executive races for 2026. To date, women have stepped forward for office in 10-15 of these elections. Concurrently, SFGI’s two interns researched select metrics across 193 countries, such as women in party leadership; early childhood care and education (ECCE); year of universal suffrage; and representation at local, legislative, national, and global levels.
Global Reach
SFGI also welcomed, in Spring, professional-level Volunteers located in Azerbaijan, Burundi, France, Italy, Kenya, Timor Leste, and the United States. These Volunteers served as a focus group and sounding board, spread the word about SFGI, imparted key communications elements, supported the beginnings of our social media presence, and provided an abundance of energy. At the same time, we began engaging possible Global Advisors, regional and subject matter experts. The Global Advisory Board continues to grow, comprised currently of 8 experts that advise the Chief Executive Officer of significant events, local actors, and possible partnerships.
June through August
June arrived, and with it a third masters-level intern with expertise in data science techniques to transform complex datasets into clear, accessible maps and visualizations. Her knowledge and skills matched precisely what SFGI needed. We had completed our data collection and now needed to translate it into accessible visualizations for the average person, academic scholars, journalists, and government actors.
Shifting gears, one SFGI intern began tracking midterms in the United States, specifically at the senatorial and gubernatorial levels. The second SFGI intern transitioned from research to managing social media, and SFGI’s third intern took our website to the next level, as well as producing visualizations for country-level and United States midterm competitions.
A Testament to a Productive Summer
Summer disappeared! SFGI has established it’s presence on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook. We are tracking elections and women who step forward for executive elections, as well as US senatorial and gubernatorial ones. As we track, we share easy-to-digest country and candidate data from our research. We continue to refine our branding, messaging, and visual identity. We are also careful to communicate that we are nonpartisan, non-endorsing, and nonprofit. Our website is updated weekly, if not daily. The “Women Stepping Forward” and “Global Data Hub (NOVEL)” website sections demonstrate the potential of a developed SFGI global data hub, NOVEL.
Our Next Chapter is NOVEL
SFGI is ready to build on its visualizations and develop “NOVEL”, which will capture an estimated 8,000 elections and +750,000 women stepping forward It across 193 countries. Data will be pulled from electoral lists, public records, and news sources.
NOVEL will feature a home page titled, “Women Who Step Forward, 2026”, an interactive 3D globe, and filters for: elections (local, legislative, subnational, and national); 5 regions; 22 subregions; 193 countries. These filters help a user locate women stepping forward. We will also include a filter for country metrics relevant to women who step forward (i.e., ECCE, representation percentages, CEDAW adoption). Users (the average person, academic scholar, journalist, and governments) can compare regions, subregions, and countries. This may compel improved data collection by geographic entities, as well as positive change supporting women stepping forward for public office.
A First of its Kind
Where are we, now? SFGI raised $30,000 in pre-seed funding in June to leverage and attract additional seed capital to develop NOVEL. We are finalizing a projected cost for this build, at which time we will launch a targeted fundraising effort to secure the resources needed to bring NOVEL to market. As the first scalable infrastructure designed to measure women stepping forward into leadership, NOVEL will create an unprecedented evidence base for understanding women's leadership participation worldwide, elevating women who step forward for public office and educating the global public about them.