As part of its commitments to promoting gender justice, Oxfam invests in an approach called ‘Transformative Leadership for Women’s Rights’ (TLWR). Transformative leadership for women’s rights is an unfamiliar term for many of our staff and partners. This guide explores what transformative leadership for women’s rights means, and how it links to women’s rights and gender justice. We explore what distinguishes transformative leadership from other forms of leadership, and how change differs from transformation. The guide also explains why transformative leadership is important for Oxfam, and what we are trying to achieve by promoting it. By exploring what transformative leadership for women’s rights means in practice, this guide demonstrates how we can apply it in our programs and our organizations.

This guide is intended as a resource that will inform and inspire the work of Oxfam staff and of our partners. It can be read and consulted by individual staff members, or used as a basis for discussion with peers or partner organizations. The guide is available to interested external readers and organizations via the Oxfam website. Eventually, this guide will be accompanied by an online learning module, which will also be available on Oxfam’s website.