“As more women acquire the financial muscle to support a cause, they seem to feel a special pull to help other women — and get actively involved in the process,” Katrin Bennhold reports. “Their empathy with less fortunate sisters, often rooted in shared female experiences like motherhood or the stubborn barriers to gender equality that persist from Pakistan to the United States, is quietly blurring the traditional line between donors and activists.” The Female Factor The Female FactorExamining the role and impact of women in society In the latest Female Factor special report, Katrin tells us how rock star Annie Lennox came to found The Circle, a group of 16 influential women that has grown into more than 150, raising more than £1.1 million, or $1.72 billion, for women’s projects around the world. The Bill Gates of the world aside, among us mere mortals, women are more likely to give than men and more likely to give more, Katrin reports. She also tells us the personal tragedy that was one of the motivations for Lennox’s efforts on behalf of the world’s poorest women.