Who we are
Level The Field was launched in July 2024 by Dr Sharon Tao, who for the last four years has been the Director and Team Leader of the 12-year, £855 million, FCDO-funded Girls' Education Challenge. This programme was the largest global fund for girls' education and although now completed, we aim to continue its mission of levelling the field for the world's most marginalised girls. We do this through working with our trusted network of associates to deliver a variety of strategic, technical and research services.
Who will benefit from this Social Enterprise?
Whilst leading the Girls' Education Challenge, Sharon and her colleagues worked with 41 projects, comprised of 165 implementing organisations, operating across 17 countries in Africa and Asia. This has made for a substantial network and Level The Field's grants will support a number of these organisations so that they can continue to do excellent work with marginalised girls.
Why we focus on
marginalised girls
​Throughout the world, groups of people are marginalised due to poverty, rurality, caste, disability or displacement, amongst others. These marginalised groups often have a very limited share of power, respect, resource, participation and safety within their contexts and societies.
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Within these marginalised groups, any privileges that remain are rarely distributed equally amongst men and women, and boys and girls. This is due to unequal gender norms, which disadvantage girls even further.
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Level The Field aims to address this situation so that marginalised girls can realise their full potential. This is not meant to advantage girls to the detriment of boys. Rather, the focus on marginalised girls is an effort to correct for generations of unequal treatment, rather than create it.
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In the end, when girls and boys have a level playing field - no matter what their background - everyone will benefit. The multiplier effect that comes with gender equality means that families will be better off, people will be healthier, there will be less violence and more security, and economies will develop.
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We think this is a goal well worth aiming for.​
What do we mean by 'marginalised girls'?
'Marginalisation' is an intuitive term but with multiple interpretations. Like most things, the concept of marginalisation lies on a spectrum. We have unpacked and illustrated this spectrum in order to provide clarity for our analyses, discussion and solutions moving forward.
Our Theory of Change
There are a myriad of factors that need to shift in order for marginalised girls to realise their full learning potential. We have developed two pathways for change - one that aims to prevent the most vulnerable girls from dropping out, and one that supports re-entry for those already excluded. Needless to say, all of Level The Field's services and grants aim to facilitate this change.
