# Using a Feminist Approach to Classify Women and Girls’ Charitable Organisations

## TL;DR

This paper introduces a feminist method to classify women and girls' charitable organizations in England and Wales using government data.

## Contribution

It presents a novel feminist approach to analyzing and classifying WGOs using Charity Commission data.

## Key findings

- A feminist approach reveals power dynamics in classifying WGOs.
- The method provides an original overview of WGOs in England and Wales from 2008 to 2018.
- The approach can be applied to other classification work in the voluntary sector.

## Abstract

Women and girls’ organisations (WGOs) are a fundamental part of the voluntary and community sector (VCS) and wider society. They have a unique history and development as a sub-set of the wider VCS and have been pivotal in meeting important needs for women and girls, yet existing analysis of the VCS using data from the Charity Commission for England and Wales (CCEW) has not previously focused on WGOs. The purpose of this paper is to present a feminist approach to identifying and classifying WGOs utilising data from the CCEW register. The paper provides a detailed exploration of the methodological approach and argues that such an approach to compiling and analysing datasets is both necessary and advantageous in exposing areas of power and contestation. The paper provides an original overview of the scope of WGOs in England and Wales between 2008 and 2018 and also demonstrates benefits that can be applied in other classification work within the field.