About Shape of Light
A gender data and policy advocacy platform — turning evidence into action.
Who we are
Shape of Light is a gender data and policy advocacy platform. We exist because too much of the research on girls and women — across health, education, safety, economic participation, and leadership — remains inaccessible, underutilized, or locked in language that the people who need it most cannot use.
We bridge that gap.
We take complex data and evidence on issues affecting girls and women and turn it into clear, simplified insights that advocates, policymakers, community organizations, and everyday citizens can understand, share, and act on.
We are not a traditional research institution. We are a translation layer — connecting the evidence that already exists to the people and decisions that shape real lives.
What we do
Research & Curation
We gather, review, and curate existing data from national surveys, institutional reports, academic studies, and community-level research across critical gender issues — from menstrual health and girls' education to gender-based violence and women's economic empowerment.
Simplification & Storytelling
We break down complex findings into accessible formats: data briefs, visual summaries, social media content, and insight cards that make the numbers human and the evidence actionable. We believe data should not require a degree to understand.
Policy Translation & Advocacy
We convert evidence into policy-ready recommendations and advocacy tools. Our simplified insights are designed to be used — in budget hearings, community meetings, grant proposals, media campaigns, and legislative conversations.
Why this work matters
Across Nigeria and the wider continent, critical gender data exists — but it sits in PDFs that few people read, in databases that few people access, and in academic language that few people can act on.
Meanwhile, advocates fight for policy change without the evidence to back their demands. Policymakers make decisions without clear data on the communities they serve. And communities experience the consequences of issues that have already been researched — but never simplified or shared.
Shape of Light exists to close that loop. We turn knowledge into action and data into policy change.
Our approach
We work across six thematic areas that reflect the full scope of gender inequality:
- Health & Bodily Autonomy — Menstrual health, reproductive rights, maternal wellbeing, and access to care.
- Education & Knowledge Access — School enrollment, dropout factors, digital literacy, and learning outcomes.
- Economic Empowerment & Livelihoods — Income gaps, workforce participation, financial inclusion, and women's enterprise.
- Safety, Rights & Justice — Gender-based violence, legal protections, access to justice, and community safety.
- Leadership, Representation & Power — Political participation, decision-making roles, and women in governance.
- Social Norms, Culture & Intersectionality — How gender intersects with ethnicity, religion, disability, geography, and age.
In each area, we curate the data, simplify the evidence, and produce insights that are designed to move from screen to strategy.
How we work with partners
Shape of Light is built for collaboration. We work with NGOs, research institutions, government bodies, international organizations, and community groups in three ways:
Submit Data
Share your research, reports, or datasets with us. We simplify and amplify the findings so they reach wider audiences and inform real decisions.
Submit a report →Co-Create
Partner with us to develop policy briefs, data stories, and advocacy materials grounded in evidence. We bring the simplification expertise; you bring the subject matter depth.
Use Our Insights
Everything we publish is designed to be used. Advocates, journalists, program managers, and policymakers are welcome to leverage our content for their work.
Our vision
A world where no critical piece of evidence about girls and women goes unused — where data moves freely from research to action, and where every advocate has the information they need to drive change.
Get involved
Shape of Light is in its founding stage, and we are actively building our network of collaborators, contributors, and partners. Whether you are a researcher with data to share, an organization looking for simplified evidence, or an advocate who wants to use data in your work — there is a place for you here.