About Shape of Light
A gender data and policy advocacy platform — turning evidence into action.
We bridge the gap
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 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.
Three steps, from raw evidence to real decisions
Each stage is designed to remove a barrier between research that already exists and the people who could act on it.
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.
The data already exists. The gap is in who can use it.
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.
Six thematic areas
Together they reflect the full scope of gender inequality. In each one, we curate the data, simplify the evidence, and produce insights designed to move from screen to strategy.
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.
How we work with partners
Shape of Light is built for collaboration — with NGOs, research institutions, government bodies, international organizations, and community groups.
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 reportCo-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.
Partner with usUse 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.
Browse insightsA world where no critical piece of evidence about girls and women goes unused — where data moves freely from research to action, and every advocate has the information they need to drive change.
There is a place for you here
Shape of Light is in its founding stage, and we are actively building our network of collaborators, contributors, and partners — whether you hold data, need evidence, or want to use it in your work.