This past year, let alone these past weeks and months, have tested the willpower of our global coalitions. Political turmoil, intensifying climate disasters, and the clear erosion of women’s rights around the world shined a bright — and often searing — light on the need for our work.
Through it all, WEDO stands firm with justice-oriented movements, coming together to make our voices heard and our actions united behind the vision of a gender-just world and a healthy planet that better supports everyone.
WEDO was born out of that same collaborative spirit. In 1990, U.S. Congresswoman Bella Abzug, Nobel Laureate Dr. Wangari Maathai, Dr. Vandana Shiva, Thais Corral, and many others recognized that the hard-won women’s rights policy commitments that emerged from the year’s major UN conferences required unwavering and ongoing global advocacy. And so began our mission to create true, lasting, and transformational social justice worldwide.
“WEDO grew out of a friendship … it became clear that women’s voices were missing in the sustainability agenda, even though at the grassroots level, women were leading the struggle to protect forests and rivers, biodiversity, and land.”
– DR. VANDANA SHIVA, ENVIRONMENTALIST, SOCIAL ACTIVIST, PHILOSOPHER, PHYSICIST & WEDO FOUNDING BOARD MEMBER
The founders went straight to work, bringing women from across the world together at a public hearing in Miami, Florida — the Women’s World Congress for a Healthy Planet. This resulted in the Women’s Action Agenda 21, sparking the global movement that continues to be central to our work.
Today, we build off of our three decades of work to advance a gender-just transition away from fossil fuels, support feminist leaders worldwide, and ensure women’s perspectives are heard and respected everywhere policies are formed that affect women, girls, and the health of our shared planet.
I invite you to read our 2024 Impact Report to see how our long history of global action toward a truly feminist environmental and economic agenda informs our work today and into the future. Despite recent events, we continue to believe in a future that prioritizes justice, equality, and sustainability for all. In our report, you’ll discover stories of leadership, a shared vision, and the concrete steps we’re taking to shape a healthier, more equitable future in solidarity with our partners.
If you’re as inspired as we are by the possibilities and opportunities ahead, join us in this work. Share the report and connect us with your peers to turn our voices into a powerful chorus that cannot be ignored. That requires real action. That demands change at every level — from local initiatives to enforceable international policies.
Thank you for being part of our movement and standing with us in these shifting times. Together, we can rewrite the future and attain our vision of a gender-just and healthy world.
Yours in Solidarity,
Bridget Burns
Executive Director
WEDO
