Women Delegates Fund
Expanding women’s leadership and influence in global climate negotiations.
Expanding women’s leadership and influence in global climate negotiations.
The Women Delegates Fund (WDF) supports the participation and leadership of women from Global South and frontline communities in United Nations climate negotiations.
We provide travel support, negotiation training, mentorship, and sustained accompaniment so women delegates can participate fully and influence outcomes within the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Women’s equal participation in climate decision making is fundamental to policies that reflect the realities of communities most affected by climate change. Yet women, particularly from Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States, remain underrepresented in national delegations and face persistent structural barriers to participation.
While travel support alone cannot resolve gender inequality in decision making, it is a critical equity measure. Being present in the room enables delegates to build experience, confidence, networks, and influence that extend beyond a single negotiation cycle and into national and regional leadership.
“Our leadership reaches more than just here … we can go back home and translate what is happening at this level to those on the ground who are being directly impacted by climate change. We can serve as role models at all levels for the importance of women’s leadership and participation.”
- Sieane Abdul Baki
WDF Delegate first supported in 2009, who later became Deputy Minister of Gender in Liberia
Through the Women Delegates Fund, we:
“We talk about increasing women’s participation in decision-making, and the first step to do that should be to ensure that they are present.”
– Emelda Adam, Tanzania
“In the three years I have been coming to these negotiations, I have never once raised my flag to speak. The training really helped to bolster my confidence. In Bonn, I have raised my flag three times on behalf of my country.”
– Night School Participant
The Fund strengthens gender-responsive climate governance by ensuring that women delegates are present, prepared, and influential in negotiations. Delegates supported through the Fund not only contribute to global outcomes, but also return home better equipped to shape national policy, planning, and advocacy.
As one delegate shared, leadership developed through the Fund reaches far beyond the negotiation halls and helps translate global decisions into action on the ground.
From 2009 through 2024, the Women Delegates Fund has supported:
Since 2017, we have also hosted and co-hosted regional workshops in the Pacific, Asia, the Caribbean, and Francophone Africa, strengthening long-term regional leadership and collaboration.
“[The Women Delegates Fund] creates the avenue for networking with delegates from other parts of the world, understanding the role they are playing in their institutions, and what role you are also playing in your institution, and your understanding about the process — what both of you can copy or learn from each other after networking."
– Josephine F. Doles, Liberia
The Women Delegates Fund has contributed to broader structural progress within the UNFCCC. Alongside advocacy by the Women and Gender Constituency, this work helped inform the adoption of the UNFCCC Gender Action Plan and the recognition of capacity building and travel support as essential to women’s equal participation.
Despite this progress, women’s representation across national delegations remains far from balanced. At COP28, women made up just 34 percent of delegates, compared to 31 percent in 2008. Through ongoing tracking and advocacy, we continue to push for stronger implementation and accountability.
The Women Delegates Fund moves power by expanding who participates in global governance. It strengthens movements by building durable leadership and shared expertise across countries and regions. And it supports systemic change by linking individual participation to collective advocacy for more inclusive climate decision making.
“The WDF makes us ambassadors for women across all areas of the negotiations. Other countries now want to increase the [number of] women on their delegations and even just by being in the room, we are helping to ensure that gender remains in the language of the text.”
—WDF Delegate, Bangladesh
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