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WEDO is a global women's advocacy organization that promotes and protects human rights, gender equality, and the integrity of the environment. It was founded in 1991 and has since worked to build women's movements and advance gender equality. WEDOsection facilitates and connects diverse movements to global processes, ensuring that women's voices are heard and their leadership is advanced. The organization partners with various individuals and organizations to demand a just and sustainable future. WEDO also provides training, logistical support, and knowledge creation to empower women as decision-makers and drive systemic change.

Climate justice

WEDO, the Women's Environment & Development Organization, has been advocating for climate justice and feminist and environmental justice for three decades. They have been instrumental in bringing these perspectives into global and national policy dialogues, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). WEDO's work is centred on caucus-building, creating spaces for feminists and women's rights activists to develop shared agendas and amplify their voices in policy processes. They also actively follow the Green Climate Fund, the largest public fund dedicated to addressing climate change.

WEDO has been pushing for the integration of gender equality and climate efforts. Their Gender Climate Tracker website and mobile app provide resources for advocates to link gender equality with climate action at the country level. Additionally, WEDO is part of the Women's and Gender Constituency (WGC), one of the official observer groups to the UNFCCC processes. Through the WGC, they provide technical expertise, strategizing spaces, and capacity strengthening for negotiators and stakeholders.

The Women's Global Call for Climate Justice, launched in 2015, is a global campaign organised by a diverse group of women's rights and feminist organisations. WEDO plays a central role in this campaign, mobilising women and girls worldwide through educational workshops, film screenings, concerts, and marathons. The campaign demands system change, not climate change, and calls for gender equality and human rights to be ensured in all climate actions.

WEDO also focuses on economic justice, challenging the pursuit of profit and economic growth at the expense of people and the planet. They advocate for a shift from unsustainable consumption and resource extraction models, highlighting how they disproportionately affect women and gender-diverse individuals. WEDO calls for development finance to support Global South countries in achieving sustainable development and climate justice.

Sustainable development

To achieve sustainable development, WEDO believes that action is needed on three fronts: social, economic, and environmental. Women are central to progress in each area because of their particular experiences and perspectives. WEDO highlights that gender equality and environmental justice are essential for sustainable development. Respect for all rights and responsibilities to the earth and future generations are at the heart of this.

WEDO works to facilitate and connect diverse movements to global processes, ensuring that women's voices are heard and their leadership is advanced. They act as a bridge builder, connecting women's organisations, governments, and intergovernmental organisations, including the United Nations. As a technical advisor, WEDO advises governments and UN agencies on implementing an intersectional approach to sustainable development in policy and practice. They also advocate for transparent, democratic, accountable, and effective global governance, providing space for civil society input at all levels.

WEDO's role as a facilitator and convener involves partnering with and bringing together diverse organisations and individuals to demand a just and sustainable future across policy spaces. They also work as a trainer, delivering leadership development, orientation to complex processes, and advocacy skills training to hundreds of women annually. Additionally, WEDO acts as an organiser, providing logistical and coordination support for women advocates to participate in international processes and campaigns, and connecting partner organisations to small project grants.

Through these various roles, WEDO promotes sustainable development by supporting and building a movement to shift behaviour, change global and local systems, and promote justice for all.

Women's human rights

Despite global efforts to advance gender equality, stark disparities remain, and women's human rights continue to be violated in numerous ways. This includes unequal access to land, resources, opportunities, and decision-making power. Women also face gender-based violence, such as domestic and sexual violence, as well as lower pay, lack of access to education, and inadequate healthcare. To address these issues, women's rights movements have been campaigning to change laws and policies, as well as working to change hearts and minds, to ensure that women's human rights are respected and protected.

One key international treaty that addresses gender-based discrimination and provides specific protections for women's rights is the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), adopted in 1979. Over 180 states have ratified this convention, which sets out an international bill of rights for women and girls and defines the obligations of states to ensure they can enjoy those rights. Additionally, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, adopted in 1995, was a rallying cry to embed gender equality and women's rights in all aspects of life.

The United Nations recognizes that gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls are not just goals in themselves but are also key to sustainable development, economic growth, and peace and security. To achieve true equality, it is essential that women have access to their full rights, including equal pay, land ownership, sexual rights, freedom from violence, access to education, and maternal health rights. Only then will women have the self-determination and leadership roles they are entitled to, transforming economies and countries.

Gender equality

The Women’s Environment & Development Organization (WEDO) is a global women's advocacy organization that has been working to advance gender equality and promote human rights since 1991. WEDO believes that gender equality is about fundamental human rights and that women's work, leadership, and contributions positively impact social, economic, and environmental progress.

Despite a growing focus on gender equality, stark gender disparities remain, including unequal access to land, resources, opportunities, and decision-making power. Women are also disproportionately affected by climate change and environmental degradation, which are both symptoms and drivers of global inequality. WEDO recognizes that women are central to achieving sustainable development and that their unique knowledge and solutions are crucial for driving change.

To achieve its goals, WEDO acts as a facilitator and connector, bringing together diverse organizations and individuals to advocate for gender equality and justice. They work across themes, processes, and program areas to support and build movements that promote behavior change and challenge global and local systems. WEDO also advises governments and UN agencies on implementing intersectional approaches to sustainable development and provides training and leadership development to hundreds of women annually.

WEDO's strategies are built on diverse collaborations and partnerships with women's organizations, environmental, development, and human rights organizations, governments, and intergovernmental organizations, including the United Nations. They prioritize the participation of indigenous women, women with disabilities, women of color, LGBTQI individuals, and young feminists/women's rights activists, especially from developing and least developed countries.

By advocating for transparent, democratic, accountable, and effective global governance, WEDO empowers women to be decision-makers and amplifies their voices to tackle unjust systems and drive change.

Environmental integrity

The Women’s Environment & Development Organization (WEDO) is a global advocacy group that promotes and safeguards human rights, gender equality, and environmental integrity. WEDO has been working to strengthen women's movements and advance gender equality since 1991.

WEDO's goal is to create a world where human rights and environmental integrity can coexist peacefully. They recognise that the world's population is expected to reach 8.5 billion by 2030, with the majority of people living in the poorest countries, which will result in a severe depletion of resources and conflict over scarce goods, made worse by overconsumption in developed nations. As a result, WEDO works on three fronts: social, economic, and environmental.

WEDO prioritises the inclusion and participation of indigenous women, women with disabilities, women of colour, LGBTQI individuals, and young feminists/women's rights activists, especially those from developing or least developed countries. They work with a variety of organisations, including women's organisations, environmental groups, development and human rights organisations, governments, and intergovernmental organisations such as the United Nations.

WEDO's strengths lie in its ability to facilitate and connect diverse movements to global processes, ensuring that women's voices are heard and their leadership is advanced. They play a variety of roles, including Technical Advisor, Advocate, Facilitator and Convener, Trainer, Organiser, and Knowledge Creator. As a Technical Advisor, WEDO advises governments and UN agencies on implementing an intersectional approach to sustainable development in policy and practice. As an Advocate, they lead global advocacy for women's human rights and justice across policy spaces. As a Facilitator and Convener, they partner with and bring together diverse organisations and individuals to demand a just and sustainable future across policy spaces. As a Trainer, they provide leadership development, orientation to complex processes, and advocacy skills training to hundreds of women each year. As an Organiser, they provide logistical and coordination support for women advocates to participate in international processes and campaigns, and connect partner organisations to small project grants. Finally, as a Knowledge Creator, they analyse processes, actions, and outcomes, and produce and promote knowledge products.

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