From 27–30 April, Naarm (Melbourne) will host one of the world’s largest gender equality gatherings: the Women Deliver Conference. Thousands of feminists, activists, First Nations and Pacific leaders, young people, funders, and decision-makers will come together from across the globe.
This year’s conference has a strong focus on the Oceania and Pacific region. This creates an important opportunity to elevate the leadership, knowledge, and priorities of Pacific and First Nations communities, and to bring greater global attention to the interconnected challenges of gender equality, climate change, and environmental justice across our region.
It is a major global moment for gender equality. Below we unpack what Women Deliver is, why it matters, and how you can engage.
Women Deliver is a global convening of feminist movements working across gender equality, climate, health, economic justice, and human rights.
It creates space for connection, shared strategy, and collective action. It is also one of the few places where lived experience sits alongside policy and funding conversations, helping to shape solutions that reflect the realities of those most impacted.
Climate and environmental justice have become increasingly central to these conversations. Around the world, women and gender-diverse people are leading responses to climate change, particularly First Nations women, women in the Global South, and young people. Yet their leadership is still underrepresented in decision-making.
Women Deliver helps bring these perspectives to the centre.
This year’s conference is happening at a pivotal time.
Hosting Women Deliver in Naarm creates an opportunity to connect Australian leaders with global movements, learn from international experience, and build momentum ahead of COP31.
At the same time, global leaders are gathering in Santa Marta, Colombia for the first international conference focused on transitioning away from fossil fuels, working to plan a just and orderly shift beyond coal, oil, and gas.
There is a powerful timeliness to this moment. While leaders in Santa Marta are focused on ending the old world, here at Women Deliver we are asking how we build the new one.
It also brings into focus an ongoing gap in Australia. Gender equality and climate policy are still too often treated separately. This limits both. Climate action that does not consider gender can reinforce inequality, while gender policy that ignores climate misses one of the biggest forces shaping people’s lives.
WELA works at the intersection of gender equality, climate, and environmental justice. We see Women Deliver as a catalyst for action.
It is a chance to listen, learn, and strengthen relationships with leaders from across Australia and around the world. It is also an opportunity to bring those insights back into national advocacy.
Our focus is on:
Women Deliver is not just for those in the room. It is an opportunity for the wider WELA community to engage. We will be sharing insights, amplifying diverse voices, and creating opportunities for connection and learning.
Women Deliver is a starting point, and a moment to turn global commitments into meaningful action in Australia.
As Australia prepares for COP31 and the next phase of climate action, there is an opportunity to ensure that policy and investment are shaped by those already leading change.
Frameworks like the Belém Gender Action Plan set expectations for governments to integrate gender equality into climate policy. The next step is implementation. One pathway is the development of a National Roadmap for Gender Equality, Climate and Environment, to embed a gender lens across decision-making.
Effective climate action depends on it being inclusive, equitable, and grounded in lived experience. Women Deliver helps build the connections and momentum to make that possible.
Over the coming weeks, we’ll continue to share insights, stories, and reflections from Women Deliver, bringing you along as this global moment unfolds and connecting it to what it means for action here in Australia.