The Women's Environment & Development Organization (WEDO) is an international

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

that advocates

women's equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing d ...

in global policy. Its early successes included achieving gender equality in the final documents of

Agenda 21 Agenda 21 is a non-binding action plan of the United Nations with regard to sustainable development. It is a product of the Earth Summit (UN Conference on Environment and Development) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992. It is an action age ...

and the Rio Declaration. In 2006, the organization was named as an international Champion of the Earth by the

United Nations Environment Programme The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on th ...

. WEDO was founded in 1990 by two former United States Congresswoman Bella Abzug and Mim Kelber, who was a feminist activist. Several pioneers have also contributed to the development of this organization such a
Thais Corral
Jocelyn Dow
Wangari Maathai

Brownie Ledbetter Mary Brown Williams Ledbetter (April 28, 1932 – March 21, 2010), better known as Brownie Ledbetter, was a political activist, social justice crusader and lobbyist who was involved in the civil rights, feminist, labor and environmental movements ...

Chief Bisi Ogunleye
and

Vandana Shiva Vandana Shiva (born 5 November 1952) is an Indian scholar, environmental activist, food sovereignty advocate, ecofeminist and anti-globalisation author. Based in Delhi, Shiva has written more than 20 books. She is often referred to as "Gandhi ...

. The organization fights for women's rights on an international level through a series of worldwide conferences and actions. WEDO plays an important role in promoting justice by strengthening global and local advocacy systems. The organization includes a Technical Advisor, an Advocate, Facilitator and Convener, Trainer, Organizer, and Knowledge Creator. All these roles help in advocating for women's human rights by advising, analyzing, and leading a set of several actions to let government and United Nations agencies understand the importance of the implementation of development policies for women across the world. The organization focuses on six key areas; Climate Policy, Sustainable Cities & Transport, Disaster Risk Reduction, Biodiversity, Peace, Conflict, & Natural Resources, and International Finance & Trade. The organization has also developed the Gender Climate Tracker App. The app allows users to access any information, policies, and laws governments from around the world have established on climate change. The app was created following the Paris Climate Agreement in collaboration with the governments of Finland and Switzerland, as well as Global Gender and Climate Alliance (GGCA). The organization hopes that users will take advantage of the app by using it to keep governments and officials accountable for following through on any commitments made. WEDO also started th
“Feminist Agenda for a Green New Deal”
with 13 other partners. The coalition analyzes how feminist principles on intersectional gender inequality cross-cut with climate change in order to try to establish a healthier planet in the future. The website states that a Green New Deal must be guided b
principles
of justice and accountability, as well as listing principles for action. WEDO and the

Center for Women's Global Leadership The Center for Women's Global Leadership, based at Rutgers University, was founded in 1989 by Charlotte Bunch, the former executive director and an internationally renowned activist for women's human rights. Executive Director Krishanti Dharmaraj ...

launched the

Gender Equality Architecture Reform The Gender Equality Architecture Reform (GEAR) Campaign was a network of over 300 women's, human rights and social justice groups around the world. The GEAR campaign urged UN Member States and the UN Secretariat to move swiftly forward to create a ...

(GEAR) Campaign in February 2008 to mobilize women's groups and allies to push for the adoption of the new UN entity for gender equality and women's empowerment. Priority projects include MisFortune500.org, climate change advocacy, and UN Reform.

References

Summary of 2006 Champions of the Earth, United Nations Environment Programme

External links

Women's Environment & Development Organization
{{DEFAULTSORT:Women's Environment and Development Organization International environmental organizations International women's organizations Feminist organizations in the United States Development charities based in the United States Organizations established in 1990 Sustainability organizations

See also

References

External links