Women Deliver

About the event

The Women Deliver 2026 took place in Narrm (Melbourne). The Women Deliver Conference is a global feminist space that brings together stakeholders to reflect on gender equality milestones, exchange ideas and advocate for a world that is equal for all, where each woman can decide about her sexual and reproductive health needs and her body. The conference takes place every three years.  

The Women Deliver Conference 2026 was anchored on four pathways, namely:

Disrupt Now:  focusing onconfronting systemic uplifting lived experience and reclaiming power throughresistance and healing

Build the Vision:  focusing onimagining bold alternatives, redesigning systems rooted in justice and care,and co-create feminist futures

Align for Action: focusing on forging alliances across movements andsectors and turning shared visions into collective strategies

Sustain the Movement: focusing on securing long-term momentum through resources, intergenerational leadership, and mutual accountability.

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Why engagement at the Women Deliver conference mattered

Gender equality is at the core of IDA’s work. Over the years, IDA has consistently worked to ensure that women with disabilities are prioritised in standard-setting processes, decision-making, knowledge production, capacity strengthening, and movement building.

IDA’s Strategic Framework 2025–2030 reinforces this commitment by positioning gender equality as a cross-cutting priority across its five strategic objectives. Engagement at the Women Deliver Conference was particularly relevant to strategic objectives 1, 2 and 3, which focus on influencing global processes to advance CRPD standards, alliance strengthening and showcasing OPD-led national initiatives and solutions.

The 2026 Women Deliver Conference pathways aligned with IDA’s strategic framework, which prioritises gender equality as a cross-cutting theme, strategic objective 1, 2 and 3, specifically on influencing global forums to advance CRPD standards, movement strengthening andcross movement collaboration

‍IDA at the event

Overall objective of IDA's engagement at Women Deliver 

To advocate disability inclusion asgender equality priority, positioning women leaders with disabilities organisations of persons with disabilities as thought leaders and strategicpartners 

Key activities

Enabling OPD participation of women leaders with disabilities

IDA facilitated and supported over 30 women leaders with disabilities drawn from the African Disability Forum, World Network of Users and Survivors of Psychiatry, the Global Network of Indigenous Persons with Disabilities, the International Movement of Youth with Disabilities, the Pacific Disability Forum and the ASEAN Disability Forum to participate in the Women Deliver conference. This included financial, technical and information sharing, ensuring that women leaders with disabilities were able to participate meaningfully throughout the session.

Partnerships and strategic convenings

Disability pre-conference

Women leaders with disabilities participated in the regional pre-conference on disability justice which was hosted by Women Enabled International in collaboration with UNFPA and Women Deliver. During the pre-conference, IDA’s vice president delivered a speech highlighting the importance of cross-movement collaboration that is anchored on leadership of women leaders with disabilities and the importance of organising collectively.

 Disability Justice Consultation

IDA hosted the disability justice consultation, bringing together over 50 women leaders with disabilities to reflect on the Melbourne Declaration and the importance of meaningful consultation with organisations of women with disabilities. Through this consultation, women leaders with disabilities highlighted key issues to be considered in the Melbourne Declaration, which resulted in a stronger declaration recognising organisations of persons with disabilities as a constituency to the feminist ecosystem and strengthening the line in line with the CRPD.

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Peer-to-peer dialogue

On 30 March, IDA, in collaboration with DFAT, convened a peer-to-peer dialogue, providing a platform for over 30 women with disabilities to share and exchange knowledge on national and regional initiatives on disability inclusion and gender equality. 7 regional and global organisations of persons with disabilities, including youth and Indigenous leaders, shared their experiences during the peer dialogues. The dialogue also presented an opportunity for strategic partners, including DFAT and UN Women, to share ways they were collaborating with OPDs.

In addition to peer exchanges, women leaders with disabilities brainstormed about the Global Network of Women with Disabilities and reached a consensus on the need to establish one led by women with disabilities.  

Celebrating 20 years of the CRPD

IDA brought together stakeholders to commemorate 20 years of the CRPD and the advancement of Article 6. The informal space reflected on the gains but also presented an opportunity for an intergenerational conversation on how to better include young women with disabilities in the next decade of CRPD.

Endorsing the Melbourne Declaration

IDA endorsed the Melbourne Declaration with a key commitment to lead and facilitate the establishment of a Global Network of Women with Disabilities.

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