Our History
For almost 20 years, Women Deliver has championed positive change for gender equality on a global scale. At the heart of the organization’s work is our role as a global convener: we bring people together across movements, regions, and generations to connect, collaborate, and co-create strategies that advance gender equality and bodily autonomy. Our convening efforts focus on global spaces — including, but not limited to, the Women Deliver Conferences — because these spaces are a critical part of creating the world we want to see for girls, women, and gender-diverse people.
These convenings matter because they create global stages and moments for those often excluded from decision-making and help build networks of advocates. It’s also where policies are negotiated, norms are challenged, and commitments by those in power are made.
Global convenings have had a particularly important impact on gender equality and women’s bodily autonomy. From the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo (1994) to the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995), and continuing through Women Deliver Conferences, global spaces have translated advocacy into concrete policies and programs, shaping international agendas and creating real-world impact for girls, women, and gender-diverse people around the world.
We are experts in these spaces, where advocates, decision-makers, technical experts, and other actors come together to discuss critical global issues and create narratives, norms, and standards. We have a deep understanding of them: we know how to navigate their complex systems, we have access to them, and we aim to challenge and ultimately change whose voices are heard within them. In particular, we draw on years of experience meaningfully engaging young people and supporting collective action to advance their health and rights.
We are best known for this convening power — particularly Women Deliver Conferences, which began in 2007 when nearly 2,000 people from 115 countries declared that the deaths of over 500,000 women each year during pregnancy and childbirth would no longer be tolerated. The first Women Deliver Conference, held in London to mark the 20th anniversary of the Safe Motherhood Initiative, revitalized the case for investing in maternal and newborn health and intensified efforts to get maternal health on the global development agenda.
Our convening power has continued to grow since this first Conference in London, expanding to:
- Over 3,000 in 2010 (Washington, DC)
- 4,500 attendees in 2013 (Kuala Lumpur)
- 6,000 attendees in 2016 (Copenhagen)
- 8,000 onsite and 200,000 online and at satellite events in 2019 (Vancouver)
- More than 6,000 onsite and 10,000 online in 2023 (Kigali)
Since our founding, we have broadened and deepened our expertise in global advocacy for gender equality, focusing on:
- Navigating and utilizing global spaces
- Resourcing young people working for change
- Supporting and strengthening coalitions and collective movements
- Harnessing our brand influence to create change
We are committed to confronting the harmful aspects of our past and changing our practices. We pledge to shape a future where our actions not only reflect the feminist and anti-racist values to which we aspire, but also actively dismantle systems that oppress girls and women. We aim to carry forward the positive aspects of our history and work, building on our successes made possible through the commitment and expertise of our partners working alongside us.
