Statement on LGBTQIA+ Inclusion at WD2026
08 April 2026 | This statement was written in collaboration with the WD2026 Working Group on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression, and Sex Characteristics (SOGIESC).
We acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Peoples of the Kulin Nation, Traditional Custodians of the unceded lands of Narrm (Melbourne), where WD2026 will gather.
The Women Deliver 2026 Conference (WD2026) convenes at a time of intensified, coordinated global attacks on gender equality, bodily autonomy, and human rights. Across regions, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA+) communities are facing legislative attacks, disinformation campaigns, shrinking civic space, and attempts to divide feminist and gender justice movements. In particular, trans, gender-diverse, and intersex people are being singled out and excluded from public life and, at times, from spaces that should reflect solidarity. We also recognize the harmful exclusion of LGBTQIA+ persons with disabilities from key global frameworks, including the recent removal of language on sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression from a United Nations resolution on the rights of persons with disabilities.
As the host of WD2026, a global convening committed to inclusive feminist principles, gender equality, and human rights, Women Deliver affirms that LGBTQIA+ rights are integral to gender justice. The advancement of women’s and girls’ rights and the protection of LGBTQIA+ communities, including trans, gender-diverse, and intersex people with multiple and intersecting identities, are not separate struggles: we are in a single, shared fight for our rights.
We further recognize that gender justice cannot be realized without centering First Nations and Indigenous peoples and intersectional leadership. WD2026 affirms that First Nations and Indigenous knowledge, political analysis, and community leadership are embedded throughout the Conference’s program and partnerships. First Nations and Indigenous LGBTQIA+ identities and feminisms, decolonial approaches, and community-rooted expertise are essential to challenging systemic injustice and advancing collective liberation.
WD2026 will bring together participants from a wide range of communities, geographies, backgrounds, and political views. We recognize that each of us holds many identities, and that these intersect with the LGBTQIA+ spectrum in different ways — including, but not limited to, gender, indigeneity, disability, caste, race, ethnicity, age, class or socioeconomic status, sexuality, religion, experiences of forced displacement, asylum seeking, migration, statelessness, sex worker status, and HIV status. Women Deliver is committed to creating a space for dialogue, mutual understanding, and learning, as well as a space in which we can respectfully challenge one another and hold ourselves, and each other, accountable.
Women Deliver embraces dialogue and discussion that is respectful, meaningful, engaging, and questioning, while remaining grounded in our core values and principles. It is non-negotiable to us that:
Trans and Gender-Diverse Rights are Human Rights
Intersex Rights are Human Rights
First Nations and Indigenous Rights are Human Rights
We acknowledge the importance of confronting exclusion wherever it appears, including within our own movements, as a collective responsibility. In this spirit, we reaffirm our commitment to intersectional feminist practice grounded in dignity, safety, and collective liberation.
To LGBTQIA+ communities coming to WD2026, including trans, gender-diverse, and intersex communities: you are welcome, respected, and appreciated.
