Women's Environment & Development Organization
Women's Environment & Development Organization is a New York-based international nongovernmental organization that advances gender equality and women's rights in environmental, climate, development, and global policy.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
The Women's Environment & Development Organization, commonly known as WEDO, is an international nongovernmental organization headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1990 by former United States Congresswoman Bella Abzug and feminist activist Mim Kelber, the organization works to place women's equality, women's rights, and gender justice at the center of international environmental and development policy. Rather than operating as a consumer-facing brand, WEDO functions as an advocacy, convening, research, training, and policy organization whose principal audiences include women's rights groups, civil-society networks, governments, United Nations agencies, and other institutions involved in global decision-making. WEDO emerged from the international women's movement and has worked through global conferences, coalition-building, policy analysis, and direct engagement with multilateral processes. Its early successes included helping secure references to gender equality in the final documents associated with the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, including Agenda 21 and the Rio Declaration. These achievements established a durable connection between women's rights and environmental governance, while also positioning WEDO as an intermediary between grassroots women's organizations and international institutions. The organization describes its work through several complementary roles: technical adviser, advocate, facilitator and convener, trainer, organizer, and knowledge creator. Across these functions, WEDO seeks to strengthen advocacy systems at both global and local levels. Its policy work has covered climate policy, sustainable cities and transport, disaster-risk reduction, biodiversity, peace and conflict, natural resources, and international finance and trade. The common thread is an effort to show how environmental and economic decisions affect women differently and to promote policies that account for those differences. WEDO has also developed practical tools and coalition initiatives. The Gender Climate Tracker is a digital application designed to make government climate policies, laws, and commitments more accessible and to help users monitor implementation. The project followed the Paris Agreement and was developed with the governments of Finland and Switzerland and the Global Gender and Climate Alliance. Another initiative, the Feminist Agenda for a Green New Deal, was launched with 13 partner organizations. It frames climate action through feminist and intersectional principles, emphasizing justice, accountability, and attention to unequal social and economic impacts. WEDO and the Center for Women's Global Leadership launched the Gender Equality Architecture Reform Campaign in 2008. The campaign mobilized women's organizations and allies in support of a stronger United Nations structure dedicated to gender equality and women's empowerment. WEDO's related priority work has included United Nations reform, climate advocacy, and the MisFortune500.org project. In 2006, the United Nations Environment Programme recognized the organization as an international Champion of the Earth. WEDO's present identity is therefore that of a specialist international advocacy organization linking gender equality with environmental sustainability, climate action, development governance, and institutional accountability.
History
WEDO was established in 1990 by Bella Abzug, a former member of the United States Congress, and Mim Kelber, a feminist activist. Its creation reflected the growing effort within the international women's movement to connect women's political and economic equality with environmental protection and development policy. The organization was designed to operate internationally, using advocacy, coalition work, and engagement with multilateral institutions rather than commercial activity. In its early period, WEDO participated in the international policy debates surrounding environment and development. Its most significant early achievements were associated with the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development and the resulting policy documents. WEDO helped advocate for gender equality to be recognized in Agenda 21 and the Rio Declaration, helping establish that environmental policy and sustainable development could not be separated from women's rights and participation. A number of activists and environmental and women's-rights pioneers, including Thais Corral, Jocelyn Dow, Wangari Maathai, Brownie Ledbetter, Chief Bisi Ogunleye, and Vandana Shiva, were associated with the organization's broader development and advocacy history. WEDO's operating model has combined international policy engagement with support for advocacy networks. It has worked as a technical adviser, advocate, convener, facilitator, trainer, organizer, and producer of knowledge. These functions allow the organization to translate evidence and experiences from women's groups into policy recommendations while also helping civil-society organizations engage governments and United Nations bodies. Its work has addressed climate policy, sustainable cities and transportation, disaster-risk reduction, biodiversity, peace and conflict, natural resources, and international finance and trade. The organization expanded its institutional-reform work through the Gender Equality Architecture Reform Campaign, launched in February 2008 with the Center for Women's Global Leadership. The campaign sought to mobilize women's organizations and allied groups around the creation and adoption of a stronger United Nations entity for gender equality and women's empowerment. This work formed part of WEDO's broader interest in improving the capacity and accountability of international governance systems. In 2006, the United Nations Environment Programme recognized WEDO as an international Champion of the Earth. The recognition highlighted the organization's role in linking environmental policy with gender equality. WEDO later continued to develop tools and partnerships focused on climate governance. Following the Paris Climate Agreement, it created the Gender Climate Tracker with the governments of Finland and Switzerland and the Global Gender and Climate Alliance. The application was intended to make government climate commitments and relevant laws and policies easier to find and assess. WEDO also helped initiate the Feminist Agenda for a Green New Deal with 13 partner organizations. The initiative examines how climate change intersects with structural and intersectional gender inequality and argues that climate-transition policies should be guided by justice and accountability. Alongside this work, WEDO has identified climate advocacy, United Nations reform, and MisFortune500.org among its priority projects. The organization remains an international advocacy institution focused on strengthening the role of women's rights and gender justice in environmental, development, and global policy decisions.
- 2008
Gender Equality Architecture Reform Campaign launched
[1]WEDO and the Center for Women's Global Leadership launched the GEAR Campaign to support reform of the United Nations gender-equality architecture.
- 2006
Named an international Champion of the Earth
[1]The United Nations Environment Programme recognized WEDO as an international Champion of the Earth.
- 1992
Gender equality incorporated into Rio-era policy documents
[1]WEDO's early advocacy contributed to the inclusion of gender-equality language in Agenda 21 and the Rio Declaration associated with the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development.
- 1990
WEDO founded
[1]Bella Abzug and Mim Kelber founded the Women's Environment & Development Organization as an international organization connecting women's equality with environmental and development policy.
Gender Climate Tracker introduced
[1]WEDO developed the Gender Climate Tracker with Finland, Switzerland, and the Global Gender and Climate Alliance after the Paris Climate Agreement.
Feminist Agenda for a Green New Deal developed
[1]WEDO and 13 partners created a framework for applying feminist principles to climate action and Green New Deal discussions.
Products and positioning
A feminist international policy and advocacy organization connecting women's rights and gender equality with climate action, environmental protection, sustainable development, and reform of global institutions.
Digital policy and accountability tool
Gender Climate Tracker
A digital application that provides access to government climate policies, laws, and commitments from around the world. WEDO developed it after the Paris Climate Agreement with the governments of Finland and Switzerland and the Global Gender and Climate Alliance. Its purpose is to help advocates and other users examine official commitments and hold governments and public officials accountable for implementation.
Research and advocacy project
MisFortune500.org
A WEDO priority project associated with the organization's broader work on gender, economic power, and accountability. The available reference material identifies the project but does not provide enough detail to describe its current scope or outputs more specifically.
Marketing campaigns
- 2008Gender Equality Architecture Reform Campaign
International · United Nations
WEDO and the Center for Women's Global Leadership launched the GEAR Campaign to mobilize women's organizations and allies in favor of a stronger United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and women's empowerment.
Outcome. The campaign contributed to civil-society advocacy around reform of the United Nations gender-equality architecture. The available source does not establish a specific final outcome attributable solely to the campaign.
- Feminist Agenda for a Green New Deal
International · Climate policy
WEDO and 13 partner organizations developed a feminist framework for Green New Deal discussions. The initiative links climate change with intersectional gender inequality and calls for climate policies based on justice, accountability, and inclusive action.
Outcome. The initiative established a set of principles and arguments for incorporating feminist analysis into climate-transition policy. A definitive policy outcome is not specified in the available source.
Brand decisions
2008
Partnered on United Nations gender-architecture reformStrategyBackground
WEDO and the Center for Women's Global Leadership sought broader civil-society support for reforming the United Nations system's approach to gender equality.
Action taken
The organizations launched the Gender Equality Architecture Reform Campaign to coordinate women's groups and allies.
Aftermath
The campaign became part of wider advocacy for stronger international institutional mechanisms on gender equality and women's empowerment.
1990
Established an international feminist environmental-policy organizationStrategyBackground
The founders created WEDO amid efforts to bring women's equality and women's rights into international environmental and development debates.
Action taken
WEDO adopted an advocacy and coalition-building model focused on governments, United Nations agencies, women's groups, and other civil-society partners.
Aftermath
The organization became associated with gender provisions in Rio-era development documents and later expanded into climate, biodiversity, disaster-risk reduction, peace, finance, and United Nations reform work.
- Created the Gender Climate TrackerProduct launch
Background
The Paris Climate Agreement created a need for accessible information about national climate laws, policies, and commitments, including their gender implications.
Action taken
WEDO developed a digital tracker with Finland, Switzerland, and the Global Gender and Climate Alliance.
Aftermath
The tool provided advocates and other users with a resource for reviewing government climate commitments and monitoring accountability.
Sources2 sources
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