By Malavika Kadwadkar, WHISE Community Outreach Lead

Women Deliver 2026 brought together more than 6,200 delegates from 189 countries, creating a global space for feminist practitioners, grassroots leaders, researchers, advocates, funders, and policymakers to connect, reflect, and challenge existing systems. What resonated most was the shared reality that many communities worldwide are navigating shrinking resources, rising backlash against gender equality, and systems that were never designed with inclusion in mind. Yet alongside these challenges was a strong sense of solidarity, resistance, and hope.

A central message across the four days was that community leadership already exists — systems need to catch up. As one speaker noted, “We don’t necessarily have a knowledge gap — we have an implementation and power‑sharing gap.” Grassroots leaders described delivering significant impact with limited funding and navigating structures that often create barriers rather than support.

Key themes

• Indigenous leadership and self‑determination: Sessions emphasised that colonisation continues to shape health, safety, and access to resources. Self‑determination requires genuine authority, not symbolic inclusion. This aligned strongly with WHISE’s Reflect RAP and our commitment to embedding First Nations leadership earlier in planning and decision‑making.
• Funding, trust and power: Many discussions highlighted the mismatch between compliance‑heavy funding systems and the relational nature of community work. Delegates asked: What would funding look like if it was built around trust and relationships, not only compliance?
• Trauma‑informed practice: Several sessions underscored the need for skilled facilitation, emotional safety planning, and culturally grounded approaches, particularly when discussing violence or lived experience.
• Inclusion and intersectionality: Speakers were candid about where systems still fall short — from disability justice to queer inclusion to the experiences of migrant and displaced communities. Inclusion must be intentionally designed, not assumed.
• Engaging men and boys: Community‑led prevention work from Bougainville demonstrated the importance of long‑term, relational approaches grounded in healing, accountability, and local leadership.
• Women’s health across the life course: Discussions reinforced the need for whole‑of‑life approaches to women’s health, beyond reproductive health alone, particularly for marginalised communities.

Reflections on the conference experience

While the conference offered rich learning and global connection, it also highlighted challenges: emotionally charged sessions, limited time for deep engagement, and operational barriers such as accessibility, navigation, and wellbeing supports. Participation was shaped by organisational resources, raising important questions about who can access global spaces and whose voices remain underrepresented.

What this means for WHISE

The conference reinforced several priorities for our ongoing work:

• strengthening partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations,
• embedding lived experience leadership,
• advocating for flexible, sustainable funding models,
• deepening trauma‑informed and culturally grounded practice,
• and continuing to operationalise intersectionality across gender equality, health, and prevention.

Final reflection

Across countries and contexts, communities are already building alternatives, creating safer spaces, and challenging exclusionary systems. The conference was a reminder that meaningful change happens not only through policy reform but through relationships, collective care, and shared leadership. The foundations for change already exist — the challenge is whether institutions are willing to listen, share power, and work differently.