Women's Environment and Development Organization

What Women's Environment and Development Organization does

Women's Environment and Development Organization (WEDO) is a Brooklyn, New York-based nonprofit advocacy organization founded in 1990 that advances gender equality, climate justice, and sustainable development through global policy engagement. It operates as a membership-style advocacy coalition, coordinating and participating in ten-plus UN-recognized constituencies — including the Women & Gender Constituency under the UNFCCC, the Women's Major Group in UN sustainable development processes, and the Women & Gender Stakeholder Group under UNDRR — through which it channels feminist and grassroots perspectives into multilateral negotiations on climate, disaster risk reduction, biodiversity, and economic policy. Its beneficiaries are women leaders, feminist advocates, frontline environmental defenders, civil society organizations, and government policymakers, who use its tools, data, and coalition infrastructure to access political spaces and hold institutions accountable.

WEDO's primary technical asset is the Gender Climate Tracker, a digital platform and mobile application launched in 2016 that tracks gender mandates, participation, and progress under the UNFCCC and related processes, aggregating longitudinal data across Agenda 21, the Beijing Platform for Action, and subsequent climate policy cycles. Complementary programmatic products include the Critical Conversations interview series on just transition and an advocacy publishing cadence producing briefs, impact reports, and policy analyses (e.g., the 2024 Impact Report and 2025 Critical Trends feminist analysis). Distribution is open-access and coalition-mediated rather than commercial.

WEDO's business model is grant- and donation-funded rather than revenue-generating; services and digital tools are provided free of charge, with operating support drawn from foundations, governments, and individual donors. The organization employs 11–50 staff, is led by Executive Director Bridget Burns, and maintains a global operating footprint distributed across UN policy venues rather than regional offices.

Name

Women's Environment and Development Organization

Legal name

Women's Environment and Development Organization

Website

https://wedo.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

WEDO is a global nonprofit advocacy organization, founded 1990 and based in Brooklyn, that advances gender equality and climate justice by coordinating feminist coalitions across UN policy processes (UNFCCC, UNDRR, CBD) and operating the Gender Climate Tracker data platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Climate and Gender Equality Advocacy Services

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Business Associations (813910)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment (BPAGABAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Climate Policy, Governance & NDC Support (BPADALAA), United Nations System & Specialized Agencies (BPADAAAA), Gender Equality & Women’s Rights (BPADAGAF), Sexual & Reproductive Health & Family Planning (SRH/FP) Programs (BPADAIAD)

Keywords

• Climate justice advocacy
• Gender equality policy
• Environmental justice
• Feminist advocacy
• Global policy coalitions

Headquarters

HQ city

Brooklyn

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: As a nonprofit advocacy organization, WEDO relies on donations and grants from foundations, governments, and individual supporters to fund its operations and advocacy work.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

WEDO is a global women's advocacy organization that drives gender-just climate, environmental, and economic policy through coalition leadership, advocacy tools, and data products. Its central operational tool is the Gender Climate Tracker, an online platform and mobile app that tracks gender mandates and participation under the UNFCCC. The organization supplements this with advocacy briefs, impact reports, and the Critical Conversations interview series, and serves as Secretariat or convener for multiple UN-recognized stakeholder coalitions.

Product overview

WEDO is a global women's advocacy organization (not a technology product company) that offers a portfolio of advocacy tools, platforms, and initiatives rather than a unified software product. The primary digital platform is the Gender Climate Tracker, which provides accessible data and analysis on gender integration in climate policy. Related offerings include the Critical Conversations interview series and participation in various strategic coalitions focused on gender-just climate and environmental policies. The organization operates as a non-profit advocacy group rather than a SaaS or technology company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Gender Climate Tracker A data and analysis platform (web and mobile app) that tracks gender mandates, participation, and progress under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and related processes. It provides accessible data and tools for advocates, policymakers, researchers, and institutions to understand how gender equality is reflected in global climate policy and national implementation.
• Critical Conversations: Delivering a Gender-Just Transition

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• Women & Gender Constituency (WGC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWEDO leads the Women & Gender Constituency under UNFCCC, coordinating advocacy and policy input on gender equality in climate negotiations. This is a flagship coalition for the organization's global policy work.
• Women's Major GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWEDO participates in and helps coordinate the Women's Major Group, one of nine stakeholder groups recognized in UN sustainable development processes.
• Women and Gender Stakeholder Group under UNDRRcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWEDO serves as Secretariat of the Women & Gender Stakeholder Group under UNDRR (UN Disaster Risk Reduction), advocating for gender perspectives in disaster risk reduction policy.
• Gender + Environment Data Alliance (GEDA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWEDO co-leads the Gender + Environment Data Alliance, focused on making gender-environment data more accessible and usable for advocacy and policy.
• SRHR and Climate Justice CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWEDO participates in the SRHR and Climate Justice Coalition, connecting sexual and reproductive health rights with climate justice advocacy.
• GCF Observer Network of CSOs, Indigenous Peoples, and Local CommunitiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWEDO engages with the Green Climate Fund Observer Network to advocate for gender-responsive climate finance and civil society participation.
• Convention on Biological Diversity Women (CBD Women)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership focused on gender integration in biodiversity policy processes under the Convention on Biological Diversity.
• UNCSW Women's Rights CaucussecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition working on women's rights advocacy at the UN Commission on the Status of Women.
• Global Partner Network for Feminist Foreign PolicysecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork advancing feminist foreign policy perspectives in international relations and global governance.
• U.S. Climate Action NetworksecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition of organizations working to advance climate action policy in the United States.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN): Global conservation organization with a long-standing gender program and observer status at UNFCCC. Comparable to WEDO because IUCN integrates gender perspectives into environmental and climate policy processes and provides policy analysis that overlaps with WEDO's gender-climate nexus work.
• UN Women: The UN entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women, operating globally across policy, programmatic, and normative work. Comparable to WEDO because both work on gender integration across multilateral policy spaces, though UN Women operates as a much larger official UN body.
• World Resources Institute (WRI): Global research organization that publishes widely cited data and analysis on climate and equity, including gender-environment intersections. Comparable to WEDO because WRI's data products (e.g., Climate Watch) and UNFCCC engagement overlap with the Gender Climate Tracker's tracking function and policy analysis role.
• Heinrich Böll Foundation: German political foundation affiliated with the Greens that operates internationally on democracy, gender, and ecological transformation, with active UNFCCC and multilateral engagement. Comparable to WEDO because it funds and convenes gender-and-climate advocacy across UN venues with similar policy frames.

Direct peers

• MADRE: International women's human rights organization that partners with grassroots women-led groups on intersecting issues including climate, environmental justice, and economic justice. Directly comparable to WEDO in serving feminist leaders and grassroots movements with policy advocacy and convening functions.
• Global Forest Coalition: International coalition of indigenous and environmental NGOs that holds observer status at UNFCCC and CBD, with explicit women's and gender-environment programs. Directly comparable to WEDO in being a coalition-led advocacy organization focused on gender and environmental policy in the same UN venues.
• Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL): International environmental law and policy NGO that engages UNFCCC and related processes. Comparable to WEDO because CIEL produces policy analysis and advocacy on the climate-governance intersection, including gender-relevant dimensions, and operates as a similarly sized advocacy NGO.
• Climate Action Network (CAN): Global network of over 1,500 civil society organizations working on climate policy at UNFCCC and nationally. Comparable to WEDO because CAN is a coalition convener at the same UN climate venues, has observer status at UNFCCC, and operates a similar coalition-driven GTM motion in climate policy.
• Women's Earth Alliance: International organization that trains, resources, and connects women-led environmental and climate solutions globally. Directly comparable to WEDO in targeting women leaders and grassroots movements at the climate-environment intersection and providing advocacy capacity-building.

Emerging players

• Countdown 2030: International partnership working to advance sexual and reproductive health and rights in climate and environmental policy contexts. Comparable to WEDO because it occupies the SRHR-climate intersection, participates in UNFCCC advocacy, and is a fellow member of the SRHR and Climate Justice Coalition alongside WEDO.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwedo.org
• Facebookfacebook.com/WEDOworldwide
• Xx.com/WEDO_worldwide

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Women's Environment and Development Organization