International Women's Development Agency

The International Women's Development Agency (IWDA) is an Australian secular, non-profit organisation focused on advancing women's rights and gender equality, particularly in Asia and the Pacific. Founded in Melbourne in 1985 by Ruth Pfanner, Wendy Poussard and Wendy Rose, the organisation was established in response to structural barriers that prevented women from achieving full equality. Its work has combined practical development programmes with research, policy engagement and advocacy. Rather than operating primarily through projects designed and delivered by an external headquarters, IWDA works with women-led organisations and movements in the countries and communities concerned. These partnerships are intended to place decision-making with local women, allowing programmes to reflect local priorities and conditions. The organisation's principal areas of work have included civil and political participation, economic empowerment and sustainable livelihoods, and safety and security. Its wider rights-based approach has also extended to issues affecting LGBT communities and to research on poverty using individual deprivation measures. IWDA began its first overseas programme in the Philippines in 1986, where it supported healthcare for women. Over time, its partnership network expanded across countries and territories in the Asia-Pacific region, including Cambodia, Timor-Leste, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Myanmar and areas connected to its borders. In the Solomon Islands, one documented partnership with the Women's Rights Action Movement sought to increase women's participation in political life, including at the provincial level, while also addressing discrimination. The organisation's scale grew over the following decades. By 2000, it had funded its 300th overseas project. By 2017, it reported working with 194 partner organisations in 36 countries. These figures describe a networked development model in which IWDA provides support to locally rooted organisations rather than functioning solely as a direct service provider. Its activities have included programme support, research, public policy and advocacy designed to influence the conditions that shape women's rights. IWDA is guided by a commitment to gender equality and has stated adherence to the ten principles of the United Nations Global Compact. Its public identity is therefore that of a specialist international development and women's rights organisation rather than a commercial product brand. The organisation's contemporary work remains centred on women-led change in the Asia-Pacific region, with partnerships and advocacy addressing participation, livelihoods, safety, security and related forms of social exclusion.

The International Women's Development Agency was established in Melbourne in 1985 as an Australian secular, non-profit organisation dedicated to removing barriers to women's equality. Its three named founders were Ruth Pfanner, Wendy Poussard and Wendy Rose. From the beginning, the organisation's purpose was international in scope, with a particular focus on the Asia-Pacific region and on supporting women to shape responses to the issues affecting their own communities. IWDA's first overseas programme began in the Philippines in 1986 and provided healthcare for women. This early activity established a pattern of working beyond Australia through partnerships and targeted development initiatives. Over subsequent years, the organisation broadened its programme interests from service delivery to a wider rights-based agenda encompassing women's participation in public life, economic opportunity, sustainable livelihoods, safety and security, research and policy advocacy. The organisation's partnership model places substantial emphasis on women who live and work in the communities concerned. Projects are devised and managed with local women and their organisations, with the aim of supporting practical and innovative responses to local priorities. This approach has led IWDA to work with partner organisations across a range of Asia-Pacific settings, including Cambodia, Timor-Leste, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Myanmar and areas associated with its borders. The Solomon Islands provides one example of this work. IWDA partnered with the Women's Rights Action Movement to encourage greater participation by women in political life, particularly at the provincial level, while also addressing discrimination against women. More broadly, the organisation has supported work relating to civil and political rights, economic empowerment, safety and security, and research into poverty through individual deprivation measures. Its agenda has also expanded to include concerns affecting LGBT communities. By 2000, IWDA had funded its 300th overseas project, indicating the development of a substantial programme portfolio during its first fifteen years. By 2017, it reported working with 194 partnership organisations in 36 countries. The organisation has also pursued research, policy and advocacy alongside its country-level partnerships, seeking to influence institutions and public debate as well as to support individual programmes. IWDA has stated that it adheres to the ten principles of the United Nations Global Compact. In 2021, reference material recorded total organisational income of more than A$14 million. IWDA remains headquartered in Melbourne and continues to present itself as a women's rights and development organisation working through partnerships in Asia and the Pacific.

• 2021

  Reported income exceeded A$14 million

  [1]International Women's Development Agencyen.wikipedia.org

  Reference material reported total organisational income of more than A$14 million for the year.

• 2017

  Partnership network reached 194 organisations in 36 countries

  [1]International Women's Development Agencyen.wikipedia.org

  IWDA reported working with 194 partnership organisations across 36 countries.

• 2000

  300th overseas project funded

  [1]International Women's Development Agencyen.wikipedia.org

  The organisation reached the milestone of funding its 300th overseas project.

• 1986

  First overseas programme launched in the Philippines

  [1]International Women's Development Agencyen.wikipedia.org

  IWDA began its first overseas programme in the Philippines, supporting healthcare for women.

• 1985

  Organisation founded in Melbourne

  [1]International Women's Development Agencyen.wikipedia.org

  Ruth Pfanner, Wendy Poussard and Wendy Rose founded the International Women's Development Agency as a secular Australian non-profit focused on women's equality and rights.

A secular, non-profit international development organisation that supports locally led women's rights movements and gender-equality initiatives in Asia and the Pacific.

• International development programmes · 1986

  Women-led development partnerships

  IWDA supports projects devised and managed with women in the communities where the work takes place. The partnership model is intended to strengthen locally led responses to issues including rights, participation, livelihoods, safety and security across Asia and the Pacific.

• Research and advocacy

  Women's rights research, policy and advocacy

  Alongside country-level partnerships, IWDA undertakes research and engages in policy and advocacy to advance women's rights. Its documented interests include poverty measurement through individual deprivation measures, political participation, gender discrimination and issues affecting LGBT communities.

• Women's political empowerment

  Civil and political participation programmes

  These initiatives support women's ability to participate in public and political life. Work in the Solomon Islands, including partnership with the Women's Rights Action Movement, has included efforts to increase women's participation at the provincial level.

• Economic development

  Economic empowerment and sustainable livelihoods

  IWDA identifies economic empowerment and sustainable livelihoods as one of its principal areas of women's rights work. The focus is on development conditions that affect women's economic security and capacity to exercise rights, delivered through regional partnerships.

• Protection and human rights

  Safety and security initiatives

  Safety and security form a third major area of IWDA's work. The organisation supports partner-led responses to threats and discrimination affecting women, within a broader framework of gender equality and human rights.

1. 1International Women's Development Agencyen.wikipedia.org
2. 2International Women's Development Agency official websiteiwda.org.au