The Women Deliver 2026 Conference in Naarm (Melbourne) Australia people from across the world came together to talk about gender equality, rights and what real leadership looks like in a time of crisis.

The conference recognised the Traditional Owners of the land, the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation. Cultural performances and acknowledgements reminded everyone why connection, culture, and community matter.

Across the main sessions, one message came through clearly: lived experience is expertise.

Grassroots leaders spoke about the importance of co-design, fair funding and making sure women, First Nations people, people with disabilities, and gender-diverse people are not just invited into the room but listened to.

Speakers included Antoinette Braybrook, the Honourable Julia Gillard, and organisations such as ILGA World and Ontario Native Women’s Association.

A key outcome of the conference was the Melbourne Declaration for Gender Equality. Co-created by Women Deliver and 650 participants worldwide, the Declaration outlines a vision for gender equality and the actions needed to achieve it.

But there were also serious problems.

The Australian disability delegation was not properly consulted in the development of the declaration. Were other Inclusion International members part of the consultation? If not, that’s a major concern for a declaration that claims to represent inclusion.

It was also disappointing that the conference organisers did not provide an easy-read or plain language version of the Declaration. This meant that many people with disabilities were locked out of something that was meant to represent them.

There were also accessibility failures on the ground. The Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre moved one session at the last minute to a room that was not accessible, creating real barriers for disabled delegates. At a conference themed around inclusion, this is simply not good enough.

If Women Deliver wants to claim leadership on equality, it needs to do better. The Melbourne Declaration must be updated through real consultation with people with disabilities, and made available in accessible formats including easy read and plain language.

Inclusion can’t just be a slogan. It has to be the standard.

William Ward-Boas
Chair of VALID

William is a proud Autistic and First Nations person with an intellectual disability from the LGBTIQA+ community. William is the Chair of VALID. VALID is the Victorian Advocacy League for Individuals with Disabilities. They are an Australian organisation that works to strengthen and protect the human rights of people with intellectual disability, from inclusion and employment to housing, health, and education. Its vision is a society where people with intellectual disability have real control over their own lives, a genuine say in the policies and systems that affect them, and the same rights and opportunities as everyone else.