Public policy advocacy is a principle mission of Women’s Declaration International. Women in our US chapter are promoting sex-based rights for women and girls in multiple ways; for example, presenting testimony to government agencies, responding to proposed changes in government policy and practices, and standing in solidarity with other citizens advocating for women and girls.
Read about our most recent advocacy projects launched below.
Equality for All Act
Our proposed Equality for All Act (EFAA) would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and nonconformity to sex-based stereotypes, while maintaining the existing sex-based protections for women and girls. WDI USA hopes that a member of Congress will consider introducing the EFAA as an alternative to the current version of the Equality Act.
State Legislative Testimony
In what has been called a “record-breaking” year, dozens of bills affecting sex-based rights for women and girls were introduced in state legislatures since January. Some sought to protect single sex sports and private spaces for women and girls; others sought to advance “gender identity” at our expense. WDI USA women are stepping up to testify in defense of women and girls around the country.
In 2021, WDI USA volunteers sent FOIA requests to every women’s state prison in the US to inquire about the exact number of male inmates being housed in each of them. The results have been used by journalists around the country and around the world to report on this blatant violation of basic human rights. Those 2021 results can be accessed here.
In April of 2023, we decided it was time to do it again. More men have been using state laws and policies that contain convoluted definitions of sex to gain access to the women’s facilities on the basis of their supposed ‘female gender identities.’ For this reason, the 2021 numbers were likely to have grown. This time, not only did we request the numbers, we also requested the entirety of the policy documents that states are currently using to determine which and how many inmates will be housed in the women’s facility based on their ‘female gender identities.’
100 Days Project – Executive Order 13988
Immediately upon taking office, President Biden issued an Executive Order directing all federal agencies to review their policies within 100 days to determine what revisions should be made to prevent discrimination on the basis of “gender identity” and sexual orientation, using a definition that collapses these categories with the category “sex.” What this means is that biological sex and “gender identity” are treated as the same, thereby negating women’s sex-based rights. WDI USA women launched a letter-writing campaign to agency heads, urging them to protect our sex-based rights.
Grassroots Campaigns
Grassroots campaigns are central to WDI USA’s mission to secure sex-based rights for women and girls around the country. Our work as an organization would not be possible without the grassroots, on-the-ground action from our dedicated volunteers. Actions include everything from hanging up flyers and stickers, to holding protests. No matter how they choose to participate, our volunteers help us get the word out about what we’re fighting for.
Read about our largest coordinated campaigns so far below.
Looking to get involved or start a grassroots action of your own? You can find flyers, stickers, and letter templates on our Grassroots Campaigning Materials page.
School FOIA Project
WDI USA’s FOIA Team has acquired an archive of materials from an array of American schools that provide a glimpse into what children are being taught across the country. It includes materials collected through the efforts of numerous individuals including WDI USA volunteers who filed Freedom of Information (FOIA) requests with local school districts, as well as materials obtained through other research.
Supporting Incarcerated Women in New Jersey
The state of New Jersey is housing men in the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women (EMCFW). In April, it was reported that two incarcerated women had become pregnant by some of the so-called “transgender” inmates. WDI USA is taking action by creating an email campaign targeted at the New Jersey Department of Corrections.
Letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer
On March 12, 2021, the WDI USA sent a letter to Majority Leader Schumer, signed by thousands of Declaration signatories all over the world, explaining how devastating the Equality Act would be to women and girls globally. One of his staffers confirmed receipt of the letter, and said she would make sure the Senator would see it.
How We Decked the Halls of Congress
Thanks to the generosity of our donors, WDI USA volunteers sent a copy of Board President Kara Dansky’s The Abolition of Sex to every member of Congress. We included personal messages from constituents and supporters in each package, urging Senators and Representatives to read the book and listen to our concerns.
Women Tell IOC: No Men in Women’s Sports
In July 2021, women took to Fifth Avenue in New York City to protest the inclusion of men in women’s sports in the Olympics. The event was organized by Jesika Gonzalez, founder of the Terf Collective and was a great success. During the two hour protest, many passerby showed support for the cause and there were only a handful of dissenters.
Solidarity with Marion Miller Ribbon Action
When a Scottish woman named Marion Miller was charged with a hate crime for posting a supposedly “transphobic” tweet of a suffragette woman, many WDI USA volunteers were motivated to show their support for Miller. Volunteers across the country hung their own suffragette ribbons and notes of support for Miller around their towns and shared images on social media.
Mother’s Day Direct Action
For Mother’s Day in 2021, WDI USA volunteers across the country took to the streets to hang flyers and stickers to protest female erasure and the use of new terms like “birthing person” instead of mother. There was also a coordinated social media campaign to spread awareness and share information, images, and memes fighting back against female erasure.
To read the Declaration in full and become a signatory click here.
