Women Leaders for Planetary Health (WLPH)
Potsdam, Germany
WLPH is a network, knowledge and advocacy hub that empowers women from the Global South to lead Planetary Health solutions.
The Project
Women Leaders for Planetary Health disseminates science for evidence-based decision making; works to break systemic barriers for gender equality and environmental protection; advocates for a holistic vision of health; and empowers women to be transformative agents in the areas of health, environment and human rights. They do this through scaling up an agile network of innovative leaders through a digital academy tailored to a specific promising network of young female leaders.
They aim to dismantle the barriers holding back women from leadership positions by offering not only technical skills of a new field but also soft skills necessary to improve leadership capabilities. They fast-track promising leaders in the most needed countries in influential sectors linked to the Planetary Health field, such as public health, sustainable development, entrepreneurship, and International Relations. Through their work, they aim to disrupt outdated systemic biases and prejudices, which still hold women leaders back.
Their Vision for the Future
“We exist to ensure that policies for the future take into account the whole of humanity and do not leave half of the world’s population behind. We envision a world where human systems are structured to operate in concert with the Earth system, so that the health of the planet and the health of people can flourish in harmony. We empower female change agents to lead a world where cultural norms around gender have changed and where we can witness social and environmental justice for all. We exist to promote a healthier, more equitable and more peaceful world.”
