Dr Taveeshi Gupta is the lead researcher behind The State of the World's Fathers 2026, Equimundo's tracking study of global fatherhood, which has been run every two years since 2015.

The just-released 2026 edition surveyed 8,000 parents across 16 countries, and the headline finding is striking: in just three years, between 2023 and 2026, attitudes about who should do care work have measurably gone backwards. The number of fathers who think boys shouldn't be taught to change a nappy has almost doubled.

In this conversation, recorded live at Women Deliver 2026 in Melbourne, Taveeshi sits down with Women's Agenda's Angela Priestley to unpack the data, the contradiction between what fathers want and what they believe, the trap of the "wallet dad" identity, and the surprising political constituency that nobody is currently organising: fathers who say they'd pay higher taxes for public care services, at a higher rate than mothers do.

Backlash Conversations is a Women's Agenda Podcast series, recorded live at Women Deliver 2026 in Melbourne. Check out more from the series in the feed.

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Teresa Zapeta is a Maya Indigenous leader from Guatemala and the Executive Director of the International Indigenous Women's Forum, a global network that has spent 25 years building Indigenous women's movements capable of holding democracies together when state institutions fail.

In 2023, her movement was central to the 106-day resistance that protected Guatemala's democratic transition. A successful, violence-free campaign with lessons for any movement committed to protecting such things.

In this conversation, recorded live at Women Deliver 2026 in Melbourne, Teresa sits down with Women's Agenda's Angela Priestley to talk about the funding gap that sees just 1.4% of global women's grant-making reach Indigenous women's organisations, why "care as leadership" is a counter-strategy to authoritarianism rather than just a value statement, and what global feminist media — including Women's Agenda — keeps getting wrong about Indigenous women's leadership.

Backlash Conversations is a Women's Agenda Podcast series, recorded live at Women Deliver 2026 in Melbourne. Check out more from the series in the feed.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Binaifer Nowrojee is the first female president of the Open Society Foundations, founded by George Soros, and the source of more than $24 billion in funding to human rights causes worldwide.

A human rights lawyer by training, her early work documenting sexual violence in Rwanda helped secure the first ever convictions for rape as a weapon of war.

Open Society is now itself a target of the Trump administration's attacks on US civil society. If those attacks become illegal restrictions on their rights, she says, they'll see the administration in court.

Binaifer offers a strong and compelling take on the manosphere, the moment we're in globally, and the opportunity for Australia to play a leading role.

She is fiercely determined, even while at the centre of an organisation under sustained attack.

She speaks with Angela Priestley for this conversation, recorded live at Women Deliver in Melbourne in April 2026. You can check out more of our 'Backlash Conversations' in the Women's Agenda Podcast feed.

Check out more from Open Society Foundations here.

The Women's Agenda Podcast is produced by Agenda Media, also publisher of Women's Agenda. You can sign up for our free daily news update here.

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She's here to hold the line on big tech power, and the world's first eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant is showing no signs of backing down.

Julie Inman Grant features in our latest series of Backlash Conversations, recorded live at Women Deliver in Melbourne.

She shares why she believes the social media ban in Australia is a long game, the success achieved and the work that's still to be done.

And she outlines what she describes as "outrage", a vicious cycle of content online that sucks in people of all ages, but is especially problematic for young people.

As for how the regulation is working to hold tech platforms to account, she says: "Some companies will come to the table, and some will see us in court."

Women's Agenda is running Backlash Conversations all week, featuring short interviews recorded from our exhibition space at Women Deliver in Melbourne in April 2026.

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Just six weeks ago, Maria Antonieta Alcalde stepped up to take on one of the toughest gigs globally: leading the International Planned Parenthood Federation at arguably one of its most challenging times in history.

But with three decades of successfully fighting for women's rights across Latin America, she's got the experience and energy to take on the role, as funding cuts, the Trump administration, and a well-funded network globally are pushing to roll back hard-fought rights.

Maria was recently in Melbourne for Women Deliver 2026, where she met with Women's Agenda's Angela Priestley to record this conversation live.

This is the first of our Backlash Conversations, featuring some of the biggest global leaders fighting for women's rights.

Maria shares what the world can learn from Latin America's grassroots playbook, why she rejects the term "backlash" to describe the global rollback of women's rights, and what Australia's $49 million in family-planning aid is actually achieving across the Pacific.

Plus, the incredible gains she believes Australian women can help achieve for our sisters across the Pacific.

The Backlash Conversations is a Women's Agenda Podcast series, recorded live at the Women Deliver conference in Melbourne. New episodes drop across the next week.

The Women's Agenda Podcast is produced by Agenda Media, the publisher of Women's Agenda. Sign up to our lunchtime daily news update here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week at Women's Agenda, it's all about money, power, and who's moving it.

We celebrate a major reform win for sexual assault survivors in, and FIFA's landmark decision to formally recognise the Afghan women's national football team in exile, marking a rebirth of hope after years in limbo.

Plus, we examine what was said about the global pushback against women's rights at Women Deliver, including how Julie Gillard and Dr Maliha Khan responded to questions on how to respond.

Also, we look at the $5.4 trillion intergenerational wealth transfer underway in Australia, and what it means when around 65% of it is heading to women. Finally, we close with friction-maxxing: the viral wellness trend telling everyone to make their lives harder, which… have a word with us about that one.

This week's discussed stories include:

• 'Major win': Georgie Purcell, Brittany Higgins secure reform to reduce courtroom harm for survivors
• Afghan women's team allowed to compete internationally after years in limbo
• The backlash against women is well funded. Why isn't the fightback?
• Giving to transform with women set to inherit trillions in next decade
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Subscribe to our free daily newsletter, become a member, and get the full stories at womensagenda.com.au.

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We unpack a week of wins, warnings and what-the-actuals.

The landmark pay rise putting more value on women (but still not enough). How Hungary issued a blow to the anti-feminist, pro-natalist regime of an autocrat,

Victoria's first Minister for Men and Boys, and what it means.

And an historic appointment: Lieutenant General Susan Coyle, the first woman to command the Australian Army in its 125-year history. But of course, the "DEI hire" talk begins.

Plus, Melania Trump has issued a rare public denial of any friendship with Jeffrey Epstein: unprompted, unasked, and in a way that left everyone scratching their heads.

This week's discussed stories include:

• NSW nurses secure landmark pay rise after years-long fight over "undervalued" work
• A strongman’s defeat sparks optimism for women’s rights globally
• Trump ally Viktor Orbán defeated in Hungary as voters reject strongman politics
• Victoria now has a Minister for Men and Boys. Now where's the Gender Equality Minister?
• 'Deeply significant': Susan Coyle becomes first woman to command Australian army
• Melania Trump denies ties to Jeffrey Epstein in rare public statement
• 
  

Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and head to womensagenda.com.au for our latest news.

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Cardiovascular disease kills around one in four Australian women, yet it’s still widely misunderstood as a “male” health issue.

In this episode, Assistant Minister for Health Rebecca White joins Women’s Agenda’s Editor, Tarla Lambert-Patel, to unpack the federal government’s new Ministerial Expert Panel on Women’s Health, and why heart health is its first priority.

They discuss what’s driving this shift, why women’s symptoms have been historically overlooked, and what it will take to close the gap in diagnosis, treatment and care. 

The Women's Agenda Podcast is produced by Agenda Media, publisher of Women's Agenda.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we take stock of a week that had plenty to celebrate, and of course to interrogate. The Matildas are in the Women's Asian Cup final on home soil, and Kyle Sandilands has been officially terminated by ARN after nearly three decades on Australian radio. Then the bigger stories: the Trump delegation's humiliating defeat at the UN's Commission on the Status of Women, the double threat of ageism and AI facing women over 50, and Louis Theroux's manosphere doco, including what it gets right, what it misses, and why the real story is about who is harvesting boys' attention, and why.

Stories discussed this week include

Matildas / Women's Asian Cup final

Kyle Sandilands terminated

CSW70 / Trump delegation

Women over 50, ageism and AI

Theroux / manosphere, "misses the story"

The manosphere and boys in an attention economy

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A new political leader wanting Australia to be great... just like the past. Only this time, a hyper Australia!

Plus, progress on the lack of women in leadership globally is slow, who could possibly tell?

Also some big wins for the week, including changes to superannuation that will get more money in women's pockets.

And the Iranian football team, which showed the responsibility we have for those who silently speak truth to power. 

Key stories discussed this week:

‘More Australian babies!’ New Nationals leader Matt Canavan has a vision for Australia to help us return to the past

Globally, the rate of cabinet posts held by women has decreased as political leadership overwhemingly dominated by men

Two more Iranian football squad members granted humanitarian visas, will stay in Australia

The Women's Agenda Podcast is produced by Agenda Media, publisher of Women's Agenda.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.