Rainbow Road: Crisis Talks
We are living through a moment of unprecedented contradiction in global development. On the one hand, our sector remains publicly committed to inclusive, rights-based approaches. On the other, we are witnessing an accelerating rollback of LGBTQIA+ rights, funding, and political will across the globe.
Anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation and violent repression are escalating.
USAID has cancelled billions of dollars worth of contacts, and cut support for LGBTQIA+ leaders, issues, and organizations, destabilizing movements that were already under-resourced.
Globally, DEI frameworks are being stripped from institutions, deprioritized, or quietly abandoned in response to political and social backlash.
These trends aren’t new to many in this room. But what’s different now is the growing threat to LGBTQIA+ work for global development—we need a recalibration of how we fund, partner, and stand with LGBTQIA+ leaders working on the frontlines.
Rainbow Road: Crisis Talks is an unfiltered space for LGBTQIA+ leaders to speak directly to funders, INGOs, multilaterals, and development practitioners about the political, financial, and personal realities they are navigating—and to call the sector into deeper solidarity and smarter action.
This isn’t an awareness-raising panel. It’s an urgent conversation about what we do next.
Session Focus
We’re not here to rehash the problem—we are here to ask:
- What does leadership look like in this moment of retrenchment?
- How do we sustain LGBTQIA+ movements when wealthy countries and donor institutions are pulling back?
- What responsibilities do global development leaders hold in shaping the future of equity and inclusion—and how will we be accountable to those commitments?
Key Themes for Discussion:
Funding Retrenchment and Its Impact: What Happens When Wealthy Countries Withdraw?
As USAID and other donor agencies in wealthy countries scale back, LGBTQIA+ leaders are left filling widening gaps with shrinking resources. What does sustainable resourcing look like now? And how can global development actors course-correct?
The Quiet Exit from DEI: Confronting Global North Complicity
As DEI is deprioritized in wealthy countries, will we see global development organizations mirror this shift? How do we challenge this trend and recommit to the hard work of inclusion and equity?
Proximity, Power, and Partnership: Moving Beyond Tokenism
How do we center proximate leadership not as representation, but as a source of decision-making power in funding, program design, and policy influence?
Who Should Be in the Room
LGBTQIA+ Leaders
Senior global development professionals advancing inclusion and rights-based programming
Funders and donors from wealthy countries reassessing their LGBTQIA+ strategies and responsibilities
INGOs, multilaterals, and foundations wrestling with how to sustain LGBTQIA+ commitments amid political pressure
Corporate social impact leaders navigating the future of DEI
Allies ready to move beyond solidarity statements toward action and accountability