The leader of world's largest reproductive health network knows about backlash

About this episode

Maria Antonieta Alcalde discusses her leadership role at the International Planned Parenthood Federation and the challenges facing women's rights globally.

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…

People in this episode

Host: Angela Priestley

Guest: Maria Antonieta Alcalde

Topics covered

• reproductive health
• women's rights
• global challenges
• funding cuts
• grassroots movements

Keywords

• reproductive health
• women's rights
• backlash
• funding cuts
• Australia
• Latin America
• grassroots

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: International Planned Parenthood Federation, Women's Agenda

Places: Australia, Latin America, Melbourne

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