This International Wom*n’s Day, we celebrate the lesbian, bisexual, queer, trans, and intersex women and gender nonconforming people around the world who are helping #PressforProgress by challenging oppression in all its forms and creating a future that is self-determined, sex-positive, safe, welcoming, and inclusive.

40 years ago, a group of mostly queer women of color founded Astraea to address the lack of funding for progressive women’s organizing, particularly organizing led by lesbians and women of color. Ever since, we’ve been dedicated to funding LBQTI activists who are often forgotten and underfunded by mainstream women’s and LGBT rights donors. Not only that, but we prioritize support to groups led by LBQ women, trans and gender-nonconforming people, intersex people, and people of color.

Today, the activists, organizers, and artists we support are standing up to oppressive forces like misogyny, white supremacy, homophobia, xenophobia, and transphobia. For example, this past year:

• In October 2017, we supported the participation of 11 LBQ activists from 5 Eastern European and Central Asian countries in the European Lesbian* Conference, the first conference of its scope and size in Europe bringing together over 500 LBQ women to build collective visibility and shape political agendas in the region.
• Palestinian organization alQaws collaborated on a groundbreaking social media campaign titled “Difference Never Justifies Violence” that aimed to make LGBTQ issues, homosexuality, and sexual/gender diversity more accessible to Palestinian society while giving voice and power to LGBTQ persons to talk about their own lived experiences.
• Through sustained pressure on U.S. Immigrations Customs Enforcement (ICE) and city officials, Immigrant Youth Coalition helped free more than 20 trans women held in Santa Ana City Jail detention centers via the #EndTransDetention campaign.

Watch our video above to hear from grantee partners like WISG and Sappho for Equality and to learn more about our support for LBQTI women and gender nonconforming people.

#PressforProgress today and support organizations standing up for LBQTI and gender nonconforming people:

• Join us in building up LBQTI voices and movements to change the world.
• Watch our videos learn more about our work and the work of the organizations we support.
• Read our new infographic report highlighting the brilliant visions of liberation and persistent need for resourcing of LBQ-identified women and non-binary people.