View source for International Women's Forum

{{Short description|Organization connecting women leaders}}
{{infobox organization
| name = International Women's Forum
| type =
| logo =
| logo_size=100%
| formation = {{start date and age|1974}}
| founder =
| former_name = Women's Forum of New York
| location = [[Washington, D.C.]]
| website = {{URL|https://www.iwforum.org/}}
}}
The '''International Women's Forum''' ('''IWF'''), founded in 1974 as the '''Women's Forum of New York''', is an invitation-only women's organization with some 7,800 members.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=About Us Overview |url=https://iwforum.org/about-us-overview/ |access-date=2023-05-12 |website=International Women's Forum |language=en-US}}</ref> Its mission is "to support the women leaders of today and tomorrow". The IWF hosts two conferences each year to address women's issues and it provides intensive leadership training programs for women. The Leadership Foundation, Inc., a supporting organization, provides a Fellows Program and the Women Athletes Business Network (WABN) Program.<ref name="overview">{{cite web |website=International Women's Forum |title=About Us Overview |url=https://www.iwforum.org/about_us_overview}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |title=Crashing Through the Glass Ceiling with Teamwork |first= Steven |last=Ginsberg|date=January 18, 1998 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1998/01/18/crashing-through-the-glass-ceiling-with-teamwork/54384e91-9866-4daf-9342-cc90f1c7435e/}}</ref>
==Members==
The IWF has been described as "highly influential." Notable members have included [[Hillary Clinton]], [[Madeleine Albright]], [[Sandra Day O'Connor]], [[Coretta King]], [[Betty Friedan]], and [[Katharine Graham]],<ref name="ec">{{cite web |website=[[European Commission]] |date=September 15, 2000 |title=The President of the EU Economic and Social Committee, Beatrice Rangoni Machiavelli, Italy, is awarded the international prize 'Woman who makes a difference' |url=http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_CES-00-69_en.htm}}</ref> and include "inventors, entrepreneurs, CEOs, heads of state, academics, scientists, astronauts, Olympic athletes, artists, filmmakers, financiers, philanthropists, and more".<ref name=":0" />
==History==
The group started as the Women's Forum of New York, founded in 1974 by [[Elinor Guggenheimer]], [[Muriel Siebert]], [[Eleanor Holmes Norton]], and [[Muriel Fox]]. Over the next few years it expanded to Atlanta, Chicago, Colorado, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. In 1982 it became international with the addition of the United Kingdom and was renamed the International Women's Forum in 1987.<ref name="overview" /> It is active in Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East as well as the United States.<ref name="ec" />
=="Women Who Make a Difference"==
The IWF maintains an International Hall of Fame and confers an annual "Women Who Make a Difference" award. Past awardees have included:<ref>{{cite web |website=International Women's Forum |title=Women Who Make a Difference |url=https://www.iwforum.org/women_who_make_a_difference |access-date=2019-05-21 |archive-date=2021-09-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210923113758/https://www.iwforum.org/women_who_make_a_difference |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* 2000: Italian politician [[Beatrice Rangoni Machiavelli]]<ref name="ec" />
* 2010: American judge [[Leigh Saufley]]<ref name=usmprofile>{{cite web |title=Leigh I. Saufley, Dean |url=https://mainelaw.maine.edu/faculty/profile/saufley-leigh/ |website=University of Maine School of Law |access-date=18 March 2021 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210318170651/https://mainelaw.maine.edu/faculty/profile/saufley-leigh/ |archive-date=18 March 2021}}</ref><ref name=ballotpedia>{{cite web |title=Leigh Ingalls Saufley |url=https://ballotpedia.org/Leigh_Ingalls_Saufley |website=Ballotpedia |access-date=19 March 2021 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210319192427/https://ballotpedia.org/Leigh_Ingalls_Saufley |archive-date=19 March 2021}}</ref>
* 2011: Singaporean urban planner and architect Dr. [[Cheong Koon Hean]]<ref name="nau">{{cite web |website=[[Northern Arizona University]] |title=NAU president emerita receives international women's award |date=August 23, 2011 |url=http://news.nau.edu/nau-president-emerita-receives-international-womens-award/#.XONsxG5KjIU}}</ref>
* 2012: [[Nyamko Sabuni]], Swedish Minister for Gender Equality<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=[[The Bermuda Sun]] |title=Premier Cox recognized as a trailblazer; Chosen for a 'Women Who Make a Difference Award' by Women's Forum |first=Don |last=Burgess|date=August 29, 2012 |url=http://bermudasun.bm/Content/BUSINESS/Business/Article/Premier-Cox-recognized-as-a-trailblazer/72/205/60250}}</ref>
* 2014: [[Zanele Mbeki]], founder of the Women's Development Banking Trust and former First Lady of South Africa<ref>{{cite web |website=WDB Trust |title=Zanele Mbeki, Founder and Patron of WDB |url=http://www.wdbtrust.org.za/our-people/our-patrons/}}</ref>
* 2015: [[Sister Stanislaus Kennedy]], founder of [[Focus Ireland]]<ref name="iwf2015">{{cite web |website=Istanbul Bilgi University |date= November 16, 2015|title=Prof. Dr. Funda Sivrikaya Şerifoğlu received '2015 Women Who Make A Difference Award' |url=https://www.bilgi.edu.tr/en/news/5055/prof-dr-funda-sivrikaya-serifoglu-received-2015-women-who-make-a-difference-award/}}</ref>
* 2016: American lawyer [[Gloria Allred]]<ref>{{cite web |website=National Women's Hall of Fame|date=March 8, 2019 |title=Introducing the 2019 National Women’s Hall of Fame Inductees |url=https://www.womenofthehall.org/introducing-2019-nwhf-inductees/}}</ref>
* 2016: [[Ilya Espino de Marotta]], engineer who led the [[Panama Canal Expansion Project]]<ref>{{cite web |website=[[University of Alberta]] |title=In Conversation With Ilya Espino de Marotta: Engineering is for everyone! |date=September 13, 2018 |url=https://www.ualberta.ca/engineering/events/engineering-events/v99nvd2pvv7qj4ferv5grg6qs4 }}{{Dead link|date=September 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
* 2017: American lawyer and academic [[Danielle Conway]]<ref>{{cite web |website=[[University of Maine School of Law]] |title=Dean Danielle Conway honored by the 2017 International Women’s Forum |url=https://mainelaw.maine.edu/news/maine-law-dean-conway-honored-woman-makes-difference/}}</ref>
* 2018: American author and organizer [[Charlotte Bunch]]<ref>{{cite web |website=[[Rutgers University]] |title=Bunch, Charlotte |url=https://womens-studies.rutgers.edu/faculty/core-faculty/66-the-faculty/core-faculty/117-charlotte-bunch}}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
==External links==
*[https://www.iwforum.org/ International Women's Forum]
*[https://thephenomenalwomengroup.org/ The Phenomenal Women Group]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1974]]
[[Category:International women's organizations]]
[[Category:Women's organizations based in the United States]]