Our History

1998: Bosnia-Herzegovina

In WCI's inaugural program, we worked with 200 political women leaders to increase women’s political participation, resulting in 70 of the 200 women being elected into office. Within our training, WCI encouraged democratic approaches to resolve conflict and focused on implementing security-building measures in post-conflict Bosnia-Herzegovina.

2001: Romania

WCI trained 150 women leaders, including city council members, politicians, and NGO leaders, in effective media advocacy and political leadership.

2003: Azerbaijan

Throughout six major regions in the country, WCI partnered with local women’s organizations and trained more than 62 women leaders in political leadership, civic engagement, and voter mobilization, increasing the number of women in the National Assembly from 9.6% to 11.2%.

2006 - Present: Afghanistan

Since 2006, WCI has worked with Parliament and grassroots organizations educating and training women in leadership, communication, community mobilization, and entrepreneurship.

2002-2007: Malawi

Since 2002, WCI has worked with local partners in Malawi to train women in political participation, HIV/AIDS awareness, and legal advocacy. Of the 155 women who ran for office, over half of the candidates attended WCI's workshops.

2007-2009: Colombia

Partnering with local grassroots organizations, WCI trained more than 300 women representing numerous regional women's networks in leadership advocacy, and institutional strengthening. We facilitated an program focused on human rights law for 230 women and led a workshop for both women and men centered on communities spiritual traditions and achieving gender equality.

2010-2011: Training for First Ladies

Training for First Ladies to create and sustain legacy plans; 2010-2011: Cameroon, Benin, Malawi, Gabon, Mozambique, The Gambia, Ghana, Lesotho, Mali, South Africa, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Namibia, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Guinea Bissau

2007-2014: Liberia

Starting in 2007, WCI has taken a multi-stakeholder approach—working with grassroots organizations, Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Women Initiative, and UNICEF—to train women in conflict transformation, political participation, and entrepreneurship.

2010-Present: Philadelphia

Since 2010, the Girls Advocacy and Leadership Series (GALS) equips teenage girls in WCI’s home community of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with the leadership skills, confidence and connections necessary to create true social change.

Our Story

In 1998, Hon. Marjorie Margolies created an organization that would provide a seat at the table for women around the world. When Marjorie directed the U.S. delegation to the UN Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, governments from around the world committed to upholding 12 areas of concern: poverty; education and training; health; violence against women; armed conflict; the economy; power and decision-making; institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women; human rights of women; the media; the environment; the girl-child.
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For 22 years, we have upheld that commitment through our work around the globe. We are a hard working and mighty organization rooted in our collective conviction that all women deserve an environment with equity and integrity at its core.
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Our work started with a focus on increasing women’s political participation and engaging in social mobilization campaigns to increase women’s leadership. Soon after, our programs began to reflect two other needs identified by the women we worked with: economic empowerment and conflict mitigation. Today, our initiatives focus on three main program themes: community engagement, economic sustainability, and conflict transformation. Our commitment to innovation and evidence-based decision-making has allowed us to easily adapt to meet the ever-evolving needs of women and girls, both locally and globally.
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From building a youth leadership pipeline in Philadelphia and training businesswomen in the Middle East, to engaging in conflict transformation facilitation in SouthEast Asia and skill-building with women politicians in Africa, we have worked passionately for more than two decades to empower women to transform their communities.