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.
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.
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.
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.
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