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Over 100 Years of Achievement
When Dean Virginia Gildersleeve, Professor Caroline Spurgeon and Rose Sidgwick sat together in 1918 and conceived the idea of a worldwide organisation uniting university women, they were convinced that by fostering friendship and understanding, women graduates could help prevent another catastrophe such as the World War that had just ended. Their dream became reality the next year when university women from Great Britain, Canada and the United States met to lay the foundation for IFUW. Over ninety years later, and under the new title of Graduate Women International (GWI), thousands of women graduates throughout the world share the same principles and vision that inspired those early leaders. GWI continues to advocate in favour of secondary, higher and continuing education for women all over the world.
Over 100 Years of Achievement
When Dean Virginia Gildersleeve, Professor Caroline Spurgeon and Rose Sidgwick sat together in 1918 and conceived the idea of a worldwide organisation uniting university women, they were convinced that by fostering friendship and understanding, women graduates could help prevent another catastrophe such as the World War that had just ended. Their dream became reality the next year when university women from Great Britain, Canada and the United States met to lay the foundation for IFUW. Over ninety years later, and under the new title of Graduate Women International (GWI), thousands of women graduates throughout the world share the same principles and vision that inspired those early leaders. GWI continues to advocate in favour of secondary, higher and continuing education for women all over the world.
The lamp logo was designed by members of the Norwegian Federation for the Third Conference in Oslo in 1924. The delegates at that meeting adopted it as the permanent badge of IFUW. The original showed an antique lamp representing the light of learning on a blue background broken with the letters of IFUW. Around the central disc was an interlinked chain symbolising the bonds of friendship linking IFUW members throughout the world. Eventually the lamp came to be known as the lamp of friendship. It was later modernised and the chain was dropped.
We are an international membership organization for graduate women from around the world. Our members possess a rich tapestry of academic disciplines, experiences in the private and public sectors, a range of competencies and skills and professional and personal achievements.
Why become an independent member? Independent membership opens GWI’s international network to women graduates from countries where there is not yet a GWI affiliate and to women graduates who do not wish to join a national group.
The benefits of belonging to GWI are:
Subscription fees:
How to join:
If there is already an association or federation (NFA) in your country of residence, please contact them first to find out about the opportunities they provide at the national and local level. The single membership fee you would pay to the NFA would cover both your national and GWI membership. Often national fees are the same or lower than the independent member fee. As a national member you have the added benefit of contacts with graduate women at the local and national level and can participate in a range of activities and meetings in your country of residence.
If there is no national association or federation in your country, please click on one of the links below to join GWI’s international network of women graduates:
GWI’s regional groups offer members opportunities to exchange ideas and work together with members from nearby countries, experiencing the international aspect of GWI membership, while drawing on similar geographical, cultural and historical backgrounds. The regional groups organise conferences, seminars, friendship visits, and joint projects on issues of common concern. They also represent members at meetings of regional organisations, such as the Council of Europe.
GWI’s Board of Officers and Committee Convenors are elected every three years by GWI members at the General Assembly, the governing body of GWI. GWI Committees play a vital role within the organization.
Graduate Women International (GWI) advocates for women’s rights, equality and empowerment through access to quality secondary and tertiary education, and training up to the highest levels. Our vision is 100% of girls and women in the world achieving education beyond primary school.
We have national affiliates in 60 countries and individual members in more than 40 others. Join our international advocacy and grant programmes and learn how you can become part of an international network of women working for change.
Graduate Women International (GWI) advocates for women’s rights, equality and empowerment through access to quality secondary and tertiary education, and training up to the highest levels. Our vision is 100% of girls and women in the world achieving education beyond primary school.
We have national affiliates in 60 countries and individual members in more than 40 others. Join our international advocacy and grant programmes and learn how you can become part of an international network of women working for change.
Mission Graduate Women International (GWI), founded in 1919 as the International Federation of University (IFUW), is a worldwide, non-governmental organisation of women graduates, whose purpose is to:
To achieve these aims, GWI shall:
Our members volunteer their expertise in a wide-range of community projects, for example:
GWI is committed to strengthening its global impact for women and girls by growing a connected international network, amplifying women’s voices and leadership through education, and ensuring a strong, sustainable organisation for the future.
GWI is committed to strengthening its global impact for women and girls by growing a connected international network, amplifying women’s voices and leadership through education, and ensuring a strong, sustainable organisation for the future.
The GWI YMN is made of proactive female change makers from across the globe who advocate for youth issues within the organization and on international platforms including UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), the ECOSOC Youth Forum and SDG Youth Summits.
The GWI head office is based in Geneva, Switzerland. GWI has a small and dedicated staff and the extraordinary contributions of interns.
Executive Director
Stacy Dry Lara
Email: gwi@graduatewomen.org
Telephone:Â + 41 22 731 23 80
