THE LOCAL STORY...
The Australian Forum came into being due to the drive and determination of two wonderful women. These forces of nature, are known to many IWF members throughout the world, and go by the names of Helen Rule and Karen Hayes.
In 2011, Helen made a promise. She swore to her Leadership Fellows class at Harvard that she would found IWF in Australia. Helen had experienced the business connections, the leadership support and the unwavering life long friendship that IWF is able to facilitate. She knew that women in Australia would benefit from such a community.
At around the same time, Karen Hayes was in Montréal, experiencing IWF as an organisation of preeminent women who lift as they climb, who leave the door open, who see partnership as the new leadership and she too, knew Australia needed a women’s organisation with a difference.
After deep discussions and vetting by the IWF headquarters in Washington, Helen Rule and Karen Hayes joined forces and together with international members Michelline Bouchard, Lopa Mehrotra and Eileen Henderson, brought 20 Australian women together in a room with a view over the beautiful Sydney Harbour, to explain the value of IWF.
AND SO commenced the sisterhood
Many of us in that room arrived not knowing what to expect. This wasn't a business network, this wasn't an industry event... this felt more like a group of strong, kind and open women. We looked around the room, smiled, and IWF Australia was born.
The IWF Australia chapter was inaugurated in May 2014, bringing together Australia’s preeminent women leaders from diverse backgrounds. In one sitting, our newly formed board of directors nutted out our mandate, our value and our purpose – and finished the inaugural meeting with time for a toast! Our mandate, to ‘connect as women and grow as leaders’ remains our guiding light to this day and stems from our belief that to enjoy our leadership journeys and to impact to our full potential, we need people around us who truly understand the challenges faced by women leaders from a professional as well as a personal level.
THE GLOBAL story
How it all began…
IWF’s story began when Elinor Guggenheimer – the first woman member of the New York City Planning Commission – went to a meeting in Philadelphia. When she arrived, she was told that the only women allowed in the building were waitresses and maids. Elly found a maid’s uniform, put it on and took her rightful place at the table.
At that moment, she knew something more had to be done.
In 1974, Elly started what eventually became the International Women’s Forum with three other incredible founders. It quickly spread to other cities across the country and eventually, around the world. At the time, women were just beginning to break into the highest levels of leadership. A woman ascended the Fortune 500 list as the first female CEO while another woman was about to scale Mount Everest.
Who we are today.
Today, we are those CEOs and mountain climbers. We are Nobel Laureates, sports legends and Olympic gold medalists; entrepreneurs, business leaders and film stars; astronauts, prime ministers and presidents.
After nearly 50 years, we continue to bring together the world’s most exemplary and high-achieving women. We connect and promote more than 7,000 leaders across 32 countries around the world. We are truly global.
We have elevated more than 500 international fellows – society’s rising stars – to accelerate the potential of the next generation, and to lead the world tomorrow.