American Association of University Women Inc.

Our mission is bold―to advance gender equity for women and girls through research, education, and advocacy. We are not satisfied to simply document and discuss the inequities women and girls face. AAUW aims to achieve equity through practical solutions in education, workplaces, and communities. AAUW has established a legacy over 140 years as a catalyst for positive change, from boosting women’s access to higher education to shaping public policy, to producing groundbreaking research on gender equity. Through a multi-pronged strategy of educational programming, innovative research, and transformative advocacy, AAUW is committed to affecting systemic change for women.

AAUW is also committed to creating a sustainable economic future for women in the U.S. AAUW also is intent on closing the leadership gap for women that prevents millions of women from attaining their full earnings potential.

In keeping with our mission to advance gender equity for all women and girls, AAUW's strategic plan is focused on three macro areas of work: Education & Training, Economic Security, and Leadership.

We champion pay equity and work to close the gender pay gap. For over 140 years, AAUW has been at the forefront of advancing gender equity for women and girls through research, education, and advocacy. Our Women’s Economic Empowerment Initiative is dedicated to equipping women with essential skills to thrive financially and build strong futures. We champion equal opportunities in education. We support educational pathways for women and girls, particularly STEM and with increased focus for women and girls of color. Through our policy work we aim to protect and expand compliance with Title IX and other civil rights laws across all U.S. states and territories. We work to support laws and policies that enable women’s success. We have helped pass hundreds of pieces of legislation and supported plaintiffs in more than 125 gender equity legal cases. Keeping our mission at the forefront will ensure we have properly championed equal access in education, worked to bolster inclusive career pathways for women, and expanded number of women in leadership, particularly in STEM.

AAUW has the network, the skills, and the people―more than 170,000 members and supporters, as well our AAUW Fellows and Grants alumnae―to achieve our mission. With over 700 branches doing advocacy and programmatic work across the country, AAUW is a force for advancing equity for women and girls. Every strategy and every tactic reflect the direction, leadership, and participation of our members―dedicated women and men who are determined to fight for gender equity.

• In 2023, more than 52,000 members and thousands of donors supported AAUW — including nearly 450 college and university members and over 700 branches across the country.
• Reaching 4,227 people through our Women’s Economic Empowerment Initiative, AAUW’s salary negotiation and financial literacy trainings. We continued our work to serve Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority-Serving Institutions. And thanks to generous grants from the Coca-Cola Foundation and Educational Testing Services, we have been able to reach 197,679 people to date.
• Offering AAUW’s STEMEd for Girls free online workshop series which gave 277 girls and their caregivers the opportunity to learn how to transform a passion for STEM into a thriving career. In its third year, the program supports high school girls to navigate the world of STEM, with generous support from the Arconic Foundation, Baxter International Foundation, and PPG Industries Foundation.
• Awarding $6.1 million in fellowships and grants to 277 awardees, maintaining our leadership as the nation’s largest non-institutional funder of women’s graduate-level education.
• With funding from the National Science Foundation, we continued our work with the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) focused on faculty salary equity with our Let’s Talk Money collaboration.
• In 2023, we made major impressions. AAUW’s message of activism and advocacy for equity for all received nearly 4.7 million views across Facebook, LinkedIn, and X (formerly Twitter).
• Sending more than 47,000 messages to elected officials this year through AAUW’s Two-Minute Activist in support of the Paycheck Fairness Act, urging Congress to pass paid family and sick leave bills, advocating for safe and equitable schools for all students, and calling for the Equal Rights Amendment to be recognized as the 28th amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
• Co-sponsoring the “Not One More Year” march, marking the 100th anniversary of the Equal Rights Amendment’s (ERA) introduction in the House of Representatives. We also became a founding member of the ERA Coalition’s National Strategy Task Force. Going forward, AAUW will be a strategic thought partner in developing and shaping coalition campaigns, messaging, and initiatives, leveraging collective resources, to raise public awareness with the purpose of getting the ERA published and fully enacted.
• In the wake of the Supreme Court’s denial of student debt relief in June, AAUW hosted a series of policy-focused webinars on women’s economic security, including Delivering on Debt Relief: The Fight for Racial and Gender Justice with U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and My student loans are due. Now what? with The Institute of Student Loan Advisors (TISLA).
• AAUW’s tireless Lobby Corps resumed visits to Capitol Hill in 2023, visiting more than 150 congressional offices to advocate for legislation that uplifts and advance women’s equity and access to opportunity.