Our Mission                                                      

"Each woman, as a citizen, must bring to the national policy of her own country, the contribution of forward-looking and constructive thought followed by determined action. Each woman must dedicate herself to protect and promote the interests of all other women in business and the professions.

Dr. Lena Madesin Phillips, Founder of BPW International

 The International Federation of Business and Professonal Women (BPW International) was founded by Dr. Lena Madesin Phillips in 1930. BPW International has become one of the most influential international networks of business and professional women active with approx. 29,000 members in 80 countries in five continents.  To find and contact BPW members directly, look at the BPW Business & Member Pages: www.bpw-business.org

 

To read more about BPW in general, watch this link: http://www.bpw-international.org/word/booklet-welcome_brochure_english_oct2006.doc

 

BPW has consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and participatory status with the Council of Europe. Its members include influential women leaders, entrepreneurs, business owners, executives, professionals and young career women.

 

The root of BPW’s advocacy is embedded in the work with the United Nations. BPW lobbied for the formation of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) and supported many women’s issues. BPW was awarded a Peace Messenger Certificate from UN Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar in 1987. Esther Hymer, BPW representative at the UN, was named as one of three women playing a significant role in the work of the UN Commission by Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 1997.

 

Today, BPW continues its representation at UN Headquarters in New York, Vienna, Geneva; UN regional offices (UNECA, UNECE, UNESCAP, UNESCWA, UNECLAC); UNESCO, UNICEF, ILO, WHO, UNCTAD, UNIDO, FAO, UN DPI; Council of Europe; European Women’s Lobby and continues to work closely with UNIFEM.

 

Details about the UN acitivies you find here: BPW International/UN

 

BPW affiliates contribute to society by enabling women to sustain themselves economically. In addition, BPW offers personal development programs for members such as mentoring, leadership training and e-Business training. Since 1996, BPW affiliates worldwide have helped over 45,000 women to become economically empowered.

BPW projects assist women to:

• Enter and re-enter the workforce Start up and advance their business or profession Protect their rights Overcome their limitations
• Create a nurturing environment in work, education, health for women development

 

BPW affiliates also collaborate with governments and other non-government organizations (NGOs). BPW International belongs to coalitions of NGOs such as Project Five-O and Conference of NGOs (CONGO).

 

While capacity-building and confidence-building enable more women to advance to executive positions, the goal of equal participation is still far from being a reality.

BPW International is giving high priority to create opportunities for women to rise to the level of top executives by collecting evidence on the return on investment when women become top executives. The aim is to use this testimony to persuade the relevant stakeholders such as companies, institutions, academia and governments that they would perform better if the percentage of females at top executive level increased and reached a par with men.

 

The BPW Mentoring program helps to develop and strengthen the potential of women. At the same time, utilizing the many experienced women executives in the business community who can help fellow BPW members.

Women from different cities, backgrounds and generations are matched by a national Mentoring Team: they help to define their personal mentoring goals and are put into contact with experienced mentors. The mentoring topics cover all areas of life:  first job entry, progress in a professional career, founding their own business, work-life balance, job interviews, improving communicational skills, negotiating salary increases, and becoming more self-confident.

Started as a Young BPW initiative in 2000 in Germany, the program consists today in most European Federations and Associations.

The mentoring program is a very effective marketing instrument for the BPW Clubs: it attracts many interested women through its activities and raising its profile in the business community. And it brings BPW members together – even European-wide with a Trans-European Mentoring-Partnership!

Find here some more information about the BPW Mentoring Program

 

Within Europe, all European Federations and Associations have formed the ECC, the European Coordinating Committee. This Committee consists of three Committee Members and the Regional Coordinator for Europe as Chairperson. Currently, BPW in Europe counts round about 20,000 members in 27 countries.

Find out more at www.bpw-europe.org