What does AAUW National do?
AAUW National does:
Policy Advocacy focuses on national issues affecting women and girls, such as education equity, pay equity, and reproductive rights. We coordinate our Public Policy Committees, participate in coalition work, and partner with other prominent national organizations to raise awareness about our policy priorities, such as the YWCA for our Gen Z Town Hall in Philadelphia.
Subject Matter Expertise: We have historically produced in-depth studies on topics like the gender pay gap and women in leadership roles. While we haven’t produced reports recently due to limited funding, we have done a high-level analysis of pay gap data recently released. We are frequently asked to comment on topics related to pay equity, student loan debt, and other issues related to gender equity. You can see our recently updated page on Latinas and the pay gap HERE.
Social Media: We have tens of thousands of social media followers across all platforms and have well over 1 million website viewers – ensuring that our brand remains prominent and relevant. On a global level, CEO Gloria Blackwell is AAUW’s representative to the UN, and our work in this capacity provides great reputational value related to global gender equity work. Gloria has been invited to White House events on at least three occasions recently.
Salary Negotiation and Financial Literacy Training offers training and resources for women to develop skills to be financially empowered. Work Smart, Start Smart, and Money Smart trainings provide valuable resources and tools for women to become economically empowered. Nationally, we work with organizations such as the HBCU Career Center, Tri Delta, Coca-Cola Foundation, Finra Foundation, SAGE and others to bring these trainings to thousands of women across the country. These trainings were developed, updated, and managed by the national AAUW office. Two separate entities have independently evaluated them and continually receive very high ratings from participants.
Fellowships & Grants: We award and administer over $6M in fellowships and grants each year to hundreds of women in the US and Internationally. We also connect our members and branches to these awardees and alumnae and have an Alumnae Relations team charged with growing and maintaining relationships with our thousands of distinguished Alumnae.
Membership Services provides support and resources for local branches and members, including access to national networks and events. We host all aauw.net websites, process dues, support 990 filings, and maintain our history and globally- recognized brand. Without AAUW National, AAUW branches would be independently organized entities that would not be networked with one another or have the ability to utilize the AAUW name.
Learn more about:
Discounts and Perks
Fellowships and Grants
Explore the Issues
Get Empowered
Take Action
What AAUW Members Have Accomplished
AAUW advances equity for women and girls by championing success in higher
education — a vital pathway to economic security. For over 140 years, AAUW has led the
fight for gender equity through advocacy, funding, and collective action.
Strategic Priorities
1. Fund Higher Education
• Provide grants and fellowships for women in underserved communities and
underrepresented fields like STEM.
• Support women in academia and research.
• Build networks for alumnae to lead and expand AAUW’s impact globally.
2. Remove Barriers to Success in Education and the Workplace
• Champion legislation supporting paid family and medical leave, paid sick
days, pay equity, and workplace harassment protections.
• Promote inclusive, safe, and accessible educational environments through
enforcement of Title IX and other civil rights laws.
3. Strengthen AAUW’s Reach
• Support an effective network of states and branches through aligned
strategies and initiatives like the Five-Star Program.
• Grow organizational sustainability through member engagement and impact
evaluation.
Call to Action
In a time of growing challenges to education access, AAUW must meet this moment.
This strategic plan renews our commitment to higher education as the key to equity
and empowers a stronger, unified movement to create lasting change.