INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S FORUM TO CONVENE NEARLY 800 GLOBAL LEADERS IN SEATTLE FOR ANNUAL WORLD LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE AND GALA

The global women’s leadership organization’s conference will take place May 21-23 at the Hyatt Regency Seattle and will be open to press

The International Women’s Forum, the global organization that connects 8,500 top women leaders in 35 countries with the goal of advancing women’s leadership, will host its annual World Leadership Conference and Gala in Seattle, Washington, on May 21-23, 2025. Nearly 800 senior women leaders – across cultures, continents, and careers – will attend, including over 100 from the Seattle metro area.

The conference theme is Start Here, Go Anywhere. Programming will cover topics of particular relevance in Seattle – including affordable housing, AI and sustainability, and philanthropy – through a women’s lens. Agenda highlights include:

• Dr. Bernice King, member of IWF Georgia, CEO of The King Center, and daughter of Dr. Martin Luther Jr. and Coretta Scott King, will deliver a lecture titled The Civility Crisis: Understanding the Roots and Rise of Uncivil Behavior. Arthur Brooks, Harvard Professor and best-selling author, will give a keynote address titled Love Your Enemies, as part of this plenary session.
• Richard Reeves, President of the American Institute for Boys and Men, will lead an engaging conversation titled When Boys and Men have Problems, Girls and Women have Problems too.
• Kate Johnson, CEO of Lumen, will share her unique perspective on how business leaders can leverage AI to thrive in a world of constant change.

Event Details

• Who: IWF was founded in 1974 and now connects 8,500 women leaders in 35 countries with the goal of advancing women’s leadership. The membership is comprised of top leaders across all professions and is the only organization of this scale that builds significant relationships among women across careers, cultures, and continents. Nearly 800 top women leaders from 29 countries, including over 100 from the Seattle metro area, will attend. IWF will have spokespeople across professions available for interviews on-site.
• What: IWF’s upcoming World Leadership Conference: Start Here, Go Anywhere. Seattle is a city where big ideas are born. Aviation, culture, technology, and sustainability have all been shaped by the thinkers and doers here. From Jimi Hendrix to Nirvana to Chihuly, Microsoft to Amazon, Nordstrom to Starbucks, the big ideas that start here go everywhere, and can take you anywhere. As IWF begins a new decade of advancing women’s leadership, there is no better local context to explore global issues including philanthropy, risk, housing, AI and sustainability – through a women’s lens.
• When: May 21-23, 2025
• Where: Hyatt Regency Seattle (808 Howell St.)
• Why: Women’s leadership is under threat in many parts of the world today, and IWF is opening this program up to members of the press. Starting with this historic event in Seattle, IWF intends to catalyze its global community in new ways to ensure women have the power and platform to lead, innovate, and inspire change.

Media Contact: Please reach out to Laine Funkhouser, IWF Global Head of Communications, at communications@iwforum.org for press registration or for more information.