Women Who Make A Difference

Since 1987, the Women Who Make a Difference Awards have celebrated the tremendous accomplishments and contributions that IWF members have made to their communities and the world. The annual awards are presented alongside the International Hall of Fame Award.

Former Women Who Make a Difference Awardees include:

• Gloria Allred, Esq., renowned civil and human rights lawyer (The Trusteeship – IWF Southern California)
• Dr. Cheong Koon Hean, urban planner, architect, and Chief Executive Officer of the Housing and Development Board of Singapore (IWF Singapore)
• Ilya Espino de Marotta, EVP for Engineering and Programs Management of the Panama Canal, and the woman who re-engineered the Panama Canal (IWF Panama)
• Sister Stanislaus Kennedy, visionary and social innovator, and Founder of Focus Ireland (IWF Ireland)
• The Honorable Madeleine Kunin, former Governor of Vermont and US Ambassador to Switzerland (IWF Vermont)
• Zanele Mbeki, Founder, and Patron of the Women’s Development Bank Trust and former First Lady of South Africa (IWF South Africa)
• Denise Morrison, Chief Executive Officer of Campbell Soup Company (IWF New Jersey)
• Nyamko Sabuni, Swedish Minister for Gender Equality (IWF Sweden)
• Jo Luck, CEO of Heifer International (IWF Arkansas)

Please view the entire list of honorees here

All Award candidates must meet the following criteria:

• IWF Membership: The candidate is an active, current member of the International Women’s Forum. She embodies the values of IWF’s founders and demonstrates innovative, tenacious leadership in the face of challenges and adversity.
• Professional Leadership: The candidate has exhibited transformational professional leadership over the arc of her career. She is recognized as an authority in her profession nationally or globally.
• Personal Leadership: The impact of her personal leadership is noteworthy and recognizable. She is grounded in her community and her engagement connects local to global and global to local.