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About AAUW

We are tenacious and trailblazing — advocating for women and girls since 1881 and into the future!

Strategic Plan
Group of female businesswomen working together on a laptop.
Our mission

Higher Education & Economic Security

AAUW empowers women and girls by championing their success in higher education and pushing for bold policy solutions to create lasting change. For more than 140 years, AAUW has led the fight for gender equity in higher education and beyond. With a strong record of advocacy and action, AAUW continues to break barriers and defend the rights of women in education and the workplace. 

Women listening to another women at conference table
Our Values

Intersectional. Inclusive. Intergenerational. Empowering.

Though we are nonpartisan, we are not values-neutral: We fight to remove the barriers and biases that stand in the way of gender equity. AAUW provides critical funding and support to advance equity in education and improve the lives of women and girls both in the U.S. and internationally. And we advocate for federal, state and local laws and policies to ensure equity and end discrimination.

Our Focus

Economic-Security

Economic Security

We’ve been working to narrow the gender pay gap, which greets women as soon as they enter the workforce and widens throughout their working lives. Unequal wages stand in the way of a woman’s ability to pay off student debt, build wealth and save for a secure retirement.

Education

Education

We champion equal opportunities in education. Though more than 60% of college graduates are women, they face barriers and biases throughout their schooling. From pre-school to graduate school, girls and women are unconsciously steered into certain fields of studies and away more lucrative ones, such as in STEM.

Advocacy

Advocacy

Our members, supporters and staff work on local, state and federal levels to support laws and policies that enable women’s success. Our work in statehouses and the U.S. Capitol has helped pass hundreds of pieces of legislation. Our Legal Advocacy team has supported plaintiffs in more than 125 gender equity legal cases.

Take Action

There are lots of ways to get involved with AAUW’s work to advance gender equity. Together, we can make a difference in the lives of women and girls.

Donate to support gender equity
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