Press Releases

AAUW Awards $6.2 Million to Women Scholars and Community Organizations

September 4, 2024

Awards given to 261 fellows and grantees;
advance educational and professional opportunities for women and girls 

WASHINGTON — The American Association for University Women (AAUW) today announced it has awarded $6.2 million to women scholars and community organizations. The awards were given to 261 women and community-based organizations to advance gender equity, access, and educational and professional opportunities for women and girls. 

“Women have been historically underfunded in their higher education pursuits,” said AAUW CEO Gloria L. Blackwell. “When women are adequately funded, they can finish dissertations, conduct research, and make history.” 

The Fellowships & Grants program is a cornerstone of AAUW’s commitment to easing the burden of student debt, which disproportionately affects women, particularly women of color. The ability to pay off that debt is hampered by a lifelong pay gap that affects women in nearly every profession, from graduation to retirement. AAUW’s awards decrease student debt, allowing women to focus on pursuing their educational and career aspirations. 

Quick facts about 2024 AAUW Fellowships & Grants awardees: 

  • Of the 88 American Fellowship recipients, 69 percent represent diverse ethnicities. 
  • 33 percent of AAUW’s Research Publication Grants are funding women of color. 
  • AAUW International Fellows are from 43 countries, including, for the first time, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Saint Lucia. 
  • 18 Community Action Grants will go to community-based U.S. organizations advancing gender equity for girls and women on the local level. 

AAUW is one of the largest funders of graduate women’s education and, since 1888, has provided $146 million in fellowships, grants, and awards to more than 14,000 women from 152 countries.  AAUW Fellowships & Grants alumnae include luminaries such as pioneering author, activist, and scholar Barbara Smith; professor and journalist Melissa Harris-Perry, Ph.D.; space shuttle Challenger astronaut Judith Resnik, Ph.D.; Claudine Gay, Ph.D., political scientist, professor, and the first Black president of Harvard University; and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Ph.D., currently director-general of the World Trade Organization. 

Applications for next year’s AAUW Fellowships & Grants program open September 16, 2024. Learn more about funding opportunities for 2025.  

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AAUW (American Association of University Women) is the nation’s leading organization for equity in higher education and women’s economic empowerment. 

Founded in 1881 by women who defied society’s conventions by earning college degrees, AAUW has since worked to increase women’s access, opportunity, and equity in higher education through research, advocacy, and philanthropy of over $146 million, supporting thousands of women scholars. Learn more at aauw.org.