History

The International Women’s Forum (IWF) was born out of one woman’s courage to defy the status quo and go where she was told that she couldn’t.  That woman was Elinor “Elly” Guggenheimer, who was chair of the New York City Planning Commission in the late 1960’s early 1970’s.  As the story goes, Elly decided to attend a meeting in Philadelphia and when she arrived at the venue, was told that the only women allowed into the building were hospitality employees.  Determined to defy those who would choose to exclude her and all other women from attending the meeting, Elly promptly donned a maid’s uniform, walked into the conference and participated. No doubt she would have caused a stir. 

But the bigger picture in that story was Elinor Guggenheimer’s determination to challenge and change the status quo and advocate for women to occupy their rightful places in business, industry and elsewhere.  So in 1974, Elly, at the age of 62 years, along with three other highly accomplished and respected women, Muriel Siebert, who was the first woman to win a seat on the New York Stock Exchange; Eleanor Holmes Norton, who has been a Delegate to the US House of Representatives for the District of Columbia since 1991 and Muriel Fox, accomplished public relations pioneer and executive, and the founder of the National Organization for Women (NOW), formed the International Women’s Forum (IWF) with the objective bringing together women of diverse accomplishments and providing them with a forum for the exchange of ideas and experiences.

Fast forward 47 years and IWF is a global force, comprising over 7000 highly accomplished and high achieving women, in more than 33 Countries on five continents and the Caribbean.  Trinidad and Tobago is one of five Atlantic/Caribbean member countries.