About AAUW Activities

AAUW has been empowering women as individuals and as a community since 1881. For more than 130 years, we have worked together as a national grassroots organization to improve the lives of millions of women and their families.

Here is some of what AAUW does:

• Research: AAUW conducts groundbreaking research on issues related to gender equity in education and the workplace.
  • Our work influences the national discussion on topics like the pay gap between women and men, sexual harassment in schools and on college campuses, and the underrepresentation of women in science and engineering.
  • Through new and traditional media, targeted outreach to policymakers, and member efforts, AAUW research serves as a catalyst for action.
• Campus Initiatives: Each year, AAUW’s campus leadership programs shape the lives of thousands of college women to be the next generation of leaders. Students who belong to the AAUW college/university partners members program will receive priority application preference.
• STEM Education: Our society tells girls and women that they don’t belong in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields.
  • As early as first grade, children have already developed a sense of gender identity, and most have developed unconscious bias associating boys with math.
  • AAUW is committed to encouraging women and girls to pursue STEM, and we have a multipronged approach to make it happen. 
• Public Policy: Since AAUW’s founding our members and supporters have spoken out about policies important to women and girls.
  • Without their voices, invaluable legislation would have never been passed. In recent years, such legislation included the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.
  • AAUW’s policy work connects and rallies advocates at the local, state, national, and global levels to advance our work to empower women and girls. 
• Case Support: The Legal Advocacy Fund (LAF) works to challenge sex discrimination in higher education and the workplace. Our resources range from community outreach programs to backing of major cases. 
  • Sex discrimination today takes a variety of forms: unfair pay, pregnancy discrimination, sexual harassment, sexual assault, and violations of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 can affect both women and men.
  • LAF addresses these barriers by informing people of their rights and using the legal system to seek justice and change.
• Educational Funding: AAUW has a long and distinguished history of advancing educational and professional opportunities for women in the United States and around the globe. 
  • One of the world’s largest sources of funding for graduate women, AAUW is providing more than $3.7 million in funding for fellowships and grants to 250 outstanding women and nonprofit organizations in the 2017–18 academic year.
  • Due to the longstanding, generous contributions of AAUW members, a broader community of women continues to gain access to educational and economic opportunities — breaking through barriers so that all women have a fair chance. Fellowship and grant recipients perform research in a wide range of disciplines and work to improve their schools and communities.
  • Their intellect, dedication, imagination, and effort promise to forge new paths in scholarship, improve the quality of life for all, and tackle the educational and social barriers facing women worldwide.
• Global Connections: When a woman is educated and empowered, she starts a ripple effect in her community. This is true all over the world. But women still face barriers that keep education and security out of reach.
  • Only through community support and access to resources like education, health care, and career opportunities will women have the chance to succeed.
  • That’s why AAUW has awarded fellowships to more than 3,500 women in more than 140 countries and why we speak out on behalf of women and girls at the United Nations and in critical global coalitions. 
• Salary Negotiation Workshops: AAUW Start Smart and AAUW Work Smart are programs of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) that take an important step toward closing the pay gap. Informed by reliable research both workshops are designed to empower women with the skills and confidence they need to successfully negotiate their salary and benefits.
  • The workshop curricula employ the latest in research and negotiation strategies to help women navigate the complexities of job offers and promotion opportunities.
  • Women come away from the workshops knowing how to determine their market worth based on their skills, experience, performance, qualifications, and responsibilities on the job and having the tools and business strategies they need to successfully negotiate for fair pay for the rest of their careers and more.