The WomenLead Institute’s Women-Focused Workshops

With more 40 years of experience in women’s leadership development, the WomenLead Institute offers well-established women’s leadership and management programs with proven results. Graduates consistently call these programs “transformational” and “life-changing.”

Building on our classic leadership development approach, each workshop highlights a specialized technical area and strengthens competencies in:

  • Personal Leadership
  • Project Management
  • Monitoring & Evaluation
  • Financial Management
  • Fundraising & Proposal Writing
  • Advocacy
  • Gender Mainstreaming
  • Coaching/Mentoring
  • Public Speaking

WLI workshops support women to discover and use their agency and voice; explore restrictive gender norms; and craft strategies to address them. Participants engage with international development experts and local non-profits to examine different operational and program models. By creating a collective network of women who are aware of global issues and solutions, WLI fosters intergenerational relationships across countries and cultures that last a lifetime. 

Global Women in Management (GWIM) ­­­­is WLI’s longest running women’s leadership program. Since 2005, ExxonMobil Foundation’s Women’s Economic Opportunity Initiative has generously funded the GWIM program to provide training, woman-to-woman coaching, small grants, and network support to more than 900 women in 76 countries.  GWIM participants are early- to mid-career social entrepreneurs and women leading local non-government organizations that provide economic empowerment skills and resources to women in their local communities.   GWIM workshops strengthen women’s management, leadership, and technical skills to enhance and bring to scale programs that advance women’s economic opportunities. The four-week residential workshop equips women from developing countries with knowledge and skills, access to key resources and networks, and support structures needed to fulfill their economic potential and help drive economic development, particularly for women and other marginalized groups, in their communities. Following the workshops, alumnae participate in a year of professional coaching, networking opportunities, small grants programs, and access to technical support from WLI to replicate and step-down elements of GWIM to women in their local communities. 

Coaching and Mentoring Programs: For more than 13 years, WLI has been training alumnae as professional coaches for new workshop graduates. This unique south-to-south coaching program is designed to support alumnae to broaden and deepen relationships with other women leaders, reinforce the application of new knowledge and skills, and strive to achieve their career and leadership goals.

WomenLead workshops strengthen the skills, confidence, and networks of women leaders working to multiply and sustain the impact of their development work. The program responds directly to the call for greater involvement of women in decision-making at all levels. Workshops are offered in durations of one to three weeks and can be customized to specific organizational or project needs, varying target demographics, and/or institutional or technical sectors. 

Fee-for-Service workshops are available to the public and vary in length, from three to five days. The workshops offer professional development opportunities to hone essential career-building and leadership skills. Participants learn and practice new skills, expand their professional network, and receive support from peers and trainers in a dynamic and supportive environment. The workshops draw on key elements of WLI’s renowned leadership curricula to provide high impact in a short period of time. More information about our upcoming calendar of workshops can be found on our events page.

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