The mission of the Women Initiative Foundation is to promote the advancement of women in the workplace and in the economy.
Through their educational programs, mentoring initiatives and outreach activities, they are a resource for women entrepreneurs, employers and public policy makers. Through their think tank activities, they contribute to the global discussion of gender diversity, access of women to top jobs in the workplace, equal pay and other issues of concern to both men and women.
The Women Initiative Foundation was founded by Martine Liautaud, who wanted to expand on the success of the Women Business Mentoring Initiative (WBMI), which she created in 2010 with other alumni of the Stanford Business School. WBMI is a nonprofit organization that provides free, individualized mentoring to women entrepreneurs whose business is at least three years old.
Their growing number of institutional partners and supporters include Stanford Business School, BNP Paribas and ENGIE.
WIF partners with the Stanford GSB through the Women Entrepreneur Program. This one-week program sponsored by BNP Paribas Wealth Management attracts each year women who lead international fast-growing SMEs in Europe, Asia and the United States, and provides strategic insight and unique business networking opportunities.
The Stanford Voice & Influence program offers leadership skills in the context of gender dynamics and examples of the kinds of research based tools Stanford develops for its corporate program members and the wider community.
