International Center for Research on Women

What International Center for Research on Women does

The International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) is a U.S.-headquartered 501(c)(3) nonprofit research and advocacy organization founded in 1976 to advance gender equity, social inclusion, and shared prosperity. ICRW operates through three autonomous regional entities (ICRW-Africa, ICRW-Americas, ICRW-Asia) with offices in Washington DC, Delhi and Jamtara (India), Kampala (Uganda), and Nairobi (Kenya), plus registrations in the Netherlands and United Kingdom. The organization has completed over 850 projects across 74+ countries, conducting qualitative and quantitative research, impact evaluation, and mixed-methods studies to generate evidence on gender inequality across economic opportunity, health and reproductive rights, social norms, and climate action.

ICRW's service portfolio spans four core offerings: Research & Analysis, Programs, Policy & Advocacy, and Corporate Advisory Services. The corporate advisory practice, branded ICRW Advisors, delivers gender equity diagnostics, strategy design, capacity building, and measurement & evaluation engagements to enterprise clients including PepsiCo, Unilever, Ralph Lauren, PUMA, Primark, and Gap Inc. The organization also operates three annual awards (Champions for Change, Paula Kantor Award for Excellence in Field Research, Mariam K. Chamberlain Dissertation Award) and co-convenes the WeProsper global coalition of 65+ organizations.

ICRW's business model combines foundation grants and donations (from Ford Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Hewlett, MacArthur, Packard, IKEA, Nike, Novo Nordisk, and others) with fee-for-service corporate consulting engagements, and government/multilateral contracts (USAID, DFID, UNFPA, UNDP, UNAIDS, World Bank, IDB, IDRC). The organization holds consultative status at the United Nations, enabling direct policy influence. In 2025, ICRW announced a transformation into a global network model granting each region operational autonomy with its own executive director and board.

Name

International Center for Research on Women

Legal name

International Center for Research on Women

Website

https://icrw.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

The International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1976 that conducts gender equity research, policy advocacy, and corporate advisory services for governments, multilateral bodies, foundations, and enterprises across 74+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Gender Equity Research & Advisory Services

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment (BPAGABAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Gender Equality & Women’s Rights (BPADAGAF), Gender Equality & Women’s Rights Advocacy (BPAGAFAD), Sexual & Reproductive Health & Family Planning (SRH/FP) Programs (BPADAIAD), Safeguarding, Accountability & Compliance (ESG, Gender/GBV, Do No Harm) (BPADAEAM)

Keywords

• Gender equity research
• Policy advocacy consulting
• Women's empowerment programs
• Social development advisory
• International development research

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation Grants & Donations: ICRW relies on grants and donations from foundations and individual contributors to fund research and advocacy work. EIN 52-1081455, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
2. Corporate Advisory Services: Fee-for-service consulting engagements with corporations seeking gender equity solutions across their value chains and workplaces.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

ICRW conducts action-oriented research, designs and implements programs, and delivers policy advocacy and corporate advisory services to advance gender equity, social inclusion, and shared prosperity for women, girls, and structurally excluded populations worldwide. Services span rigorous mixed-methods research, gender equity diagnostics, strategy design, capacity building, and measurement & evaluation delivered to governments, corporations, foundations, and civil society organizations.

Product overview

The International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) is a global research and advocacy organization (not a technology product company) offering a portfolio of services including Research & Analysis, Programs, Policy & Advocacy, and Advisory Services. The organization operates through three autonomous regional entities (ICRW-Africa, ICRW-Americas, and ICRW-Asia) and publishes research publications. ICRW also manages three annual awards: Champions for Change Award, Paula Kantor Award for Excellence in Field Research, and Mariam K. Chamberlain Dissertation Award. The organization does not offer technology products, APIs, or AI-powered software solutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Research & Analysis
• Programs
• Policy & Advocacy
• Corporate Advisory Services
• Publications

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 850 projects completed across 74+ countries
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

27 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• World BankcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMultilateral development institution partnering on gender equality research and policy initiatives.
• USAIDcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerU.S. Agency for International Development partnering on development programs and gender equity initiatives globally.
• UK Department for International Development (DFID)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUK government development agency supporting gender equality research and programming.
• UNFPAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUnited Nations Population Fund partnering on reproductive health and rights initiatives.
• UNDPcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUnited Nations Development Programme collaborating on development and gender equality.
• UNAIDScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS partnering on gender and health research.
• Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional development bank supporting gender equality initiatives in Latin America.
• United Nations FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFoundation supporting UN initiatives including gender equality programs.
• PepsiComajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal Development Alliance with USAID led by Resonance Global to support women's economic empowerment in PepsiCo supply chains in Pakistan, India, Colombia and Vietnam.
• UnilevermajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate partner for gender equity assessments and solutions.
• Gap Inc.majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to expand P.A.C.E. program to reach one million women and girls.
• CAREcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational humanitarian organization working on gender equality and women's empowerment.
• AshokamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization supporting social entrepreneurs in gender equality space.
• Girls Not Brides USAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerICRW serves as Co-Chair of the U.S. chapter of Girls Not Brides coalition to end child marriage.
• Pathfinder InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConsortium partner on (re)solve family planning program in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia and Bangladesh.
• Tostan SenegalmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNGO partner working on community development and gender equality in Africa.
• Instituto Promundo BrazilmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch organization focusing on gender equality and men's engagement in Brazil.
• London School of Hygiene and Tropical MedicinemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner for global health and gender research.
• University of California San FranciscomajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner for health and gender research.
• RTI InternationalmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch institute partner for development research.
• Tata Institute of Social SciencesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndian academic partner for social sciences and gender research.
• ViiV HealthcareminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealthcare company supporting HIV research and programming.
• Kenya Medical Research InstitutemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerKenyan research institution partner for health research.
• Medical Research Council of South AfricamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSouth African research institution partner for health and development research.
• Life Skills Collaborative (LSC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to champion life skills for India's young people to thrive.
• Women's Economic Empowerment Evidence Learning Partnership for Kenya (WEE CoP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to strengthen efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability of women's economic empowerment work in Kenya.
• Partners for PreventioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional partner for prevention of gender-based violence in Asia.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• UN Women: UN entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women, with global mandate and significantly larger resource base. Highly comparable mission and policy-influence role to ICRW, but operates as an intergovernmental body rather than an independent nonprofit.
• FHI 360: Large global development and research organization with significant gender and reproductive health programming funded by USAID and other bilateral donors. Comparable research-and-programs model to ICRW, with broader thematic scope and substantially larger scale.
• Mercy Corps: Large global humanitarian and development organization with significant gender-focused programming across fragile contexts. Comparable in operating footprint and donor base to ICRW, though broader in scope beyond gender.

Direct peers

• CARE International: Major international humanitarian organization with deep gender equality and women's empowerment programming across 100+ countries. Direct operational peer to ICRW, with similar research, programs, and advocacy portfolio targeting structurally excluded populations.
• Promundo-US: Global research and advocacy organization focused on gender equality and engaging men and boys for social transformation. Highly comparable research-and-advocacy model and a named ICRW partner (Instituto Promundo Brazil) collaborating on similar issue areas.
• Women Deliver: Global advocacy organization focused on gender equality and the health and rights of girls and women, with strong convening power (the Women Deliver Conferences). Direct peer in the gender-equality advocacy space and a partner ICRW engages with at major convenings.
• BSR (Business for Social Responsibility): Global nonprofit consultancy that advises Fortune 500 companies on sustainability and equity strategies. The closest direct competitor to ICRW Advisors on corporate gender-equity consulting and supply-chain diagnostics.
• Equality Now: International human rights organization working to end violence and discrimination against women and girls through legal advocacy. Comparable in advocacy focus and UN-engagement model to ICRW's policy work.
• Pathfinder International: Global sexual and reproductive health and rights organization implementing programs in more than 15 countries. A named ICRW consortium partner (on the (re)solve family planning program in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, and Bangladesh) with directly comparable health and rights programming.

Regional players

• International Women's Development Agency (IWDA): Australia-based international development organization focused on gender equality and women's rights, with grant-making and advocacy roles in the Indo-Pacific. Highly comparable operating model to ICRW but primarily regional in scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/ICRW
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/icrw
• Xx.com/ICRW

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about International Center for Research on Women