Association of Women Surgeons

What Association of Women Surgeons does

The Association of Women Surgeons (AWS) is a not-for-profit educational and professional organization founded in 1981 and headquartered at 201 E. Main Street, Suite 810, Lexington, Kentucky. It serves approximately 3,700 members of all genders across more than 40 countries, providing career-stage-specific programming for medical students, surgical residents and fellows, and attending surgeons from early practice through retirement. Its mission is to inspire, encourage, and enable women surgeons to realize their professional and personal goals through engagement, empowerment, and mentorship-led development.

AWS's product surface centers on events and member services rather than a single technology platform. Flagship offerings include the AWS Annual Conference, the AWS Foundation Awards Dinner & Gala (with 2026 individual tickets at $325 and tables at $1,750-$4,000), the SCALPELS webinar series, mentorship and coaching programs, the Kim Ephgrave Visiting Professor Program, the Reviewer Academy, a podcast, a blog, a job board (womensurgeons.careerwebsite.com), and a portfolio of named awards at both trainee (Numann, Sanfey) and attending (Braunwald, Jonasson, Abston, Putnam, Past Presidents' Honorary) levels. Underlying technology is a standard web-based membership and event-management platform with Zoom-integrated webinars; no proprietary technology, AI capabilities, or patents are disclosed.

AWS generates revenue through four streams: recurring membership dues (individual and institutional tiers), event-related revenue from conference and gala tickets/tables, corporate and individual sponsorships, and tax-deductible donations to its affiliated AWS Foundation (AWSF), which administers awards, scholarships, and visiting professorships. The organization is membership-led with multi-channel marketing across website, email newsletter, podcast, blog, and major social platforms, and is governed by an elected Executive Committee and Council with a separate AWS Foundation Board of Trustees handling fundraising and awards programming. No parent company, funding rounds, or M&A activity are disclosed.

Name

Association of Women Surgeons

Legal name

Association of Women Surgeons

Website

https://womensurgeons.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

The Association of Women Surgeons is a 1981-founded not-for-profit professional organization serving approximately 3,700 members across 40+ countries, offering mentorship, coaching, awards, conferences, and webinars to support women surgeons across all career stages from medical school through retirement.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Medical Association

NAICS

Professional Organizations (813920), Professional Organizations (81392), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Association & Society Conference Management (Nonprofit, Professional Bodies) (THAHACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Medical, Scientific & Healthcare Congress Organizers (THAHACAD), Sponsorship, Exhibitor & Partnership Management Services (THAHACAK)

Keywords

• Professional association
• Women in surgery
• Medical mentorship programs
• Surgical education conferences
• Professional development awards

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees provide access to networking, mentorship, awards, publications, and professional development resources. Multiple membership categories exist including individual and institutional members.
2. Event Revenue: Revenue generated from annual conference tickets, gala tickets, and table sponsorships. The 2026 Gala offers individual tickets at $325 and tables ranging from $1750-$4000.
3. Sponsorships: Corporate and individual sponsorships for events, programs, and the organization overall. Sponsorship opportunities exist for the annual conference, gala, and general organizational support.
4. Donations: Tax-deductible donations to the AWS Foundation support awards, scholarships, visiting professorships, and general programming for advancing women in surgery.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

The Association of Women Surgeons is a not-for-profit professional membership organization that supports women surgeons across all career stages through annual conferences, awards and scholarships, mentorship and coaching programs, educational webinars, career resources, and advocacy tools. Members receive access to networking, professional development, leadership training, and recognition opportunities, while the organization generates revenue through membership dues, event fees, sponsorships, and donations to its Foundation.

Product overview

The Association of Women Surgeons (AWS) operates as a not-for-profit educational and professional organization offering a comprehensive suite of programs and services to support women surgeons at all career stages. The core offerings include annual conferences and events, professional development programs (mentorship, coaching, and leadership training), award programs recognizing achievement at trainee and attending levels, educational webinar series (SCALPELS), and career resources including a job board and speaker directory. AWS also provides toolkits and publications supporting gender equity and professional advancement. The organization has approximately 3,700 members across 40+ countries and is governed by its Foundation (AWSF) which manages awards, visiting professorships, and fundraising initiatives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• AWS Annual Conference
• AWS Foundation Awards Gala
• Kim Ephgrave Visiting Professor Program
• AWS Surgical Mentorship Program
• AWS Coaching Program
• AWS SCALPELS Webinar Series
• Better Mentor, Bigger Impact - Surgical Cross Mentoring Training
• AWS Reviewer Academy
• AWSF Trainee Awards
• AWSF Attending Awards
• AWS Career Center

Quantifiable outcome

• 3,700+ members served globally
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: A large U.S. specialty surgical society with membership, annual meeting, and educational programs. Comparable in operational model and member services to AWS but at far larger scale and focused on orthopaedics.
• Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN): A large nursing and surgical-team professional association offering conferences, publications, and member education. Comparable in operational structure and event-driven model to AWS, though serving perioperative nurses rather than women surgeons specifically.
• National Medical Association: The largest U.S. organization representing African American physicians. Comparable to AWS as a physician professional society with membership, conferences, and advocacy programming, but with a different demographic focus and broader scope.
• American College of Surgeons: The largest U.S. professional association for surgeons. Comparable as a membership-based surgical society offering conferences, awards, and member services, but at much greater scale and broader (not women-focused) scope than AWS.
• Society of Surgical Oncology: A major specialty surgical society offering membership, conferences, and educational programming. Comparable to AWS as a surgical membership organization serving practicing surgeons and trainees, though oncology-specialty rather than women-focused.

Direct peers

• Society of Women in Urology: A specialty women-in-medicine society for female urologists and trainees. Closely comparable to AWS in mission, structure, and programming (mentorship, awards, annual meeting), though narrower in surgical specialty.
• International College of Surgeons: An international surgical society with global membership and congress programming. Comparable to AWS in offering international surgical community, meetings, and member services, but broader in scope and not women-focused.
• American Medical Women's Association: The leading U.S. medical professional organization for women physicians. Directly comparable to AWS as a gender-focused medical membership organization offering mentorship, awards, leadership programming, and conferences.

Regional players

• Medical Women's Federation: The UK-based professional body for women in medicine. Comparable to AWS as a women-in-medicine membership organization, but regional (UK) rather than global and broader than surgical specialties.
• Women in Surgery (WinS) — UK: A UK-based women-in-surgery network supporting female surgeons with mentorship, events, and advocacy. Directly comparable to AWS in mission, though regional and not affiliated with AWS.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/WomenSurgeons
• Facebookfacebook.com/womensurgeons
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/association-of-women-surgeons
• Instagraminstagram.com/womensurgeons

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Association of Women Surgeons