International Strategic Accelerator for Women

What International Strategic Accelerator for Women does

iSAW (International Strategic Accelerator for Women) is a not-for-profit organization founded in 2019 and headquartered in Chandler, Arizona, with a second headquarters in the United Kingdom and operations spanning more than 20 countries. Its mission is to accelerate women's participation in the workplace through a three-pronged program that unites corporate leaders (Women10x), university students (Uni10x), and senior policy advisors (W20, the G20's official gender equity engagement group, for which iSAW serves as the strategic technical partner). The organization is structured as iSAW International LLC, governed by a board chaired by Dr. Sherry McAllister, with Nancy Speidel as Founder and CEO.

The core product is the LIFT (Learning and Intelligence For Tomorrow) digital platform, powered by Unily's enterprise digital workplace technology and offering multilingual support across 30+ languages and cross-device access. LIFT is supplemented by the GRID (Gender Research Insights Database), a knowledge hub of structured research summaries produced in partnership with nine international universities and more than 300 students. The full product portfolio includes the LIFT platform, the three strategic initiatives (Women10x, Uni10x, W20), and the GRID database, all delivered through a unified digital ecosystem.

iSAW's revenue model is recurring in nature and rests on three streams: corporate subscriptions (where companies pay to enroll nominated staff), individual memberships (with a 14-day cooling-off period and automatic renewal), and corporate sponsorships from aligned partners including corporations, foundations, non-profits, and individual male allies whose fees subsidize women members who cannot afford them. Distribution is digital-first via LIFT, supplemented by in-person events, ambassador programs, and partnerships with embassies and academic institutions. Pricing is not publicly disclosed, though promotional offers (first month free, first 200 registrants receiving an additional month free) and tiered corporate alliance packages are referenced.

Name

International Strategic Accelerator for Women

Legal name

iSAW International LLC

Website

https://isaw.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

iSAW is a not-for-profit that runs the LIFT digital platform and three strategic initiatives (Women10x, Uni10x, W20) to accelerate women's workplace participation globally, serving corporate subscribers, individual professional women, universities, and government partners across 20+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Phoenix

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Corporate Subscriptions: Corporations and institutions pay subscription fees to have their nominated staff access the iSAW ecosystem and become active members of the iSAW community. Paid Subscriptions can be monthly or prepaid for specific periods.
2. Individual Memberships: Individual women can subscribe to access the LIFT platform and iSAW community. Membership includes a 14-day cooling-off period and automatic renewal unless cancelled.
3. Corporate Sponsorships: Partners aligned with iSAW's mission who wish to be active promoters can sponsor the organization. Sponsors can be corporations, foundations, non-profit entities, and individuals committed to driving greater participation of women in the workplace. Male members' fees subsidize women members who cannot afford membership.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

iSAW offers a digital platform called LIFT (Learning and Intelligence For Tomorrow) that connects individual members, corporate partners, universities, and ambassadors to advance women's participation and progression in the workplace. The platform is powered by Unily technology, supports 30+ languages, and provides a global community, expert network, mentorship, learning resources, and the GRID research database.

Product overview

iSAW offers a unified digital ecosystem centered on its LIFT platform (Learning and Intelligence For Tomorrow), powered by Unily technology, with three reinforcing strategic initiatives: Women10x for workplace systemic change, Uni10x for academic partnerships and next-generation engagement, and W20 for global policy influence through the G20. The ecosystem is further supported by the GRID (Gender Research Insights Database), a knowledge hub containing research developed with 9 universities and 300+ students. All offerings are unified through the LIFT platform which provides personalized content, multilingual access (30+ languages), and interactive community features across all devices.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Women10x: Strategic initiative that accelerates systemic change, creating work environments for women to thrive. Focuses on breaking barriers for women in the workplace across sectors and regions.
• Uni10x
• W20
• LIFT
• GRID

Products and services

• LIFT Digital Platform

Quantifiable outcome

• Global gender equality timeline could be shortened from 99.5 years (WEF estimate) with multipliers such as shifting business mindsets to be more inclusive of women

Named customers7 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and flagship.

• University of Southampton Business SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021MSc in HRM students pair with iSAW through Riipen to work on gender diversity content for the iSAW platform. Students contribute to GRID database and receive free iSAW membership for 12 months.
• U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Saudi ArabiacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Saudi Arabia host iSAW events and workshops for advancing women's professional and leadership skills, including partnerships with the U.S. Consulate Dhahran for Women And Wealth workshops.
• Arizona State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019ASU students, including Franke Honors College students, partner with iSAW for research projects on ESG and gender equality. Students contribute to the GRID database and present findings to the iSAW board.
• GROW (Gulf Region Organization for Women)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016GROW was co-founded by Nancy Speidel with Saudi Aramco sponsorship, creating a network of over 80 companies to create work environments for women to thrive in the Gulf Region. This was a precursor to iSAW's global expansion.
• UnilycoreTechnology or IntegrationUnily is the technology partner powering the LIFT platform with award-winning enterprise digital workplace technology. Unily serves FTSE 100 corporations and provides the infrastructure for iSAW's global ecosystem with multi-language support and cross-device accessibility.
• Women20 (W20)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartneriSAW is the strategic technical partner for W20, the official engagement group of the G20 dedicated to gender equity, equality, and women's economic empowerment. This partnership amplifies impact and ensures women's voices are heard at G20 decision-making levels.
• University of LethbridgecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStudents from University of Lethbridge researched gender equality topics and contributed infographics and iSAW Sharp Pieces to the GRID database. Top students received commemorative coins and certificates.
• Ascent Growth PartnersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAscent Growth Partners collaborated with iSAW and Arizona State University on the ESG and Gender Equality research project.
• The Little Purple Door (U.S. Consulate Dhahran)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSuccess story partnership between U.S. Consulate Dhahran Saudi Arabia and iSAW for women's advancement programs.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Women20 (W20): G20 official engagement group on gender equity. iSAW is W20's strategic technical partner, but W20 is itself the core peer policy-and-advocacy body that iSAW helps operationalize – making it both collaborator and benchmark.
• Ellevate Network: Membership-based professional women's network providing community, mentorship, and events. Closely mirrors iSAW's membership-driven, mentorship-led model for women across industries and career stages.
• Catalyst: Global nonprofit operating a research, advisory, and membership platform to advance women in the workplace. Closely comparable to iSAW as it sells corporate subscriptions and partnerships while publishing research on gender equality – a direct competitor for the same corporate DEI budgets.
• Lean In: Sheryl Sandberg-founded nonprofit providing women with peer Circles, education, and corporate Lean In Circles. Directly comparable to iSAW's mission of accelerating women's workplace equality and offering community-based programs to corporate partners.
• Cherie Blair Foundation for Women: Foundation focused on women's economic empowerment globally, with programs targeting women entrepreneurs and professional development. Comparable to iSAW's international gender-equity mission and corporate-partner funding model.

Emerging players

• Women in Technology (WIT): Global nonprofit with affiliated chapters advancing women in technology careers. Comparable to iSAW's technology-enabled community model and overlap with women in male-dominated industries (e.g., IT, oil and gas).
• Athena Alliance: Membership platform for women leaders offering curated programming, peer connections, and career support. Overlaps with iSAW's Women10x initiative targeting senior workplace leaders and corporate change agents.
• WomenLift Health: Global nonprofit dedicated to advancing women in health leadership. Comparable category peer – sector-specific sister network – targeting professional women leaders via cohorts, mentorship, and executive programs.
• The Female Quotient: Equality-focused platform hosting events, research, and corporate alliances to advance women in business. Comparable to iSAW's corporate event-driven engagement and thought-leadership GTM.
• Chief: Private membership community for senior women executives. While narrower in focus (executive level only) and less global than iSAW, it competes for the same corporate sponsorship dollars and senior women leaders' attention.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/iSAWinternational
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/isaw
• Instagraminstagram.com/isaw_acceleratorforwomen
• Xx.com/isawglobal

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 International Strategic Accelerator for Women