Women Political Leaders (WPL)

What Women Political Leaders (WPL) does

Women Political Leaders (WPL) is a non-profit association (AISBL) under Belgian law, founded in 2013 and headquartered in Brussels, that operates the global network of women political leaders. The organization is led by Founder and President Silvana Koch-Mehrin (former Member of the European Parliament) with Helen Clark (former Prime Minister of New Zealand and former UNDP Administrator) serving as Board Chair, and operates with approximately 30 staff supporting a network of roughly 10,000-12,000 current and former women heads of state, ministers, parliamentarians, and other political figures.

WPL's core activities center on high-profile convenings and policy outputs, including the annual WPL Summit (hosted in countries including Greece and Montenegro), country-level cohorts (notably the WPL Kenya Cohort launched in partnership with KEWOPA in July 2026), and thematic initiatives spanning AI governance (FemAI Initiative, FemAI Africa), peace and security (WPL4Peace, Women Rise for All at the Munich Security Conference), public health (Global Ambassadors for Vaccination), and research (the Representation Matters report co-produced with the World Bank and Oliver Wyman Forum). Its business model is donor- and partnership-funded, with revenue derived from institutional donors, corporate partners (including Microsoft and Salesforce), and member/government contributions; no revenue figures are disclosed. Operational reach is enabled by formal partnerships with the United Nations, UN Women, the World Economic Forum, the World Bank, the European Commission, the African Union, the OECD, and bilateral development agencies (GIZ/BMZ).

Name

Women Political Leaders (WPL)

Legal name

Women Political Leaders AISBL

Website

https://womenpoliticalleaders.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Women Political Leaders (WPL) is a Brussels-based non-profit founded in 2013 that convenes a global network of roughly 10,000-12,000 women political leaders through annual summits, country cohorts, and policy initiatives on gender, AI governance, and security.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Political Advocacy and Leadership Network

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Professional Organizations (813920), Professional Organizations (81392)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Gender Equality & Women’s Rights Advocacy (BPAGAFAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment (BPAGABAF), Think Tanks, Policy Research & Public Policy Institutes (BPAGAFAO), Thought Leadership & Executive Visibility (BPAFADAG), Digital Policy, Data Governance & Cybersecurity Standards Cooperation (BPADANAH)

Keywords

• Political leadership network
• Women empowerment advocacy
• International summit convening
• Gender equality governance
• Policy research publications

Headquarters

HQ city

Brussels, Brussels

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Contributions: WPL operates as a not-for-profit association and relies on donations to fund its activities, expand connections, capacity, and visibility of women political leaders.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Women Political Leaders (WPL) is an independent, international, post-partisan, not-for-profit association that operates the global network of women politicians. It convenes Presidents, Prime Ministers, Cabinet Ministers, Members of Parliament, and Mayors through annual summits, regional convenings, national cohorts, and ongoing programs (FemAI, WPL4Peace, Leadership Campaign) to increase both the number and influence of women in political leadership positions. The organization also publishes annual research reports on women's political representation.

Product overview

Women Political Leaders (WPL) operates as a global network organization rather than a traditional technology product company. The core offering consists of the WPL Summit (annual global gathering of women political leaders), the WPL Global Network (approximately 12,000 members including Presidents, Prime Ministers, Cabinet Ministers, Parliamentarians, and Mayors), the WPL Kenya Cohort (national platform for women parliamentarians in Kenya), the FemAI Initiative (advancing gender inclusion in AI governance), the Representation Matters research report, WPL4Peace (democracy and security initiative), the Leadership Campaign (male ally advocacy program), and the Global Ambassadors for Vaccination initiative. These programs work together to advance WPL's mission of increasing both the number and influence of women in political leadership through convenings, research, advocacy, and international cooperation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Women Political Leaders (WPL): The global network of women politicians working to increase the number and influence of women in political leadership positions.
• FemAI Initiative
• WPL4Peace
• FemAI Africa

Products and services

• WPL Summit Annual global gathering of women political leaders (Presidents, Prime Ministers, Cabinet Ministers, Parliamentarians, and Mayors) providing a peer-level convening platform that inspires women to enter and ascend in politics and showcases their positive impact on governance.
• WPL Global Network Global network of approximately 12,000 women political leaders including Presidents, Prime Ministers, Cabinet Ministers, Members of Parliament, and Mayors, working to increase both the number and influence of women in political leadership positions.
• WPL Kenya Cohort National platform for women parliamentarians in Kenya, established in partnership with the Kenya Women Parliamentary Association (KEWOPA) to strengthen leadership, foster cross-party collaboration, and advance issues such as democratic governance, digital transformation, health, peace and security, and women's political participation.
• FemAI Initiative Initiative advancing gender inclusion within the AI ecosystem through the FemAI Leaders for Africa Initiative, ethical and inclusive AI governance programs, in-country labs, and global AI governance frameworks for women political leaders.
• Representation Matters Report Annual research report examining the link between women's political leadership and global economic growth, created in collaboration with the Oliver Wyman Forum and the World Bank's Women, Business and the Law program.
• WPL4Peace Initiative focused on democracy, peace, and security, emphasizing the role of women in shaping global stability and safety through women's participation in peace and security processes.
• Leadership Campaign Campaign highlighting male Presidents and Prime Ministers' commitment to increasing the number of women in politics, featuring personal testimonies and exhibited at UN Headquarters, African Union, OECD, national Parliaments, and the European Parliament.
• Global Ambassadors for Vaccination Program leveraging women political leaders to support immunisation programs globally and strengthen resilience to future health threats, including roundtables and policy initiatives on vaccination.

Quantifiable outcome

• WPL Summits gather 200-300 women politicians from around the world
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Kenya Women Parliamentary Association (KEWOPA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 July 2026WPL and KEWOPA partnered to launch the WPL Kenya Cohort, a national platform for women parliamentarians established to strengthen leadership and collaboration across political parties on issues including democratic governance, digital transformation, health, peace and security, and women's political participation. The inaugural founding meeting took place in Nairobi on July 22, 2026.
• Government of GreececoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Government of Greece co-hosted WPL Summit 2024 in Athens with the event held under the patronage of President Katerina Sakellaropoulou at the Hellenic Parliament and Acropolis Museum.
• Parliament of RwandacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWPL co-hosted its Summer Summit 2014 in Kigali with the Parliament of Rwanda, which for the first time opened its plenary for a conference of international Parliamentarians. Rwanda has achieved 64% women in Parliament.
• African Union CommissioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWPL Summit 2015 was co-hosted by the African Union at its headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, during the African Union Year of Women's Empowerment and Development.
• United NationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWPL works with the UN on multiple initiatives including the Women, Peace and Security agenda, SDGs, and hosts events at UNGA. WPL's Leadership Campaign exhibition has been shown at UN Headquarters in New York.
• MicrosoftminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMicrosoft supports WPL's Women Leaders' Lunch on Shaping Europe's Competitiveness in the Digital Era, exploring how women's leadership advances digital transformation and AI innovation in Europe.
• GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWPL partnered with GIZ to champion the Innovative Capital Mobilisation in Africa (ICAMA) Initiative launched at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2026 in Davos.
• UN WomencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWPL supports the UN Women HeForShe campaign and collaborates on advocacy for gender equality in political leadership.
• World Economic ForumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWPL hosts WPL Community Connect at Davos Week, convening women public leaders attending the World Economic Forum for peer exchange and cross-regional dialogue.
• World Bank / Women, Business and the LawcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWPL collaborated with the Oliver Wyman Forum and World Bank's Women, Business and the Law to create the annual Representation Matters report examining the link between women's political leadership and global economic growth.
• Oliver Wyman ForumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with WPL on the Representation Matters report, providing research and analysis on women's political leadership and economic outcomes.
• SalesforceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWPL hosts its annual high-level reception at the United Nations General Assembly in partnership with Salesforce, held at Salesforce Tower.
• Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWPL co-organized the WIP Global Summit in Jordan with OECD, focusing on women's political empowerment and gender equality in the MENA region.
• United Nations Office for PartnershipscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWPL collaborates with UN Office for Partnerships on the Women Rise for All Dinner at the Munich Security Conference, part of the 'We the Women' campaign to accelerate progress toward SDGs.
• German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBMZ co-hosts the Women Rise for All Dinner with WPL at the Munich Security Conference 2026 to advance dialogue on peace, justice, and strong institutions.
• International Women's Democracy Union (IWDU)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWPL partners with IWDU and Women In International Security Germany (WIIS) to host the Welcome Reception for Women Political Leaders at the Munich Security Conference.
• European CommissioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWPL co-financed its Summit 2015 in Addis Ababa with the European Commission and collaborates on various policy initiatives including the G20 W20 engagement group.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• UN Women: UN entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women, operating at global scale with mandates across political, economic, and social spheres. WPL explicitly collaborates with UN Women (HeForShe), making it both a peer and a partner, but UN Women is vastly larger and broader in scope.

Direct peers

• WomenLift Health: Global organization connecting and elevating women leaders in health, with convenings, leadership programs, and a network comparable to WPL's structure. It applies the same women-leadership convening model in a more vertical (health) niche.
• International Women's Forum (IWF): Membership organization of accomplished women leaders across diverse sectors, including politics, business, and civil society. Comparable network-based model with global leadership forums, although IWF extends beyond political leadership.
• Vital Voices Global Partnership: Nonprofit co-founded by Hillary Clinton and Madeleine Albright investing in women leaders across politics, business, and human rights. Strong peer in mission, network model, and convening approach, with a broader scope that includes political leadership.
• Award for Women's Political Empowerment (WIP awards predecessor program): Women in Parliaments (WIP) Global Forum, which was effectively WPL's predecessor organization (WPL was previously known as WIP). Today it operates as a separate forum for women parliamentarians, making it the closest historical and functional peer.
• Council of Women World Leaders: Founded by women heads of state and government, CWWL is an exclusive network of currently serving and former female presidents and prime ministers. It is the most direct functional peer to WPL, focused on the same mission of increasing women's influence in political leadership.

Emerging players

• Amani Institute: Leadership development organization for emerging social leaders, with a focus on women and cross-sector convenings. Comparable in convening and capacity-building approach but broader in scope and smaller in political-leader focus.
• She Should Run: U.S.-based nonprofit encouraging women to run for elected office, with programs for aspiring and current candidates. Comparable mission focus on increasing women's political representation, but operates primarily in the U.S. and at a different stage of the pipeline.
• African Women in Leadership (AWL): Pan-African network developing the next generation of women leaders, including in politics and public service. Comparable in mission and network-driven approach but focused on Africa rather than global, complementing WPL's Africa-focused summits and cohorts.

Others

• HeForShe Campaign (UN Women): UN solidarity movement for gender equality, explicitly co-engaged with WPL on advocacy and convenings. Functions as both an adjacent campaign and a thematic peer in male allyship for women's political representation.

Market position

Strengths6 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/wpleadersorg
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/WomenPoliticalLeaders
• Facebookfacebook.com/WPLeadersOrg
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/women-political-leaders
• Instagraminstagram.com/wpleadersorg

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Women Political Leaders (WPL)