Women's Ordination Conference

What Women's Ordination Conference does

The Women's Ordination Conference (WOC) is a U.S.-based nonprofit advocacy organization founded in 1975 in Detroit, Michigan, and currently headquartered in Washington, DC with operating presence in Italy. It is the oldest and largest organization dedicated to ordaining women as deacons, priests, and bishops in the Roman Catholic Church, serving Catholic women discerning ordination, their allies, and broader Catholic reform constituencies including Latina/Hispanic Catholic women and LGBTQ+ Catholics. WOC's programmatic offerings center on advocacy campaigns, theological education (e.g., the Activist Toolkit for Today, Women's Ordination 101, the Inclusive Lectionary), listening sessions such as the Synod-era "Let Her Voice Carry" report and the "Escuchando a las mujeres" Spanish-language initiative, the Lucile Murray Durkin Scholarship, the annual conference (WOC50 in Detroit, May 22-24, 2026), and high-visibility public witness actions including the May 2025 "Pink Smoke" protest over the Vatican. The organization operates from a website-based technology stack — womensordination.org with Constant Contact email, Change.org petitions, virtual event tools, and a Bonfire merchandise storefront — with no proprietary software products or SaaS offerings; its output is campaigns, publications, and convenings rather than technology products. Its business model is donation- and membership-driven nonprofit financing, supplemented by event registration fees and merchandise sales, with grant funding (e.g., the 2019 JustPax Fund grant) for specific programmatic hires. The organization is led by Executive Director Kate McElwee and governed by a Board of Directors with President Sheila Peiffer, Vice President Barb Kozee, Board Member Abby Rampone, Outreach Coordinator Lilian Medina-Romero, and Program Associate Katie Lacz, supported by a staff of 8 employees.

Name

Women's Ordination Conference

Legal name

Women's Ordination Conference

Website

https://womensordination.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Women's Ordination Conference is a 1975-founded U.S. nonprofit that advocates for ordaining women as deacons, priests, and bishops in the Roman Catholic Church, serving Catholic women, allies, and reform coalitions through campaigns, listening sessions, and global public witness events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Advocacy

NAICS

Religious Organizations (81311), Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations (8139)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Faith-Based Education & Formation (Seminaries, Religious Schools, Catechesis) (BPAGAJAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

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

Keywords

• Religious advocacy organization
• Women's ordination movement
• Catholic church reform
• Faith-based activism
• Gender equity advocacy

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Women's Ordination Conference is a non-profit advocacy organization that campaigns for the ordination of women as deacons, priests, and bishops in the Roman Catholic Church. It delivers grassroots organizing, theological education, listening sessions, petition campaigns, coalition partnerships, and an annual conference, funded by individual donations, memberships, grants, and merchandise sales.

Product overview

The Women's Ordination Conference is a grassroots advocacy organization focused on achieving women's ordination as deacons, priests, and bishops in the Roman Catholic Church. The organization does not offer technology products or software services. Its programmatic offerings include advocacy campaigns, educational resources (such as the Activist Toolkit for Today and Liberating Liturgies 2.0), scholarly reports (including the Let Her Voice Carry synod report), the annual WOC50/anniversary conference, scholarship programs (Lucile Murray Durkin Scholarship), and the Inclusive Lectionary resource. These are advocacy programs and publications, not technology products or SaaS offerings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• WOC Membership Program
• WOC50 Anniversary Conference
• Lucile Murray Durkin Scholarship
• WOC Merchandise Store
• Petition to Pope Leo Campaign Online petition campaign on Change.org directed at Pope Leo XIV calling for women's ordination, paired with the Vocations Sunday 'Be Not Afraid' advocacy initiative.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Association of U.S. Catholic PriestscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Part of the Listening To Women collaborative five-year initiative. WOC participates in joint advocacy for women's equality and church reform through this coalition of Catholic reform organizations.
• Australian Catholic Coalition for Church RenewalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019International coalition partner in the Listening To Women initiative working to amplify Catholic women's voices globally.
• DignityUSAcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019LGBTQ+ Catholic advocacy organization co-sponsoring the Listening To Women initiative and supporting WOC's intersectional approach.
• FutureChurchcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Co-founder of Listening To Women initiative; FutureChurch co-director Deborah Rose-Milavec collaborates closely with WOC on advocacy campaigns.
• RAPPORT (Renewing and Priestly People Ordination Reconsidered Today)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Coalition partner in Listening To Women initiative advocating for ordination reform.
• Catholic Tipping Point CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Multi-organization coalition including Call To Action, Catholics For Choice, CORPUS, DignityUSA, Ecumenical Catholic Communion, FutureChurch, New Ways Ministry, Quixote Center, SNAP, Women-Church Convergence, WOC. Organized the 'A Crisis of Culture' speaking tour with Marie Collins.
• Voices of FaithcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Global initiative working for a Church that values women as leaders. WOC co-sponsors Voices of Faith events and campaigns including #votesforcatholicwomen petition.
• Women-Church ConvergencecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Coalition of Catholic reform organizations. WOC collaborates through this group on joint advocacy and activism campaigns.
• WATER (Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics, and Ritual)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Long-standing collaborator with WOC through Women-Church Convergence. Co-founded by Mary E. Hunt in 1983.
• United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019WOC holds NGO consultative status to ECOSOC since 2019, enabling participation in negotiations, delivery of statements, and holding side events at the UN including Commission on the Status of Women meetings.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• DignityUSA: LGBTQ+ Catholic advocacy organization co-sponsoring the Listening To Women initiative with WOC and collaborating on intersectional advocacy for inclusion of LGBTQ+ and women in Church leadership.
• Catholics For Choice: Progressive Catholic advocacy organization and Catholic Tipping Point Coalition member; parallels WOC's stance in challenging Church teaching on contested moral and structural issues from a faithful Catholic position.
• Women-Church Convergence: Coalition of Catholic feminist and reform organizations through which WOC runs joint advocacy; explicitly focused on women's equality in the Catholic Church, sharing both mission and grassroots organizing model with WOC.
• New Ways Ministry: Catholic LGBTQ+ advocacy and education ministry that is part of the Catholic Tipping Point Coalition with WOC; shares the broader progressive Catholic reform movement and intersectional approach to Church change.
• Call to Action: National Catholic reform organization and core coalition partner in the Catholic Tipping Point Coalition alongside WOC, sharing a parallel agenda of institutional reform, women's equality, and grassroots organizing.
• FutureChurch: Co-founded the Listening To Women initiative with WOC and is its closest coalition partner; both organizations advocate for women's ordination and Catholic Church reform through education, research, and grassroots campaigns.
• CORPUS: Catholic reform organization that organizes U.S. Catholics for church renewal; coalition partner in the Catholic Tipping Point Coalition with WOC, pursuing structural change in Catholic governance and ministry.
• Roman Catholic Womenpriests: Directly aligned with WOC's mission by ordaining women as Catholic priests despite Vatican prohibition, providing the practical complement to WOC's advocacy work and frequently featured in WOC's media coverage.
• WATER (Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics, and Ritual): Feminist theological organization co-founded in 1983 by Mary E. Hunt (WOC50 keynote speaker); long-standing collaborator with WOC through Women-Church Convergence, sharing a feminist theological and ritual-justice orientation.
• Voices of Faith: International Catholic women's leadership initiative co-sponsoring campaigns with WOC including #votesforcatholicwomen; comparable mission to elevate women's voices and leadership within the Catholic Church worldwide.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/OrdainWomen
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@womensordinationconf
• Facebookfacebook.com/WOC.pink.smoke
• Instagraminstagram.com/womensordination
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/women-s-ordination-conference

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Women's Ordination Conference