When The White House Project was founded in 1998, there were very few women in the upper echelons of our government or at the helms of corporations. Ten female candidates for governorships ran and lost that year. Of the Fortune 500, there were only two women CEOs. The year 1992 had been dubbed the “Year of the Woman,” yet only six years later the country seemed to have made little progress.
The lack of women’s representation as leaders could not be ignored and The White House Project was formed in recognition of the need to build a truly representative democracy—one where women lead alongside men in all spheres. Marie C. Wilson, co-creator of Take Our Daughters to Work Day, and then President of the Ms. Foundation, became the organization’s president and remains so today.
When the organization was first established, critics argued that women had already attained parity with men in terms of leadership positions; however, the facts showed otherwise. By focusing their sights on the White House, a place where a woman had never held executive office, the organization’s leaders set a lofty goal and also made a point—America still had not closed the leadership gap.
Nearly a decade later, the work pioneered by The White House Project has gradually changed the landscape of women’s leadership, making women more accepted as leaders, and creating more viable women to fill leadership positions.
Over time, The White House Project has become a leading advocate and voice on women's leadership. Under Wilson’s stewardship, innovative research and initiatives are hallmarks of the organization. Highlights of the last nine years include outreach to young women through Go Run political leadership trainings and Go Vote initiatives; research on women's political participation; analyses of women's presence on the influential Sunday political talk shows; the creation of an annual awards ceremony to highlight culture changers (EPIC); the convening of women CEOs and executives for national leadership summits; and conferences that convene female leaders from around the world.
The year 2007 brings with it a new series of Go Run trainings, outreach to corporate women through our newly formed Corporate Council; a summit to bring together women leaders from around the world; our fifth EPIC Awards ceremony; the continuation of a platform for understanding security issues; and a nationwide push to spread the reach of SheSource.org, our database of women experts.
