Our mission
Promote gender equality by supporting women's leadership development through cross-cultural education programs.
Guiding values
Equity. Above all WILL is committed to promoting and increasing equality between women and men.
Autonomy. WILL recognizes the importance of culture and individuality and believes in the power and integrity of the individuals we support.
Sustainability. Cultural and environmental sustainability is at the core of WILL's program design and implementation.
Our programs
The University Center for Women's Leadership (CMujer for its name in Spanish) is WILL's primary program focus. CMujer is the first center of its kind in Oaxaca state and the national system of Technical universities that provides comprehensive student support services including:
- peer and community leader mentorship programs
- workshops and conferences on networking skills, gender stereotypes, public speaking, and more with community leaders and activists
- support for women designing and implementing community based projects and small businesses
- community service activities
- cultural enrichment activities
Women who participate in the above programs are eligible to apply for one of seven yearly scholarships to attend a week long leadership training course in Portland, Oregon. 2015's course focused on gender and ethnicity in community leadership. In 2016 this course will focus on women leaders in sustainable food production. Because many of the women who participate come from challenging socioeconomic backgrounds, we rely entirely on donations from our generous community partners and individual contributions. Click here to help us out and support women's leadership!
Click here to see 2015's scholarship recipients.
Where we work
Oaxaca is a state known for its ethnic diversity and rich cultural tradition. Our program participants come from all around the Oaxaca and Tlacolula Valleys, the Mixteca Baja, and the Sierra Sur and speak a variety of indigenous languages.
Where do we go from here?
WILL hopes to partner with Oregon colleges and universities to expand opportunities for international education and cross-cultural learning in rural Oregon. If your institution would like to get involved, send us an email at info@willpdx.org. We can provide customized courses in collaboration with CMujer!
Our long-term goals include expanding CMujer's programming and training additional Oaxacan universities to run their own University Centers for Women's Leadership.