About EWI

Our Story

EWI was established in San Francisco in 1938 by Lucille Johnson Perkins.  Ms. Perkins recognized the importance and potential of an association bringing key women together to promote their firms and improve their community. On April 29th of that year, Articles of Incorporation were filed with the State of California under the name of Executive Secretaries, Inc.

Since then, additional cities throughout the United States, Canada have joined, forming a prestigious and exclusive networking organization of key firms and individuals.

During the 30th Annual Meeting of the corporation (May 1977), the organization's name was changed to Executive Women International. This change reflects the international expansion of the organization and recognizes the changing roles of women in business and the diverse careers held by our representatives.

More than 2000 companies and 2300 representatives are members of EWI today in nearly 70 Chapters located in major cities in the United States and Canada. EWI is the premier organization for networking and leadership development for today's business professionals and their firms.