Membership Nomination Guidelines

Thank you for taking the time to submit your nominations for prospective IWF/MA members. We strive to maintain a diverse and dynamic membership and we appreciate your commitment to growing our community. We look forward to welcoming new members who share our mission and values. 

We recommend you do not tell your candidate she is being nominated. Your nominations will be carefully reviewed by our Membership Committee, who will assess each candidate's qualifications and fit within IWF. Following their evaluation, recommendations will be submitted to the Board of Directors for final approval.

Please review the following instructions and guidelines carefully. Should you have any questions, please contact info@iwfma.org.

Membership Criteria

Instructions & Guidelines

1. We recommend you do not tell your candidate that she is being nominated. Submission of a nomination does not guarantee approval. The Membership Committee engages in professional, confidential, and rigorous research and discussion to vet each candidate. If you have shared with a prospect that she is being nominated, it can be disappointing and awkward to explain why your candidate wasn't approved and the burden of that communication will fall on you.
2. Review the criteria carefully. We recognize not everyone fits all criteria exactly and make exceptions for "rock star" candidates. If you have questions about whether your nominee meets our criteria, please contact our Executive Director, Michaela Sawicki at msawicki@iwfma.org before you submit the Nomination form.
3. There is no limit on how many nominations you can make.
   
4. Preeminence suggests only one woman per organization; however, in the case of mega-sized companies, exceptions may be made. More commonly, a mega-sized organization that has subsidiaries may have several preeminent women. In that case, we may invite more than one subsidiary leader.
5. If a candidate is ultimately not recommended for membership, the candidate may be re-nominated for membership no more than a total of three (3) times.
6. Members from other IWF affiliate Forums who are relocating to Massachusetts do not need to go through the membership nomination process. These women will be admitted into IWF/MA provided that IWF/MA receives a letter from her prior Forum President stating that she is a member in good standing. 

NOMINATION CYCLE & DEADLINES

Nominations are considered on a quarterly basis. All candidates must be reviewed first by the Membership Committee. The Committee then submits their recommendations to the Board of Directors for review and approval. 

• Q1 - closed
• Q2 - closed
• Q3 - closed
  
• Q4 - Deadline is November 4, 2025