Guide · September 2026
Organizations for women executives and owners, by what they test
A tenure test, an ownership test, an open door, a board-readiness programme and an angel network — the organizations for women leaders differ by what they ask for, and that is the way to choose.
The organizations for women executives are not variations on one theme. One tests tenure and title, one tests ownership and revenue, several are open professional associations, one is a board-readiness programme, and one is an angel network with a thesis. This guide is arranged by the test, because the test tells a reader immediately whether she is the intended member. Where an organization admits all genders the record says so.
The organizations
7Chief
Senior women executives with at least fifteen years of leadership experience, from C-suite officers to founders and independent operators.
Fifteen or more years of leadership experience, through routes for C-suite officers, senior leaders and builders with US$2 million in revenue or venture funding; six guided Core sessions or four coaching sessions a year plus events and clubhouses. A venture-funded company that has changed shape several times since 2019; price not published, and more than half of memberships are employer-sponsored.
Women Presidents Organization
Women who own and run privately held companies above WPO's revenue thresholds.
Ownership plus revenue — US$2 million in gross sales, US$1 million for service businesses — and monthly facilitated chapters of non-competing owners, tiered by company size. The peer-advisory choice for women who own the company. Dues not published.
NAWBO
Women who own an equity interest in a business in the United States, at any size, stage and industry
The professional association for women business owners, with published dues from US$250 to US$795, chapters across the United States, and non-voting supporting membership for men. Open rather than selective; the point is advocacy, chapters and community.
Athena Alliance
Experienced, high-achieving women and non-binary executives, board directors, investors and founders pursuing board seats, portfolio careers or a career transition
Board readiness and executive development for women and non-binary leaders at a published US$6,000 a year, with enterprise cohorts that include men. The choice when the goal is a board seat rather than a peer group.
Golden Seeds
Accredited investors who want to invest in early-stage companies founded or led by women
An angel network investing solely in women-founded and women-led companies; accreditation is the only formal test and the mission is the practical one. For an investor rather than an operator.
Ellevate Network
Professional women at all career stages, from early career through senior executive, plus corporate partners buying membership for their employees
A professional network with published monthly tiers (reported from its own 2023 pages at US$40 and US$150, with a free guest tier) and chapters, now on a platform that renders little to the public. Open membership; the record notes what could and could not be verified.
C200
Women who are founders or majority owners of substantial companies, or C-suite executives with profit-and-loss responsibility
Invitation-only for women who run large enterprises: entrepreneurs with US$20 million in revenue and control, public-company C-suite officers at companies above US$250 million, private-company chief executives above US$75 million, with attestation. The most selective organization on the list and the one that cannot be applied to.