Independent Women's Forum

Independent Women's Forum
Founded	1992
Founder	Rosalie Silberman, Barbara Olson, Anita K. Blair
Type	501(c)(3)
Focus	Women's rights, equity feminism, property rights, free markets, democracy, foreign policy, domestic violence, campus issues, health care, labor policy
Location	1875 I Street NW, S-500; Washington, D.C. 20006;
Coordinates	38°54′06″N 77°02′34″W / 38.9018°N 77.0428°W
Area served	United States, Iraq, Afghanistan
Method	Educational programs, awards, grants, political commentary
Key people	Sabrina Schaeffer, Carrie Lukas, Heather Higgins, Christina Hoff Sommers, Lynne V. Cheney, Wendy Lee Gramm, Midge Decter, Kate O'Beirne
Revenue (2013)	$5,680,509
Website	iwf.org

The Independent Women's Forum (IWF) is an American conservative, non-profit organization focused on economic policy issues of concern to women.^[4]^[5] IWF was founded by activist Rosalie Silberman to promote a "conservative alternative to feminist tenets" following the controversial Supreme Court nomination of Clarence Thomas in 1992.^[6] IWF's sister organization is the Independent Women's Voice (IWV), a 501(c)(4) organization.

The group advocates "equity feminism", a term first used by IWF author Christina Hoff Sommers to distinguish "traditional, classically liberal, humanistic feminism" from "gender feminism", as she discussed in Who Stole Feminism?, which she says opposes gender roles and patriarchy.^[7] According to Sommers, the gender feminist view is "the prevailing ideology among contemporary feminist philosophers and leaders",^[7] and "thrives on the myth that American women are the oppressed 'second sex.'"^[8] Sommers' equity feminism has been described as anti-feminist by critics.^[9]

^ ^a ^b "Members Give: Independent Women's Forum (GivingExpress Program)". guidestar.org. Archived from the original on September 23, 2016.
^ Staff writer. "The Voices of the Independent Women's Forum". iwf.org. Independent Women's Forum. Archived from the original on October 8, 2007.
^ "Organizational Profile: Independent Women's Forum". ProPublica.
^ Schreiber, Ronnee (2008). Righting Feminism: Conservative Women and American Politics. Oxford New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195331813. Publisher's details. Archived September 14, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
^
See also:
- Holley, Joe (February 21, 2007). "Rosalie Silberman; Created Independent Women's Forum". The Washington Times. "The idea for the IWF was to provide a conservative alternative to feminist tenets."
- Tabor, Nathan (January 23, 2007). "WF in the News: Strong Women for a Strong America". iwf.org. Independent Women's Forum. Archived from the original on September 23, 2018. Retrieved September 22, 2016. "However, our visitor from another planet would be surprised to discover there are many groups out there that represent conservative women who believe in equality but shun socialism and big government. One of those organizations is the Independent Women's Forum."
- Schreiber, Ronnee (October 2002). "Injecting a woman's voice: Conservative women's organizations, gender consciousness, and the expression of women's policy preferences". Sex Roles. 47 (7): 331–342. doi:10.1023/A:1021479030885. S2CID 140980839. "In this article I examine two national conservative women's organizations—the Concerned Women for America (CWA) and the Independent Women's Forum (IWF)—to show how conservative women leaders link gender identity and policy preferences. I describe these organizations below. Like feminists, these women, through their organizations, not only act collectively as women, but also bring a "woman's perspective" to policy issues. Although some scholars have not denied the impact of right-wing movements on feminist goals and activities (Conover & Gray, 1983; Klatch, 1987; Marshall, 1995), others have characterized conservative women as victims of false consciousness, pawns of conservative men or right-wing funders (Dworkin, 1983; Hammer, 2002), or women's auxillar[ies] of the conservative elite" (Kaminer, 1996), thus diminishing the attention and serious consideration appropriate to such a political force."
^ Holley, Joe (February 21, 2007). "Rosalie Silberman; Created Independent Women's Forum". Washington Post. Retrieved February 4, 2013.
^ ^a ^b Hoff Sommers, Christina (1995), "Women Under Siege", in Hoff Sommers, Christina (ed.), Who Stole Feminism?, New York: Touchstone/Simon & Schuster, p. 22, ISBN 9780671794248.
^ Chapin, Bernard (February 7, 2007). "Post Super Bowl Feminism". The American Spectator. Retrieved May 9, 2015.
^ Pozner, Jennifer (1997), "Female Anti-Feminism for Fame and Profit", in Cowan, Rich (ed.), Uncovering the Right on Campus: a Guide to Resisting Conservative Attacks on Equality and Social Justice, Houston, TX Cambridge, MA: Center for Campus Organizing, ISBN 9780945210078. Excerpt. via Internet Archive

[GuideStar-1] "Members Give: Independent Women's Forum (GivingExpress Program)". guidestar.org. Archived from the original on September 23, 2016.

[Voices-2] Staff writer. "The Voices of the Independent Women's Forum". iwf.org. Independent Women's Forum. Archived from the original on October 8, 2007.

[ProPublica-3] "Organizational Profile: Independent Women's Forum". ProPublica.

[Schreiber-4] Schreiber, Ronnee (2008). Righting Feminism: Conservative Women and American Politics. Oxford New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195331813. Publisher's details. Archived September 14, 2008, at the Wayback Machine

[5] See also:
Holley, Joe (February 21, 2007). "Rosalie Silberman; Created Independent Women's Forum". The Washington Times. "The idea for the IWF was to provide a conservative alternative to feminist tenets."

Tabor, Nathan (January 23, 2007). "WF in the News: Strong Women for a Strong America". iwf.org. Independent Women's Forum. Archived from the original on September 23, 2018. Retrieved September 22, 2016. "However, our visitor from another planet would be surprised to discover there are many groups out there that represent conservative women who believe in equality but shun socialism and big government. One of those organizations is the Independent Women's Forum."

Schreiber, Ronnee (October 2002). "Injecting a woman's voice: Conservative women's organizations, gender consciousness, and the expression of women's policy preferences". Sex Roles. 47 (7): 331–342. doi:10.1023/A:1021479030885. S2CID 140980839. "In this article I examine two national conservative women's organizations—the Concerned Women for America (CWA) and the Independent Women's Forum (IWF)—to show how conservative women leaders link gender identity and policy preferences. I describe these organizations below. Like feminists, these women, through their organizations, not only act collectively as women, but also bring a "woman's perspective" to policy issues. Although some scholars have not denied the impact of right-wing movements on feminist goals and activities (Conover & Gray, 1983; Klatch, 1987; Marshall, 1995), others have characterized conservative women as victims of false consciousness, pawns of conservative men or right-wing funders (Dworkin, 1983; Hammer, 2002), or women's auxillar[ies] of the conservative elite" (Kaminer, 1996), thus diminishing the attention and serious consideration appropriate to such a political force."

[6] Holley, Joe (February 21, 2007). "Rosalie Silberman; Created Independent Women's Forum". The Washington Times. "The idea for the IWF was to provide a conservative alternative to feminist tenets."

[7] Tabor, Nathan (January 23, 2007). "WF in the News: Strong Women for a Strong America". iwf.org. Independent Women's Forum. Archived from the original on September 23, 2018. Retrieved September 22, 2016. "However, our visitor from another planet would be surprised to discover there are many groups out there that represent conservative women who believe in equality but shun socialism and big government. One of those organizations is the Independent Women's Forum."

[8] Schreiber, Ronnee (October 2002). "Injecting a woman's voice: Conservative women's organizations, gender consciousness, and the expression of women's policy preferences". Sex Roles. 47 (7): 331–342. doi:10.1023/A:1021479030885. S2CID 140980839. "In this article I examine two national conservative women's organizations—the Concerned Women for America (CWA) and the Independent Women's Forum (IWF)—to show how conservative women leaders link gender identity and policy preferences. I describe these organizations below. Like feminists, these women, through their organizations, not only act collectively as women, but also bring a "woman's perspective" to policy issues. Although some scholars have not denied the impact of right-wing movements on feminist goals and activities (Conover & Gray, 1983; Klatch, 1987; Marshall, 1995), others have characterized conservative women as victims of false consciousness, pawns of conservative men or right-wing funders (Dworkin, 1983; Hammer, 2002), or women's auxillar[ies] of the conservative elite" (Kaminer, 1996), thus diminishing the attention and serious consideration appropriate to such a political force."

[wapo-silberman-6] Holley, Joe (February 21, 2007). "Rosalie Silberman; Created Independent Women's Forum". Washington Post. Retrieved February 4, 2013.

[Sommers-7] Hoff Sommers, Christina (1995), "Women Under Siege", in Hoff Sommers, Christina (ed.), Who Stole Feminism?, New York: Touchstone/Simon & Schuster, p. 22, ISBN 9780671794248.

[8] Chapin, Bernard (February 7, 2007). "Post Super Bowl Feminism". The American Spectator. Retrieved May 9, 2015.

[9] Pozner, Jennifer (1997), "Female Anti-Feminism for Fame and Profit", in Cowan, Rich (ed.), Uncovering the Right on Campus: a Guide to Resisting Conservative Attacks on Equality and Social Justice, Houston, TX Cambridge, MA: Center for Campus Organizing, ISBN 9780945210078. Excerpt. via Internet Archive

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