Global Issues

Women for Women International had been on “Oprah” five times. It wasn’t enough.

Positioning Women for Women International as a Policy Leader

The Challenge: The exposure on “Oprah” was phenomenal. But Executive Director Zainab Salbi wanted more. To truly make a difference in the lives of women in conflict regions, she knew her organization needed to be taken seriously in the policy arena.

Our Approach: Fenton built a communications campaign we called “Stronger Women, Stronger Nations” to help achieve this goal. We recruited Rep. Carolyn Maloney as co-sponsor of a well-attended Hill briefing on Iraq’s future as a democracy and the impact on women. We also framed and publicized a post-war survey of 1,000 Iraqi women commissioned by W4W International as the first such report on women’s concerns and hopes for the future. Fenton continued to solidify the organization’s legitimacy in the policy realm by drawing media attention to its advocacy for women’s rights in the new Iraqi Constitution.

Progress, Accelerated: Within a year, Salbi became a regular commentator and presence in the national media including a 12-minute segment on ABC “News Now,” NBC “Nightly News,” Washington Post, USA Today, Newsweek, US News & World Report, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, Associated Press International and on CNN and CNN International, and cited in favorable editorials in The New York Times. The exposure helped position W4W International as an authoritative source for political reporters and also contributed to attracting more than 20,000 new sponsor-donors.