A Global Network.

IAWM is a global network of women’s and gender museums, initiatives and cultural practitioners committed to visibility, equality and change. We connect people and institutions that challenge dominant narratives and create space for feminist knowledge and memory.

  • We connect women’s museums worldwide as spaces of resistance, knowledge, and transformation. Our work amplifies feminist perspectives and supports collaboration across cultures, regions, and disciplines.

  • We envision a world in which women’s and gender histories are fully recognized and represented in museums, public memory, and cultural life.

  • Women’s museums emerged independently across the world as responses to exclusion from traditional museum narratives. Over time, these initiatives formed an international movement. A key milestone was the first International Congress of Women’s Museums in 2008 in Merano, followed by the founding of the International Association of Women’s Museums in Alice Springs, Australia.
    Since then, the network has continued to grow and evolve. International conferences are held every four years, strengthening exchange and collaboration across regions. So far, they have taken place also in Buenos Aires, Mexico City, and Hittisau. In 2025, gender museums were formally integrated into the association, reflecting a broader and more inclusive understanding of gender perspectives in museum practice.

IAWM is led by an international board representing diverse regions and perspectives. The board supports the strategic development of the organization and fosters global collaboration.

Gaby Franger

Chairwoman / Germany

Museum Frauenkultur Regional-International, Fürth / Germany

  • Her work focuses on socially relevant topics such as care, ecology, and justice, approached through inclusive and intersectional perspectives. As a board member, she brings expertise from both institutional and independent cultural contexts and is committed to strengthening dialogue and collaboration within the network.

Mona Holm

Vice-Chairwoman / Norway

Women’s Museum of Norway, Kongsvinger / Norway

  • With over two decades of experience at the Women’s Museum of Norway and current research in transnational feminism, she brings both academic and practical perspectives. She is committed to strengthening the network through collaboration, continuity, and shared learning, and believes strongly in the power of exchange and mutual support.

Elsa Ballauri

Member / Albania

Women’s Museum Albania, Tirana / Albania

  • She is actively building connections between local initiatives and international networks, including regional collaborations in the Balkans. Through her engagement with IAWM, she seeks to contribute her experience in cultural work and support the development of a stronger, more connected global community.

Kyehyeong Ki

Member / Korea

Gender Museum Korea / Korea

  • She has long been involved in initiatives to establish a national women’s history museum in Korea and is committed to creating platforms for dialogue, education, and global solidarity. Through IAWM, she aims to connect local initiatives with international perspectives and contribute to shared solutions.

Stefania Pitscheider Soraperra

Member / Austria

Women’s Museum Hittisau, Hittisau / Austria

  • Her work focuses on socially relevant topics such as care, ecology, and justice, approached through inclusive and intersectional perspectives. As a board member, she brings expertise from both institutional and independent cultural contexts and is committed to strengthening dialogue and collaboration within the network.

Sigrid Prader

Co-opted Member / Italy

Women’s Museum Meran, Meran / Italy

  • As a co-opted board member of IAWM, she is responsible for finances. Her work emphasizes networking with cultural and women’s organizations, international cooperation, and EU projects. With decades of experience, she fosters gender equality through museums, education, and collaborative initiatives. Thanks to its many years of women-specific museum work, the Women’s Museum is firmly established and fully integrated into the panorama of local cultural institutions in the Autonomous Province of Bolzano/South Tyrol.

With Sadness

Dr. Martha Ortiz Sotres
† 2026

We are deeply saddened to share the news that our colleague, member of the IAWM Board, has passed away.

Martha was a Mexican visual artist and a graduate of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), with an established national and international career. Her work is part of the artistic heritage of institutions and museums across the Americas, Europe, and Asia, including the National Museum of China. She represented Mexico in biennials and cultural forums in countries such as China, Italy, Colombia, Argentina, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and Monaco, and created murals in several Latin American countries. Among her recognitions were the UNAM University Merit Award, First Place in the International “Sport and Olympism” Competition (London 2012), and the Italy Prize for Art in Florence. Additionally, one of her works was acquired by Prince Albert II of Monaco.

We are grateful for her engagement, her ideas, and the inspiration she brought to our network. She will be greatly missed. Our thoughts are with her family, friends, and colleagues during this difficult time.