GWA Fellowship Program

Building Leadership, Connection, and Global Impact

The Global Woman Asia Fellowship is a powerful, capacity-building program that brings together promising female leaders from around the world to build connections, strengthen personal leadership skills, and engage in problem-solving around a critical global systemic issue, which shifts each year based on a designated focus area.

GWA Fellows have demonstrated a commitment to building bridges between Asia and the world and are poised to become leaders in their fields, if not already. Throughout the year, they participate in a peer-to-peer sharing program that supports their own growth, the growth of fellow participants, and the advancement of the GWA mission.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • For our fellowship, we typically look for women in their thirties to forties with significant stature and career achievements aligned with the year’s theme, who have a background or connection to Asia and are dedicated to community building and women’s leadership.

  • This selective fellowship brings together 12-15 female leaders with Asian perspectives for a variety of thought leadership, professional development, mentorship, and relationship building both within and outside of the cohort. The fellowship includes a series of online engagements and meetings, as well as an immersive in-person leadership program. Throughout programming, fellows will have the opportunity to hear from experts and senior-level professionals in their field, workshop soft skills like leadership and communication, and continue building bridges with Asia and across Asia, creating both diplomacy and connection. Past speakers and mentors include CEOs, department leads from Fortune 500s, and distinguished research experts. 

  • Most of the fellowship programming takes place online. The in-person programming will take place in the United States, and the location may shift as the program continues to evolve. In the past, the in-person program has taken place in San Francisco, CA, and Boston, MA. Fellows may be invited to attend regional events on behalf of GWA, which have taken place in London, Singapore, Taiwan, Taipei, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong.

  • The in-person component of the fellowship includes three days of programming: small group discussions, hearing expert insights, active mentorship activities, relationship building and networking, and light sightseeing. The program concludes with an awards gala.

  • Nominations for fellows typically open in February or March, and close in April or May. We select fellows in June and announce them in July. Online programming takes place from July to November, and the fellowship draws to a close in November with our in-person programming.  

  • After completion of the fellowship, our alumnae are encouraged to stay engaged and updated on GWA activities via regional hubs, which GWA is in the process of building. Alumnae may be asked throughout the year to attend or speak at events on behalf of GWA. Lastly, alumnae are encouraged to continue investing time and attention into the relationships they’ve built, whether those relationships are from their cohort or from hub activities. To learn more about regional and reunion opportunities, please visit our Community page.

  • GWA strives to provide fellows with meaningful professional development and relationship-building opportunities, and looks to consistently improve the fellowship experience. We conduct regular outreach to fellows for feedback and outcome tracking. To hear from past fellows, please check out our 2025 Fellowship Recap video.