IAW meaning in Community ?

The International Alliance of Women (IAW; French: Alliance Internationale des Femmes, AIF) is an international non-governmental organization that works to promote women's rights and gender equality, and that historically was the main international organization that campaigned for women's suffrage. Since the mid 20th century IAW has increasingly focused on the developing world.

IAW is historically the most important international organization within the liberal women's movement. The basic principle of IAW is that the full and equal enjoyment of human rights is due to all women and girls. It is one of the oldest, largest and most influential organizations in its field. The organization was founded as International Woman Suffrage Alliance (IWSA) in 1904 in Berlin, Germany, by Carrie Chapman Catt, Millicent Fawcett, Susan B. Anthony and other leading feminists from around the world to campaign for women's suffrage. IWSA was headquartered in London, and it was the preeminent international women's suffrage organization. Its emphasis has since shifted to a broad human rights focus. Today it represents over 50 organizations world-wide comprising several hundred thousand members, and has its seat in Geneva.

From 1926, the organization had strong ties to the League of Nations. Since 1947, IAW has had general consultative status to the United Nations Economic and Social Council, the highest UN status possible for a non-governmental organization, the fourth organization to be granted this status. IAW also has participatory status with the Council of Europe. It has representatives at the UN headquarters in New York, the UN office in Geneva, the UN office in Vienna, UNESCO in Paris, the Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome and the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. It also has representatives to the Arab League in Cairo and the Gulf Countries Council in Riyadh, and is a member of the European Women's Lobby in Brussels. Its President and Chief Representative to the United Nations is Cheryl Hayles. Its current main UN representative in New York Soon-Young Yoon is also chair of the NGO Committee on the Status of Women, New York and First Vice-President of the Conference of NGOs. IAW's official working languages are English and French. IAW adopted gold as its color, the color associated with the mainstream liberal women's rights movement in the United States since the 19th century.