About AWC
Founded in 1909 as Theta Sigma Phi at the University of Washington, the organization has evolved from a collegiate honorary women's journalism fraternity to a strong national network of communicators in a broad range of disciplines.
The Association for Women in Communications is the one organization that recognizes the complex relationships that exist across communications disciplines. Modern communicators must demonstrate competence in varied disciplines and be able to network and make career moves across the broad spectrum of communications fields. Disciplines represented within the association include: print and broadcast journalism, television and radio production, film, advertising, public relations, marketing, graphic design, multi-media design, and photography. The list is continually growing as the profession expands into the newer media.
The founding principles of Theta Sigma Phi serve as touchstones for AWC's goals today:
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more than 120 student and professional chapters across the nation and overseas
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the 7,500 members range in age from 18 through 90-plus, with the average age at 41
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most members are females from urban or suburban settings
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94% are college graduates
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47% hold graduate study or degrees
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more than half work in for-profit businesses
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most work in companies with fewer than 100 employees
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most are salaried, full-time employees
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approximately 40% are in the executive or management roles
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roughly half of the members work in public relations, marketing or communications management; while the others work in fields including journalism, graphic design, photography, web development, and publishing
