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2027 Understanding the Women in Business Leadership Award
The 2027 Women in Business Leadership Award is now available.
The Zonta Women in Business Leadership Award celebrates excellence and recognizes outstanding achievements by women between 18-35 years of age who are driving innovation and creating an impact in the business world. This prestigious award honors exceptional leadership, entrepreneurial spirit, ethical conduct and significant contributions while addressing global or local issues affecting women and girls or climate justice.
The program operates at the Zonta club, district and international levels. Zonta International offers 10 international awards of US$5,000 each and a complimentary one-year supporting membership in Zonta International for the next financial year.
Timetable:
- Clubs determine their own timelines for receipt of applications.
- Club recipient is selected and application is sent to governor by 30 November 2026 or date set by Chair.
- The district applicant selected and application received by Zonta International Headquarters by 2 January 2027.
- The official announcement of international recipients 28 February 2027
Who is Eligible? Women, aged 18-35 at the time of application, who demonstrate evidence of the following, are eligible to apply. (The 2028 award will be offered without an age qualification based on the 2026 Convention vote.)
❑ Exceptional leadership in a business-related field of study or industry.
❑ Entrepreneurial spirit.
❑ Ethical conduct.
❑ Significant contributions to addressing global or local issues affecting women and girls or climate justice.
Previous Zonta Women in Business Leadership Awardees are not eligible to apply to renew the Award for a second year. Club members and individuals with direct membership with Zonta International and employees of Zonta International and Zonta Foundation for Women are not eligible to apply for the awards.
Z club and Golden Z club members are eligible to apply. Recipients of a Zonta fellowship or award who have received a complimentary one-year supporting membership from Zonta International are eligible to apply during their complimentary membership year, provided that they are not applying for the same fellowship or scholarship they previously received from Zonta International.
Committee or jury members or any member involved in the selection process should follow the Zonta International Conflict of Interest Policy in the selection of awardees.
All information and supporting documents for the 2025 “Zonta Women in Business Leadership Award” can be found at zonta.org under Our Programs/Education.… Read the rest
CSW 71 (2027)
The seventy-first session of the Commission on the Status of Women will take place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 8 to 19 March 2027.
Representatives of Member States, UN entities, and ECOSOC-accredited non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from all regions of the world are invited to attend the session.
Themes
- Priority theme: Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
- Review theme: Achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate change, environmental and disaster risk reduction policies and programmes
- Critical area of concern or cross-cutting issue: Poverty and the economic empowerment of women
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CSW 70 (2026)
The 70th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) concluded in March 2026 with the adoption of Agreed Conclusions focused on ensuring and strengthening access to justice for all women and girls. Amid sharp geopolitical and ideological divisions, the final text passed via a recorded vote of 37 in favor, 1 against (the United States), and 6 abstentions rather than the traditional consensus. [1, 2, 3, 4]
Priority Theme & Core Legal Mandates
- Access to Justice: Emphasized broad judicial reforms to eliminate discriminatory laws, structural barriers, and equitable legal practices. [1, 2, 3]
- Community Recognition: Formally recognized community justice workers and paralegals inside national legal frameworks to expand grassroots reach. [1, 2]
- CEDAW Commitments: Urged member states to ratify and fully implement the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. [1]
Digital Justice & Emerging Threats
- AI & Technology Governance: Established new frameworks addressing digital justice, aiming to harness technology safely while governing AI systems responsibly. [1, 2]
- Online Gender Violence: Committed governments to actively investigate, prosecute, and punish technology-facilitated and online exploitation and violence against women and girls. [1]
Crises and Institutional Reform
- Conflict Zones: Demanded survivor-centered and gender-responsive justice systems in humanitarian, crisis, and conflict-affected settings.
- Labor & Protections: Called for repealing discriminatory workplace regulations and reinforcing national mechanism safeguards. [1]
Procedural Divides
- Voting Shift: Marked a departure from historical consensus-building due to intense amendments proposed over inclusive terminology, climate change language, and reproductive rights. [1, 2]
Zonta Code of Conduct – Core Values
These Core Values and the Zonta Code of Conduct were introduced in 2026 after surveying member groups over a period of 4 years.
Tips for clubs: Take one value at a time and discuss during meeting time what it means. Using the Code of Conduct document, pose different scenarios that are realistically encountered and talk about how a value-driven Zontian would react.… Read the rest
Foundation Update – June 2026
Zonta Foundation for Women June, 2026 Update
Zonta District 1 has exceeded its goals:
District: $45,000, 100% club donation 25% member donation
As of May 30, 2026, $46,015.21 raised, with 100% of clubs and 27.5% of members donating, (Zonta International average is 21,.5%)
Of 32 districts, D1 is one of eight to have all clubs donate and eighth in percentage of individual donations!!! Individual donation percentages for our district are the highest in more than five biennia!
We are indeed a mighty district.
Top three donating clubs:
Quaboag Valley – $8,978
Chelsea and North Shore – $4,634
Concord – $10,867
It has been an honor to serve as District 1’s Foundation Ambassador this biennium. Thank you to my sister Zontians and the District 1 board for their support, enthusiasm and fellowship.
With Zonta spirit,
Mary Ann
Dr. Mary Ann K. Rubis
Zonta International
Cross-mentoring Committee
District 1
Foundation Ambassador
2024-2026
Build a better world
for women and girls
International Service Projects Update:
Climate Empower: Community Empowerment and Innovation for Gender-Transformative Climate Action
- Gender-based violence manual and tools developed
- Community dialogues and workshops held
- Peer-led spaces created and sustained
- Human stories produced and disseminated
- Youth-focused innovation hubs started
- Return to school policies after childbirth created
- Road-map for 2026 showing monthly tasks created
Ending Child Marriage: A Programme to Accelerate Global Action Phase III
- 8 million boys and men have participated in group education and dialogue
- Nearly 3 million traditional and religious leaders engaged in sensitization and consensus-building
- Over 2.5 million girls and boys accessed prevention and protection services – more than double the original target
- 81 policies or legal instruments directly addressing child marriage have been drafted, proposed or adopted
Laaha: A Virtual Safe Space for Women and Girls
- Available in 21 countries, an increase of nine since report last year
- More than 160 interactive modules
- New content on how to speak to adolescents on various topics has been developed for parents
Education Programs
Amelia Earhart Fellowships
- Three Fellows studying at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology receive their wings at a January event hosted by District 1 Zonta Club Chelsea and North Shore with assistance from the Zonta Club of Malden.
Zonta Women in Business Leadership Award
- Casey McDermott D1’s candidate from Nova Scotia wins one of 10 $10,000 international awards
… Read the rest
2025 AE Fellows
The Zonta Club of Chelsea and North Shore hosted the annual Amelia Earhart Dinner on January 15th at the Hilton Garden Inn, Boston, in collaboration with the Zonta Club of Malden. The event honors the spirit of pilot Amelia Earhart, who had been a Zonta member, and recognizes young women recently awarded Amelia Earhart fellowships to pursue Ph.D. degrees in aerospace engineering and space sciences. Zonta International awards thirty $10,000 fellowships annually. Three of these were Zonta District 1 awardees, all Ph.D. candidates at MIT: Myrella Cabral of Brazil, studying Aerospace Engineering; Palak Patel of the US, studying Mechanical Engineering, and Fatima Zaidouni of Morocco, studying Physics. Each spoke about her area of study contributing to global aerospace projects. Dr. Irene Porro, Director of the Christa Corrigan McAuliffe Center for Integrated Science Learning (www.cm-center.org) at Framingham State University was keynote speaker. Dr.
Porro highlighted the importance of making science learning relatable and experiential across the ages, the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration, and the importance of women’s participation in global advances in science and space exploration.Mary Knight, Secretary of Zonta District I presented each fellow with, “wings,” a pin symbolizing empowerment, academic excellence and the legacy of Amelia Earhart.
Janice Tatarka, President of the Zonta Club of Chelsea and North Shore presented recipients with flowers. Event coordinator, Lee Farrington noted in summary, “All three Fellows were such a pleasure to meet and hear from. In addition to the monetary award and their “wings”, each received one year membership in Zonta International, and expressed a desire to support our mission of making a better world for women and girls and the connections. Dr. Porro
related well to our mission as well. Upon learning that a fellow countrywoman was the incoming Zonta International President, she asked to be connected to Fernanda Gallo Freschi to brainstorm ideas on how the CM-Center can be involved in Zonta’s efforts Attendees of the ceremony were impressed also with the raffle table, the tributes to Amelia Earhart and the opportunity to network. The 2026 Amelia Earhart Dinner was truly inspiring.”
… 
A Message from Governor Lynn Currier
There is a bit of awe when you are in a room of over 1000 Zontians. People from all over the world with a common mission of building a better world for women and girls. A few weeks ago I had the honor and pleasure of attending a Zonta
Convention for the first time and being inducted as District 1 governor. Vancouver was a lovely host, the weather was beautiful, and the presentations were amazing. Our very own Audrey Millgate was recognized for being a Zonta member for over 50 years. I met some amazing women doing amazing things all over the world.
At first, all of these amazing things Zonta is doing can seem overwhelming to me. Maybe it is to you too. How can we ever be that impressive? But when I look closer I realize these are small clubs too. A group of committed individuals. Doing something that will have an impact. Raising awareness has impact. Talking with a policy maker has impact. Donations have impact. Scholarships have impact. We are creating big and little ripples. That isn’t overwhelming, it’s very doable. And we are doing it. We are all small parts of something bigger, and that is exciting.
I’m hoping you will join me over the next biennium with sharing what we do. How many times have you heard “Zonta? What’s that?” Membership is important, but maybe membership will be easier when we are talking about what we do with a wider range of audiences. Over the next few months I’m hoping we can all share how we let people know what we do. I’m honored to be your D1 governor and hope you reach out with your questions, ideas, and to share the ripples you are making to build a better world for women and girls.
8/3/2026… Read the rest
Photos
Click here to see professional photos of the Zonta four (4) day event.
Included below are additional phots from the Convention and excursions before and after the Zonta event.… Read the rest
2026 – 2028 Fundraising Goals
With the support of our Zonta clubs, club members, supporting members and friends, we are committed to raising US$5,200,000 to support our international service projects and education programs in the 2026-2028 Biennium.
Here is an outline of how that money will be allocated and information on each of the programs.
