The Women in the World Foundation was born out of Newsweek & The Daily Beast’s Women in the World summit, launched by the publications’ editor-in-chief, Tina Brown, in March 2010. The summit brings together extraordinary women leaders and advocates from around the world to find solutions to the challenges facing women and girls, from sex trafficking to the need for more women in the boardroom. It also showcases remarkable stories of everyday pioneers. In the year and a half since the first summit, participants have reached out to Newsweek & The Daily Beast in droves, wondering how they can get involved; how they can be part of the solution. Building on the success of the Women in the World summits and harnessing the journalistic power of Newsweek & The Daily Beast, the Foundation will serve as a resource to all who seek to learn about and engage on the issues facing women and girls. They will also convene courageous women of impact, provide strategic grants to select non-profit organizations, and foster much-needed collaboration between organizations.

On September 13, 2011, Meryl Streep co-hosted the kick-off party for the Women in the World Foundation, alongside Wei Sun Christianson, Jane Harman, Maya Harris, Donna Karan, Liya Kebede, Dr. Judith Rodin and Diane von Furstenberg. Here, in a moving performance, Meryl read the words of an “ordinary, extraordinary” Afghan woman named Zarcquona. In Zarcquona’s words, we hear not just about the difficulties of life in Afghanistan, but how those difficulties can be overcome. Meryl’s no stranger to The Daily Beast – in 2010, she participated in their “Women in the World Summit”.