Women in Leadership Institute™ (WIL)
A Transformational Experience for Advancing Women Leaders.

The Women in Leadership Institute brings together 3,000+ women leaders for an exceptional and results-driven leadership development experience. With a 24-year history, WIL is a leading women’s leadership conference, and has empowered thousands of women to overcome the common hurdles to advancement in the workplace. Premier organizations including Kaiser Permanente, Lowe’s Companies, Oracle, and FedEx Ground rely on WIL to engage and inspire their women leaders, and many individual women leaders choose to join us as independent learners and participants.

The Women in Leadership Institute™ is more accessible than ever before, empowering women leaders to choose from two convenient formats—in-person in San Diego, CA, or through our 100% virtual learning platform.

Both experiences equip women leaders with the actionable strategies needed to overcome the hurdles to advancement in the workplace—through engaging keynotes, an Advancing Women Leaders Assessment, networking and a special panel.

Participants can choose from four pass types and two packages to tailor the experience to their individual needs and goals:

All-Access (In-Person) or All-Access (Virtual) pass: Get access to the entire conference—four days of immersive learning, including Keynotes, the full schedule of Breakout Sessions, and most importantly, your own Learning Team, led by a leadership consultant and executive coach who is an expert in the advancement of women leaders, giving you direct access to applicable advice and insights. Perfect for women leaders looking for a more robust program.

Virtual Keynotes or Virtual Keynotes PLUS pass: Tailored for the woman leader with an exceptionally busy schedule or who is unable to travel, the abbreviated virtual tickets allow women leaders to experience a shorter conference schedule. Add hands-on learning through Breakout Sessions by choosing the Virtual Keynotes PLUS package and maximize your experience.

Accelerator and Coaching packages: Combine a virtual pass with additional learning experiences, including independent learning, facilitated community sessions, and an optional coaching upgrade. The Accelerator packages are designed for women leaders looking for additional community, learning experiences, and instructor-led support for a full year.

If you have questions or need help deciding which experience is best for you, connect with us.

The Women in Leadership Institute™ is hosted and broadcast live from the San Diego metro area, September 28 – October 1, 2025, which is in the Pacific Standard Time zone. Please see the full agenda for timing.

The All-Access pass is designed to be experienced on a set schedule during the week of the live conference. You will be required to tune in to small-group learning and in-the-moment sessions, making your live participation critically important.

The abbreviated virtual program, available through a Keynotes pass, accommodates those unable to travel busy schedules by serving up a shorter conference experience.

It is highly recommended to tune in live, giving you the opportunity to engage live. However, every conference attendee will be given extended access to the recorded content, which includes Keynotes, some Breakout Sessions, and other special sessions, for 90 days after the start of the event. This allows participants to experience the content again!

Both in-person and virtual attendees will have access to recorded WIL Keynotes for 90 days from the start of the Institute.

Yes! We encourage all attendees to complete one of our Advancing Women Leaders assessments, which are specifically designed for women leaders. Here’s why: As you begin the challenging work of assessing your leadership abilities and defining goals for yourself, nothing is more valuable than real data.

That’s where the Advancing Women Leaders Assessment comes in. You will be measured on your proficiency in the six competencies associated with success for women leaders.

Leaders with an All-Access pass will gain access to Linkage’s Advancing Women Leaders 360° Assessment, allowing you to reflect on your own skills, and give members of your organization—including those you manage, work alongside, and work for—the ability to assess you in key areas. This means that you gain some truly invaluable insights into how you rate yourself as a leader and how others perceive you as a leader. Combined, the results will lay the foundation for your time with us at WIL—they will even influence your placement on a learning team.

Understanding the data in a 360° assessment can be a big undertaking, which is why we support you every step of the way. Leaders with an All-Access pass will experience a special pre-conference session to help you unpack your results, as well as a special conference session titled: “Assessment Review: Unlocking Your Best Insights.” And, you will have access to your Learning Team Leader, who is an expert at debriefing assessment results for individual leaders.

Please note: To accommodate the appropriate amount of time to complete and analyze leaders through a 360° assessment, any participant who purchases a ticket or is added to a group less than thirty (30) days before the opening date of the Institute will receive the Self-Assessment rather than the 360° Assessment, where applicable. In addition, to customize each attendee’s experience, we must receive your completed online assessment by the date provided in your confirmation email.

Leaders with a Virtual Keynotes or Virtual Keynotes PLUS pass will gain access to the Advancing Women Leaders Self-Assessment. This self-assessment is designed to empower women leaders to guide their own leadership journey and self-identify their own strengths and areas of opportunity. Looking for guidance to help unpack your results? Leaders with a Virtual Keynotes or Virtual Keynotes PLUS pass will gain access to an on-demand webinar with tips on how to understand your their results.

Please see our Enrollment Policy here.

The agenda is located here.

This is a unique experience in which you you get to attend the longest-running women’s conference in the world. You’ll hear from amazing keynote speakers, find the latest data on women in the workforce, hear from peers on their experiences, and learn best practices for redesigning inclusion and becoming an executive sponsor, and you’ll also enjoy networking opportunities. You should attend if you are interested in evolving your practice as an executive sponsor and a builder of inclusive cultures.