Young & Empowered Women (Y&E) is a Valley-based nonprofit on a mission to close the gender and wage gap for women in Arizona. Founded in 2020 by Veronica Aguilar, Y&E was built on a simple but powerful belief: when women can see someone who looks like them in positions of power, they know their dream isn’t too big.
Members join Y&E through annual dues and gain access to a robust program model designed to move the needle on their careers. That includes professional development events that build the skills women need to advance and advocate for themselves; one-on-one mentorship with C-suite executives representing a wide range of industries, offering personalized guidance from women who’ve navigated the same professional landscape; and intentional networking events designed to help members build the kind of rolodex that opens doors.
It’s a formula that’s producing real results. Across a community of more than 300 cohort members and alumni — 65% of whom identify as women of color and 67% as first-generation college students — one in three members has made a positive career shift, one in four has successfully negotiated her salary, and 90% have meaningfully grown their professional networks.
In a state where women still earn less than their male counterparts, Y&E is turning professional development into an engine for economic equity, one member at a time.
Learn more at yewomen.org.
