Established in 2009, Girls Who Print is the largest global professional network for women in the print and graphic communications industry with more than 11,000 members.
Despite significant advancements, women are fundamentally underrepresented in leadership positions across the globe. This disparity calls for action and reinforces the crucial need to empower women in the workplace. As an industry, we must prioritize this empowerment to drive meaningful change and achieve true gender equality.
Organizations like Girls Who Print are essential in tackling these challenges by offering impactful education, vital career development, and unwavering support for women in the printing and graphic arts industries. Our work empowers women to thrive and excel in a traditionally male-dominated field.
We are committed to building a supportive community celebrating women’s contributions to the industry and encouraging new talent to pursue print careers.
Through education, events, networking, and mentorship, we provide opportunities and visibility to foster personal and professional growth. Girls Who Print ensures that women in print have a strong voice and a bright future.
Girls Who Print is a woman-owned, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
Sponsoring our initiatives creates a more equitable and inclusive industry for women in print and graphic communications, and are charitable donations where applicable. Download our 501(c)(3) Certificate.
The Girls Who Print Origin Story…
Founded in 2009 by industry veteran Mary Beth Smith, Girls Who Print is an online community that outgrew its bandwidth and spilled over into real life. Organized as a simple LinkedIn discussion group in 2009, it resonated with women worldwide, and its members now number in the thousands. GWP Nation interacts on LI, Facebook, and Instagram via the hashtag #GirlsWhoPrint, making it the most popular chat channel in the world for women in the printing industry.
Here’s how MBS describes the early days:
“When I formed Girls Who Print on LinkedIn, I thought that maybe 20 people I knew personally around the country might join up, and we’d chat and gossip about people who WEREN’T in the group or reminisce about printing companies we’d worked for, and just stay connected across the miles and the years. There was no serious purpose or grand plan. It was my hands-on learning attempt at social media for business. By the end of the first week, I was dumbfounded to learn that nearly 100 people had joined, most of whom I did NOT know. I would have to take it a little more seriously – people were WATCHING – yikes!! When we hit 500 members before the month was out, I thought: “Wow! I guess everyone who is going to join has joined – awesome!” I had the same thought regularly over the next several weeks as we grew to 600, then 700, then 1,000. I realized that I had no idea how many Girls Who Print were out there. I accepted that I was just along for the ride.”
And what a ride it’s been…
The Girls Who Print community is everywhere! A chance to partner with Deborah Corn and Print Media Centr for the 2012 Graph Expo in Chicago sent GWP into overdrive with the observation of the first Girls Who Print Day. GWP and Print Media Centr merged in 2017 creating the largest network on the planet for women in the print and graphic communications industry.
Membership / Sponsorship / Mentorship
EMPOWER LONG AND PROSPER!
Sponsorship and Press inquiries: Deborah Corn deborah@girlswhoprint.net
