Evidence before opinion
Nothing is scored unless it is documented, sourced and verifiable.
About the Index
A global standard in women's leadership evaluation
The Women's Institutional Impact Index (W3I) is a SHELEAPS™ research instrument that evaluates women's leadership by what it builds and leaves behind — institutions, systems, policy and people — rather than by titles or visibility.
Institutions before personalities
The unit of assessment is institutional change, not personal visibility.
Impact before visibility
Media presence carries no weight; measurable outcomes do.
Legacy before popularity
Continuity beyond the leader is a scored dimension, not a footnote.
The seven dimensions
Each dimension is rated 1–5 against submitted evidence, then weighted and normalised to a 100-point institutional impact composite.
Institution Building
The creation, transformation, or sustained growth of organizations, initiatives, or platforms with long-term relevance.
Governance Excellence
The quality of governance, accountability, transparency, ethical leadership, and institutional resilience.
Systems & Policy Influence
Contributions that improve laws, policies, standards, industry practices, or public systems.
Economic & Social Value
Measurable contributions to employment, innovation, inclusion, economic development, and societal wellbeing.
Knowledge Contribution
The development of research, frameworks, publications, educational initiatives, or other forms of knowledge that influence professional practice.
Sustainability & Continuity
Evidence that institutions, programmes, or systems can continue effectively beyond the direct involvement of their founder or current leader.
Collaborative Ecosystem
The ability to mobilize partnerships and collective action that generate outcomes greater than those of any single institution acting alone.
Evaluation process
- 1
Nomination
Self or third-party nomination with consent, institutional details and impact area.
- 2
Evidence portfolio
Structured submission of outcomes: people, communities, policies, jobs, economic value.
- 3
Independent assessment
Trained assessors rate each of the seven dimensions on a 1–5 scale against the evidence.
- 4
Moderation
A second review harmonises ratings across assessors and resolves outliers.
- 5
Publication
Weighted scores are normalised to 100 points and grouped into recognition bands.
Recognition bands
Platinum Institutional Impact
Gold Institutional Impact
Silver Institutional Impact
Bronze Institutional Impact
Developing Institutional Impact
Individual composite scores are held as research data and are not published on leader profiles. Public profiles present verified impact — economic value, jobs, people reached, policies shaped — and the leader's strongest dimensions.
Governance and safeguards
- Consent is required before any leader is assessed or published.
- Assessors declare conflicts of interest and cannot rate leaders in their own institutions.
- Unsupported claims are recorded but not scored.
- Leaders may request correction of factual errors in their evidence record.
- The methodology is versioned; changes are published with each index release.