Inside the International Women's Coffee Alliance's 2025 Annual Report

In their 2025 annual report, the International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA) reflects on their work to close the gender gap and fund opportunities for women in coffee.

BY BHAVI PATEL
BARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE

Featured photo courtesy of the International Women’s Coffee Alliance

What to know:

• The IWCA expanded its global network in 2025 to 36 chapters, supporting more than 55,900 people across the coffee value chain, while completing regional coordination to provide every chapter with dedicated support
• The organization launched its Women in Coffee Access and Training Grant Fund, which helps women overcome financial barriers to professional opportunities, highlighting that while women perform 70% of coffee labor, they hold only 30% of leadership roles.
• The IWCA reported strong financial stewardship, directing 83.2% of its $282,176 FY2025 revenue to programs, growing its net assets by 5%, and leveraging its expanded infrastructure to coordinate disaster relief efforts in Jamaica and Indonesia

Late last month, the International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA) released its 2025 Annual Report, and the numbers tell a story of steady, deliberate growth. Titled “When Women are Empowered, Communities Thrive,” the report documents a year in which the IWCA moved from grassroots ambition toward operational scale, connecting 36 chapters and more than 55,900 people across the global coffee value chain.

A network reaching full coordination

According to the report, the IWCA now counts 36 chapters, 25,300-plus active members, and 30,617-plus beneficiaries reached, for a total community of 55,900-plus people. That reach spans 13 chapters in Latin America and the Caribbean, 9 in Africa and the Middle East, 8 in Asia and Oceania, and 8 among coffee-consuming countries.

A milestone highlighted throughout the report is the completion of regional coordination. As Executive Director Blanca María Castro writes, “Today, across 36 chapters, women are leading change every day, building businesses, strengthening communities, mentoring one another, and expanding opportunities throughout the coffee value chain.” Per the public announcement accompanying the report, the organization placed its fourth and final regional coordinator this year, meaning every chapter now has direct access to support and resources.

New chapters + a flagship fund

Ecuador and Germany joined as chapters 35 and 36 in 2025. Gabby Correa of IWCA Ecuador described the milestone as a chance to “share knowledge, build opportunities, and lead with purpose,” while Ana Maria Fassas of IWCA Germany noted the chapter’s belief that “when women thrive, the whole industry moves forward.”

The year’s flagship initiative was the Women in Coffee Access and Training Grant Fund, which removed a financial barrier for Monserrat Cornet, who needed €1,500 to compete at Spain’s National Barista Championship after winning IWCA Spain’s Espréssate title. She placed in the top six, the sole competitor from her chapter’s cohort of 29 women. As the report frames it, the gap women face in coffee “isn’t about readiness. It’s about access.”

That gap is stark: Research cited in the report shows women perform 70 percent of the labor in coffee, from the International Coffee Association (2018), yet hold only 30 percent of leadership roles, according to the International Labour Organization (2023).

Financial discipline + crisis response

IWCA’s financial statement shows $282,176 USD in FY2025 revenue, with $223,426, or 83.2 percent, directed to programs, and net assets growing 5 percent to $276,457. The network also mobilized relief for Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica and flooding in Aceh, Indonesia, a response the report credits directly to the infrastructure built over the year.

For an industry where women do most of the work but hold least of the power, IWCA’s 2025 report reads less like a victory lap and more like a blueprint. Infrastructure, not inspiration alone, is what the network says moved the needle this year, and that infrastructure is now positioned to scale even further in 2026.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bhavi Patel is a food writer focusing on coffee and tea, and a brand-building specialist with a background in dairy technology and an interest in culinary history and sensory perception of food.

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