The organization consists of professional and student chapters, with a national headquarters staff and an 11-member board of directors. Since 1972 the organization membership has been open to both women and men and at the turn of the century numbered around 7,500.

Origins

     AWC began in 1909 as an honorary women's journalism fraternity at the University of Washington. After collaborating on a women's edition of the school newspaper, one of the university's seven female journalism students, Georgina MacDougall, got the idea for a university organization devoted to supporting college women who wished to pursue careers as professional journalists. MacDougall enlisted the support of classmate Helen Ross, who helped formulate the mission of the organization, which would be called Theta Sigma Phi. Fellow journalism students Blanche Brace, Helen Graves, Rachel Marshall, Olive Nauermann, and Irene Somerville joined the group to form the fraternity's first chapter.

     The original mission of Theta Sigma Phi was very similar to AWC's current mission. High professional standards in journalism would be encouraged, the working conditions for women in journalism would be improved, and women journalists would be recognized for superior efforts. The group took the matrix as its insignia. In printing, matrices are small brass molds used in a Linotype, a common typesetting machine of that period. In its original Latin meaning of "womb," the matrix also signified for the group a place of development and growth. The Matrix would become the name of Theta Sigma Phi's membership publication, a magazine for women in journalism begun in 1915.

     The University of Wisconsin established the second chapter in 1910. Chapters at the Universities of Indiana, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Oregon and at Ohio State University were also chartered during that period. For the first several years, the officers of the University of Washington chapter served as national officers and initiated the publication of The Matrix. By 1916 national officers were elected separately, and plans for a national convention were in the works. Although the war delayed those plans, the first Theta Sigma Phi convention was eventually held in 1918 at the University of Kansas. In 1919 the first alumnae chapter was established in Kansas City, followed by two more alumnae chapters in Des Moines and Indianapolis. Alumnae chapters would eventually become known as professional chapters.

     In the years between the world wars, Theta Sigma Phi grew as a national organization, reaching 39 student and 23 alumnae chapters by 1940. The Headliner Awards were established in 19 39 to recognize excellence in any communications field. Despite facing much resistance, more women were getting jobs in journalism in the 1930s and 1940s, although they were often relegated to society pages and were nearly always paid a lower wage than their male colleagues. The new medium of broadcast radio expanded job opportunities for women not only in journalism, but in entertainment and advertising as well. Theta Sigma Phi alumnae branched out into a variety of writing fields, and the organization began to broaden its scope. In 1934 the organization established a national office in New York and hired a professional director to manage its growing national affairs. That same year, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was given honorary membership in Theta Sigma Phi. Mrs. Roosevelt supported the cause of female journalists by closing her press conferences to men. Theta Sigma Phi president and editor of The Matrix, Ruby Black, covered the first lady for United Press.

     During World War II, women once again found themselves filling jobs vacated by men going off to war. Several Theta Sigma Phi members became overseas correspondents, and others were promoted to editors and producers. Radio, in particular, was in great need not only of writers and correspondents, but also of engineers, directors, and other technical people. The Matrix published lists of radio courses and articles describing various radio jobs.

Creation of WICI

     Theta Sigma Phi became more involved in political and social movements during the changing times of the 1960s and 1970s. Articles on race relations, the women's movement, and pollu​​tion appeared in The Matrix; several members went to Viet­ nam as war correspondents; and in 1973 the organization joined the National Equal Rights Amendment Coalition. Recognizing that they had outgrown the Greek letters of the original fraternity, members decided in 1972 to change the group's name to the more professional sounding Women in Communications, Incorporated (WICI). In the 1980s WICI continued to fight for equal rights; in 1980 it opened a public affairs office in Washington, D.C., to monitor legislation and to lobby on behalf of the organization. WICI also became more active in First Amendment issues, having formed the First Amendment Congress in 1979.

     Membership in WICI peaked in the mid-1980s at around 13,000. By 1995, however, membership had dropped to 8,000, and the organization was deeply in debt. The members agreed that WICI needed a new strategic plan, but they disagreed on the means of attaining one. In a controversial move, the board of directors approved a recommendation from the 40-member Fundamentals for the Future Task Force to suspend elections for the open board seats, with the intention of allowing the board time to streamline and restructure the organization. In 1996 Women in Communications, Incorporated was dissolved, and the Association for Women in Communication was incorporated in Virginia. Instead of financing its own national office and staff, AWC set up a contract with Bay Media, a management firm in Arnold, Maryland, to run the national headquarters operation. In 1997 board elections were restored, and the organization stabilized with a positive cash flow.

     AWC offers ten national award opportunities, including the Clarion Award competition for recognition of excellence in any communications field. The Rising Star Award is reserved for student members who demonstrate leadership potential through school and community activities.