The World YWCA is an all-female organisation. The YWCA movement focuses on women’s empowerment within a human rights framework  In addition, they focus on young women and girls, as the World YWCA has a policy that young women aged 30 or under form at least 25% of all decision-making spaces.

The organisation’s World Board is composed as follows: Twenty (20) members, including:

1. Two members from each region, at least one of whom is age thirty (30) years or under at the time of election
2. One additional member from each of the four largest regions.

On the current World Board elected at World Council 2015, 60% of the members are age 30 or under.