Women in Innovation
Privacy and Cookie Notice
Last Updated: March 2025
We at Women in Innovation, Inc. and its affiliates (collectively, “WIN”, “we”, “our” or “us”), respect your concerns about privacy. This privacy notice (“Privacy Notice”) describes how we collect and process personal data (or such similar terms) (“Personal Data”):
that we collect on or through https://womenininnovation.co/ and other websites or applications operated by WIN that may link to this Privacy Notice (the “Platform”);
when you attend one of our in-person or online events, or events that we have co-organized (including workshops, the WIN awards or other events);
when you apply for a WIN award;
when we engage with you (including where you are a contact at one of our vendors, event sponsors or other organizational partners, or a WIN award judge, content provider, or speaker at our events);
through offline and online communications (including newsletters, emails, social media and the Platform);
when you volunteer for us;
when you apply for a job with us; and
through other data collection points or notices that reference this Privacy Notice.
In this Privacy Notice, we provide information on the types of Personal Data we collect, how we use such Personal Data, with whom we may share it and the choices available to you regarding our use of the Personal Data. We also describe the measures we take to protect the security of the Personal Data and how you can contact us about our privacy practices. This Privacy Notice does not apply to any processing of Personal Data by or on behalf of us that is covered by a more specific privacy notice (including, but not limited to, our employee, volunteer leader and contractor privacy notice).
EEA-UK Supplement. In addition to reading this Privacy Notice, if and the extent you are located in the European Economic Area (“EEA”), European Union (“EU”), United Kingdom (“UK”), or the processing of your Personal Data would otherwise be subject to relevant EEA, EU or UK data protection laws, including the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (the “EU GDPR”) or the UK equivalent of the EU GDPR (the “UK GDPR”), please also read our EEA-UK Supplement.
Anonymized data: Personal Data does not include information that is fully anonymized such that does not allow a person in possession of such information to directly or indirectly identify you individually.
Changes to this Privacy Notice. WIN reserves the right to update this Privacy Notice (including any jurisdictional supplement) from time to time by posting a new Privacy Notice (and/or jurisdictional supplement) on the Platform, and in some cases where changes are material, WIN may also contact you via email or post a notice on the Platform homepage to let you know of such changes. You are advised to consult this Privacy Notice (and any jurisdictional supplement) regularly for any changes.
1. Collection and Categories of Personal Data.
a. Information that You Provide. WIN collects any Personal Data that you provide or make available, including when you decide to interact with us (e.g., when you join our mailing list on the Platform, when you purchase a ticket for one of our events, when you create content for, or speak at, one of our events, when you submit an application for a WIN award, when you volunteer for us etc.). Personal Data that you may provide may include:
Your basic information: Name, prefix/title, gender, age and/or date of birth.
Contact information: Email address, physical address and/or phone number.
Professional or employment-related information: In connection with a volunteering or job inquiry or application, or when you apply for a WIN award, you may provide information regarding your work authorization status, education history, current or past job/employment history and professional designations, performance evaluations and other information about your background and qualifications.
Other information: Any other information relating to you that we may request from you or that you may provide to us in connection with organizing or facilitating events and our network, or engagement with our social media and marketing campaigns (including our newsletter), including information such as job title, current employer, social media handles, and referral information. In addition, you may volunteer to provide to us certain special categories of personal data (as defined in the EU GDPR or UK GDPR (as applicable)) such as racial or ethnic origin, political opinions and sexual orientation, and any inferences drawn from such information.
b. Information We Obtain by Automated Means. We may also collect Personal Data about you such as your IP address through automated technology when you access and use the Platform. WIN may collect this information using “cookies,” which are small text files that the Platform saves on your computer or mobile device, or similar technologies. You can disable cookies in your browser settings, but doing so may affect the functionality of the Platform. WIN may also collect information using “web beacons,” which are clear electronic images that can recognize certain types of information on your computer, such as cookies, when you viewed a particular website tied to the web beacon, and a description of a website tied to the web beacon or using unique links that can distinguish when individual users click the link. Web beacons and unique links, alone or in conjunction with cookies, may help WIN compile information about your interactions with electronic mail sent to you in connection with the Platform. For further information, see the Cookie Privacy Notice in Section 6 below.
c. Third Party and Publicly Available Sources. We may collect and/or combine Personal Data that you provide to us with information that we collect from or about you from publicly available sources (e.g., background information from a background check provider, social media etc.). This will include information collected in an online or offline context. If you represent one of our vendors, service providers, event sponsors or other organizational partners, or you are a WIN award judge, content provider, or speaker at our events, we may also collect your Personal Data (i.e., basic identifying and contact information, including your name, title, work email address, work postal address, job title and/or work telephone number, as appropriate) from the entity that you work for where this is necessary to engage with (including, where relevant, receive products or services from) such third party.
d. Cross-Site Tracking. WIN does not utilize technical measures in the Platform to track your activities across different web sites or online services, whether you configure your browser’s Do Not Track feature or otherwise. The Platform does utilize third-party application programming interfaces controlled by third parties, such as to display maps and graphs, that may attempt to track your activity across other sites that utilize those interfaces.
2. Use of Personal Data.
WIN may collect, use, share, and otherwise process your Personal Data for the following purposes on the following legal bases:
From time to time, WIN may need to process the personal data on other legal bases, including: with consent; to comply with a legal obligation; if it is necessary to protect the vital interests of a data subject; or if it is necessary for a task carried out in the public interest.
WIN may process certain special categories of personal data (as defined in the EU GDPR or UK GDPR (as applicable)), including racial or ethnic origin, political opinions and sexual orientation, and any inferences drawn from such information.
3. Disclosures of Personal Data
In addition to disclosing personal data amongst WIN chapters worldwide, WIN may disclose personal data to event sponsors, WIN award judges, content providers, speakers, other organizational partners and certain vendors and service providers as necessary to fulfil the purposes set out in this Privacy Notice. We use a number of vendors and service providers that provide a wide range of services including hosting providers and analytics and security providers, legal and financial professional advisors. We make sure anyone who provides a service to, or for us, enters into an agreement with us and meets our standards for data security.
In addition to the purposes set out in this Privacy Notice above, WIN may disclose Personal Data about you to others: (a) with your valid consent to do so; (b) to comply with a valid subpoena, legal order, court order, legal process, regulator request or other legal or judicial obligation, or for national security, for the purposes of public importance; (c) to enforce any of our policies; or (d) as necessary to pursue available legal remedies or defend legal claims. WIN may also transfer your Personal Data to an affiliate or a third party in the event of any reorganization, including, without limitation, in connection with any change in WIN’s organizational status, provided that any such entity that WIN transfers Personal Data to will not be permitted to process your Personal Data other than as described in this Privacy Notice without providing you notice and, if required by applicable laws, obtaining your consent.
4. Marketing.
We may send you marketing communications, including newsletters, updates, information about our events, and opportunities to get involved with the WIN network. If you have previously engaged with WIN, for example, by attending one of our events, donating, or requesting information, we may contact you about similar activities and opportunities that we think you might be interested in.
You may opt-out of marketing communications via the link in any communications that we send to you, or request that we stop sending you marketing communications by emailing team@womenininnovation.co at any time.
We will not send you marketing communications if you have not previously interacted with us, unless you have given us your explicit consent.
5. Storage, Data Transfers and Security.
a. Security. We maintain administrative, technical and physical safeguards designed to protect Personal Data in our possession or under our control against accidental, unlawful or unauthorized destruction, loss, alteration, access, disclosure or use taking into account the state of the art, the costs of implementation and the nature, scope, context and purposes of processing as well as the risk of varying likelihood and severity of your rights. We have also put in place procedures to deal with any suspected Personal Data breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a breach where we are legally required to do so.
b. Retention. We intend to keep your Personal Data accurate and up-to-date. We will delete (or fully anonymize) the information that we hold about you when we no longer need it for the purpose(s) it was collected, provided that we may retain your Personal Data to the extent required to comply with applicable law or regulatory obligations which apply to us, or where necessary to defend or pursue legal claims.
c. Reviewing and Correcting Information. You may update or correct contact information and other Personal Data stored about you on the Platform by sending a written request to WIN.
6. Cookie Privacy Notice. This section provides WIN’s cookie Privacy Notice and describes how WIN uses Cookies and similar technologies.
a. Cookies. Cookies are small pieces of data that are stored on your computer, mobile phone, or other device when you first visit a page. WIN uses cookies, web beacons and similar technologies (“Cookies”) to enhance your user experience, understand your usage of the Platform and to perform analytics. Cookies may also be set by other websites or services that run content on the page you are visiting. The provision of your data via Cookies is voluntary except for those Cookies that WIN places on your device because it is necessary for the performance of the Platform. WIN uses “session cookies” and “persistent cookies.” Session Cookies are temporary Cookies that remain on your device until you leave the Platform. A persistent Cookie may remain on your device for much longer until you manually delete it.
b. Use. Cookies can contain the following information about you and your use of the Platform: browser type, search preferences, data relating to which pages of the Platform that you have visited and the date and time of your use. WIN uses Cookies for the following purposes:
i. To enable and support security features, prevent fraud, and protect your data from unauthorized access.
ii. To enable features and help us provide you with personalized content.
iii. To analyze how you use the Platform and to monitor site performance. These Cookies help us to identify and fix errors, understand and improve services, research and test out different features, and monitor how you reached the Platform.
c. Third-Party Cookies. WIN uses the following third-party Cookies on the Platform:
i. Squarespace. The Platform is built on Squarespace and uses Squarespace analytics. Squarespace analytics uses cookies in their internal operations. See https://www.squarespace.com/cookie-policy for details.
ii. Google. The Platform uses Google analytics. Google analytics uses cookies in their internal operations. See https://policies.google.com/privacy for details.
d. Opting Out. You can control and/or delete cookies as you wish – for details, see https://www.aboutcookies.org/. You can delete all cookies that are already on your computer and you can set most browsers to prevent them from being placed. If you do this, however, you may have to manually adjust some preferences every time you visit a site and some services and functionalities may not work as intended by WIN.
7. Third-Party Websites. The Platform and communications from WIN may contain links to websites operated by third parties. You acknowledge and agree that WIN is not responsible for the collection and use of your information (including any Personal Data) by such websites that are not under WIN’s control. Please be aware that WIN has no control over these sites and this Privacy Notice does not apply to these sites. WIN encourages you to review the privacy policies of each website you visit.
8. Capacity. You represent to WIN that you have the authority to visit the Platform. The Platform and our WIN network are only intended for individuals who are at least 18 years of age. WIN does not knowingly encourage or solicit visitors to our Platform who are under the age of 18 without parental consent. If WIN learns Personal Data has been received or collected from an individual under the age of 18, WIN will delete that information. If you believe we might have any information from or about a child under 18 years of age, please contact WIN immediately using the contact information provided below.
9. Contact Information. If you have any questions about how we process your personal data or if you wish to exercise any rights under this Privacy Notice, make a request regarding this Privacy Notice, or to view this Privacy Notice in an alternate form, please contact WIN at team@womenininnovation.co. We may require additional information prior to completing any such request, but will in any case respond in a timely manner to any request, including, if necessary, a response notifying you that additional time is required to complete such request.
EEA-UK Supplement
This EEA-UK Supplement supplements the information contained in the Privacy Notice above and applies solely if and to the extent the processing of personal data which is subject to EEA-UK Data Protection Laws. For the purposes of this EEA-UK Supplement, the “EEA-UK Data Protection Laws” includes all applicable laws and regulations relating to privacy, protection or processing of personal data in the EEA, EU and UK, including (without limitation), including the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (the “EU GDPR”), the UK equivalent of the EU GDPR (the “UK GDPR”) and the UK Data Protection Act 2018.
Who is responsible for processing your personal data?
To the extent that EEA-UK Data Protection Laws apply to WIN’s processing of your personal data, one or more of WIN entities are a “controller” of your personal data. In simple terms, when applicable, this means WIN: (i) “controls” the personal data that WIN collects from you or other sources; and (ii) makes certain decisions on how to use and protect such personal data.
What type of personal data does WIN collect?
The types of personal data that WIN collects are set forth in the “Collection and Categories of Personal Data” section of the Privacy Notice above.
WIN may process certain special categories of personal data (as defined in the EU GDPR or UK GDPR (as applicable)), including racial or ethnic origin, political opinions and sexual orientation, and any inferences drawn from such information.
Purposes and Legal Bases for Collecting and Using Personal Data
WIN relies on various legal bases under the EEA-UK Data Protection Laws in order to process your personal data as set forth in the “Use of Information” section of the Privacy Notice. Note that WIN may process your personal data on more than one legal basis depending on the specific purpose for which WIN is using your personal data. These purposes are also set out in the “Use of Information” section of the Privacy Notice, which in general are to operate our organization, engage with you and perform essential or legitimate organizational operations.
WIN will only use your personal data for the purposes for which WIN collected it, unless WIN reasonably considers that WIN needs to use it for another reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose. If WIN needs to use your personal data for an unrelated purpose, WIN will notify you and explain the legal basis which allows WIN to do so.
If WIN requires your personal data due to a legal requirement or obligation or in order to perform a contract with you, WIN will make you aware of this at the time WIN collects your personal data, and the possible consequences of you failing to provide this personal data (e.g., WIN may require your passport details to verify your identity for the purposes of verifying your employment eligibility).
No solely automated decision making, including profiling, is used when processing your personal data.
Disclosure and Transfers of Personal Data
WIN may disclose and transfer your personal data to third parties as set forth in the “Disclosure of Personal Data” section of the Privacy Notice above. This may involve the transfer of your personal data outside of the outside the UK, EU or EEA, including to the United States as set forth in the “Storage, Data Transfers and Security” section of the Privacy Notice above.
Whenever WIN transfers your personal data across borders, WIN will only do so in accordance with EEA-UK Data Protection Laws. Furthermore, WIN may transfer personal data to a Non-Equivalent Country (as defined below), in order to fulfill the purposes described in the Privacy Notice and in accordance with applicable laws. WIN has implemented data transfer agreements (including internally) to ensure your personal data is adequately protected, and for information on the safeguards applied to such transfers, please contact us at team@womenininnovation.co.
For the purposes of this EEA-UK Supplement, “Non-Equivalent Country” means a country or territory other than (i) a member state of the EU or EEA; (ii) the United Kingdom; or (iii) a country or territory which has at the relevant time been decided by the European Commission or the Government of the United Kingdom (as applicable) in accordance with the applicable EEA-UK Data Protection Laws to ensure an adequate level of protection for personal data.
Data Subject Rights
To the extent set forth in EEA-UK Data Protection Laws, you may have certain rights relating to the collection and use of your personal data, including, as applicable, the right to:
i. Access: You have the right to ask for a copy of the personal data that we hold and process about you free of charge, however we may charge a ‘reasonable fee’, if we think that your request is excessive, to help us cover the costs of locating the information you have requested.
ii. Correction: You may notify us of changes to your personal data if the information we hold and process about you is inaccurate or it needs to be updated.
iii. Deletion: If you think that we shouldn’t be holding or processing your personal data any more, you may request that we delete it. Please note that this may not always be possible due to legal obligations.
iv. Restrictions on use: You may request that we stop processing your personal data (other than storing it), if: (i) you contest the accuracy of it (until the accuracy is verified); (ii) you believe the processing is against the law; (iii) you believe that we no longer need your personal data for the purposes for which it was collected, but you still need your personal data to establish or defend a legal claim; or (iv) you object to the processing, and we are verifying whether our legitimate grounds to process your personal data, override your own rights.
v. Object: You have the right to object to processing, including: (i) for direct marketing; (ii) for research or statistical purposes; or (iii) where processing is based on legitimate interests, including from any marketing communications from WIN.
vi. Portability: If you wish to transfer the personal data that we hold and process about you on the legal ground of contractual necessity to another organization (and certain conditions are satisfied), you may ask us to do so, and we will send it directly if we have the technical means.
vii. Withdrawal of consent: If you previously gave us your consent (by a clear affirmative action) to allow us to process your personal data for a particular purpose not specified in this Privacy Notice, but you no longer wish to consent to us doing so, you can contact us to let us know that you withdraw that consent.
An individual may contact WIN at team@womenininnovation.co if they wish to exercise any of the rights set forth herein.
Furthermore, you have a right to lodge a complaint with the local supervisory authority. These rights are not absolute and in certain circumstances their exercise may not be possible including when personal data must be maintained to comply with applicable laws.
WIN may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access your personal data (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is a security measure to ensure that personal data is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it. WIN may also contact you to ask you for further information in relation to your request to speed up our response.
Questions, Complaints and Contacting Us
To the extent EEA-UK Data Protection Laws apply, should you have any questions or wish to contact us or raise any concerns with us or complaints in relation to this EEA-UK Supplement and the Privacy Notice, please contact us at team@womenininnovation.co.
Should you wish to lodge a complaint with regards to how your personal data has been processed by us under:
the UK GDPR and/or Data Protection Act 2018, please contact the UK Information Commissioner’s Office – https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us; or
the EU GDPR, please contact your local supervisory authority in particular in the EU Member State of your habitual residence, place of work, or place of the infringement, concern or complaint.