In March 1980 the Board of Trustees approved a special appropriation for women's programs, which more than doubled the original $8.4 million allocation for the 1980-81 biennium. The new total of $19.3 million would support an expansion of the promising results of earlier programs and an exploration of new activities on behalf of women. The Trustees' action expressed approval for an ambitious, long-term commitment to such activities. The special appropriation—one of the Foundation's first major actions at the beginning of a new decade—was expected to integrate concern for women's issues in every relevant area of Foundation work, both in the United States and overseas.

To oversee the expanding grant program, the Foundation created the Women's Program Group (WPG). Reporting regularly to the president and Trustees, the WPG sought to