In 1919, a group of women in the Philippines sought to empower women by allowing them access to education. Under the American colonial system from 1900 to July 4, 1946, education and democracy were the core of America's goal in developing the Philippines. Among the first, and perhaps most important, results of the American legacy was the recognition of equality of women in the Philippine islands and their right to be educated. A result of the combined vision of seven pioneering Filipino women — Clara Aragon, Concepcion Aragon, Francisca Tirona Benitez, Paz Marquez Benitez, Carolina Ocampo Palma, Mercedes Rivera and Socorro Marquez Zaballero — the Philippine Women's College was founded with the assistance of the prominent lawyer, José Abad Santos, who drafted the university's constitution and by-laws.. PWU's goal was to prepare young Filipino women for a life of useful citizenship and leadership. It had an initial enrollment of 190 students. The American colonial government recognized Philippine Women's College as a university in 1932, 13 years after the school opened its doors, becoming known henceforth as the Philippine Women's University, the first university for women in Asia founded by Asians. From 1928 up to the outbreak of the Second World War, Philippine Women's University pioneered in introducing programs aligned with its mission: Home Economics, Music and Fine Arts, Social Work, Nutrition, Pharmacy and Business. In 1938, a course in Social Civic training was incorporated into the curriculum. The academic programs were based on the founders' objectives to train Filipinas in civic responsibility. Established families from all over the Philippines who could afford higher education sent their daughters to PWU. Most institutions offering higher education at that time were exclusively for young men, like PWU's neighbor, De La Salle College. Schools for women offering higher education were operated by secular or religious sisters of the Roman Catholic Church, including PWU's neighbors, Santa Isabel College, Assumption College, St. Paul College, Manila, Maryknoll College, and St. Scholastica's College. There was also Centro Escolar de Senoritas College which predated PWU by some 12 years, having been founded in 1907. The PWU had a more 'Americanized' curriculum than Centro Escolar.
The Japanese occupation of the Philippine islands from 1942 to 1945 did not stop the PWU community from continuing with its mission. For a time, classes at the PWU were held intermittently due to the extraordinary conditions imposed by the Japanese. The PWU campus, a building occupying an entire city block, was converted to a hospital, known as the "Pagamutan ng Maynila." The university sustained major damage during the war and barely survived the siege during American and Philippine liberation of Manila on February 9, 1945. The school resumed its academic programs a few months before the Philippines became a free and independent republic on July 4, 1946. The university opened its doors to elementary and secondary education when it founded the Jose Abad Santos Memorial School which now has two campuses in Manila and Quezon City and is called PWU JASMS.
Outside Metro Manila
In less than 50 years since the university's founding, PWU opened similar campuses for women in the country bearing the Philippine Women's College name, such as in Iloilo City in the Visayas and Davao City in Mindanao. In 1972, the Iloilo City Colleges purchased the PWC of Iloilo campus in its Jaro District. They turned the buildings into the Don Benito Lopez Memorial Hospital. Fifteen years later, in 1987, Don Benito Lopez Memorial Hospital was acquired by the West Visayas State University. It became the WVSU Hospital, a 150-bed tertiary, teaching and training hospital. PWU opened a satellite campus in Cebu City but it closed down. It was at the corner of Leon Kilat and Colon Streets. They also had a satellite campus in Cagayan de Oro City, along Antonio Luna Extension, but was later closed and soon renamed "Professional World Academy". The PWC in Davao City was granted autonomy from PWU and operates under a separate charter as a co-educational institution. PWU started the Career Development and Continuing Education Center in 1978 as a means to enable the benefits of a PWU education to reach other areas in the country. There are several CDCEC franchises in Calamba, Sta. Cruz, Baguio, Camarines Norte, Tarlac and Bulacan owned and operated by private individuals and groups.
Adapting to changing times
The university had its first male president in 1993 with the election of Jose Conrado Benitez who had a strategic plan to diversify and to use information technology to transcend distance and bring functional education to everyone.
In the 1970s, PWU opened its doors to male enrollees and became co-educational.
In 2003, Amelia Benitez Reyes became the eighth university president.
In 2009, the Board of Trustees appointed Alfredo Benitez Reyes as the Chief Executive Officer. As CEO, Reyes became the de facto head of the institution. Amelia B. Reyes retired then.
In 2011, Jose Francisco Benitez became the ninth and second male president of the PWU.
In 2011, PWU was involved in a joint venture plan to infuse much-needed capital from STI, an educational behemoth owned by Eusebio Tanco. The deal went sour in 2014 and a legal battle ensued when the Benitez family refused to accede to STI's plans to commercialize the PWU JASMS Quezon City campus. An amicable settlement was reached by the two parties in 2016 which saw STI stepping down from all involvement with PWU and JASMS in exchange for land owned by the Benitez family, which was used to pay back PWU's debts.
PWU is active in the Women's National Collegiate Athletics Association and Women's Collegiate Sports Association. The official school moniker is the PWU Patriots. As of 2008: Table Tennis
