University of Pennsylvania President Amy Gutmann has been honored with the Lucretia Mott Award from Women’s Way, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit. The award is given annually to “an outstanding American woman whose work speaks of a commitment to the values of equality, justice and peace for all.”

Diane Cornman-Levy, executive director of Women’s Way, said Gutmann exemplifies the group’s core principles: community, opportunity, intersectionality, innovation and accountability.

“Amy Gutmann leads by action and example in both her accomplished career and her human interactions,” she said.

Women’s Way is the largest nonprofit in Philadelphia dedicated to the advancement of women, girls and gender equality. Named for the abolitionist, feminist and reformer of the mid-1800s, the Lucretia Mott Award’s previous recipients include Coretta Scott King, Gloria Steinem, Andrea Mitchell, Marian Wright Edelman and Marty Moss-Coane.

The May 11 awards dinner also celebrated the anniversary of Women’s Way, founded in 1977, with the 40th Annual Powerful Voice Awards, recognizing 40 national and local women who have fought for “a more equitable future for all.”

 “You’ve set yourself a daunting task, when your vision calls for gender equality and justice and when you imagine and work for a future where all women and girls have the freedom to shape their lives and their communities,” Gutmann said.

She told the group of more than 1,000 attending the dinner that she looks to the next generation on Penn’s campus and is inspired.

“The future is coming fast, and it features young women leaders who aren’t going to just carry the torch – they are going to sprint with it,” she said.

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney and Councilwoman Helen Gym also spoke at the event. Gutmann was introduced by David Cohen, senior executive vice president of Comcast Corporation and chair of the Penn Board of Trustees.

A Women’s Way interview with Gutmann is available here.