The Women's Philharmonic, founded in 1981 and disbanded in 2004, had the dual functions of promoting the careers of women musicians and performing music by women. The group made several recordings and spawned the career of conductor Jo Ann Falletta, as well as various instrumentalists.

The Women's Philharmonic was founded in 1981 as the Bay Area Women's Philharmonic (known as BAWP). It was established by Miriam Abrams, who became the group's first executive director, Elizabeth Seja Min, and Nan Washburn; Abrams and Min had been classmates at the San Francisco Conservatory and had become interested in programming music by women composers. The Women's Philharmonic was not the first professional all-female symphonic ensemble; a number of such groups had existed before World War II, but they became less common as women were accepted into established symphony orchestras. Min served as the first Women's Philharmonic music director, holding the position from 1981 to 1985; Abrams was artistic director and associate conductor from 1981 to 1990. The Philharmonic's stated goals were to advocate for the performance of works by women composers, to address the place of women composers in the orchestral repertory, and to inform the public about the shortage of works by women in orchestral programming. In 1985, Washburn founded the Community Women's Orchestra as an adjunct to the Women's Philharmonic.

Jo Ann Falletta served as music director from 1986 to 1997. Falletta went on to a prestigious career with the Buffalo Philharmonic and with various international ensembles, and the Women's Philharmonic began to earn a reputation for the high quality of its performances. The Philharmonic released its debut album, Baroquen Treasures, on the Newport Classics label in 1990. Apo Hsu succeeded Falletta as music director in 1996 and would be the orchestra's final conductor. The group made several recordings for Koch International, including The Music of Florence Price (2001), with Hsu as conductor; it was one of the first recordings devoted to that increasingly popular African American composer, and it has been reissued multiple times. Under financial pressure, the Women's Philharmonic disbanded in 2004. The Community Women's Orchestra continues to operate. ~ James Manheim, Rovi