I'll share my experience.
It started in 1997. That's when they were approved.
As I moved up in the ranks and found myself liaising with other more senior women, I found out about DWAO.
Now it's interesting, because the unit in which I currently work is about 50-50 male and female, including those more senior ranks within the small section I'm in. Every single one of the women in there, with the exception of one, has at some point been a regional co-chair. They move around. Some have done so in the recruit school and that sort of thing.
We're starting to see, as this awareness grows, that not only is the awareness becoming stronger and successful in its intent, but it's also spreading the awareness about the group and what the group is involved in. I've heard on several occasions, “Talk to DWAO about it”. It is this entity that people know as a third party. You don't have to go through your chain of command. If there is a feeling that it is a man and he is not going to quite get it, there is this external group that's sort of ear to the ground, so to speak, that supports women.