Legal Momentum’s Aiming High event this week showcased the accomplishments of five female executives working in law, finance, and marketing.

It is fitting that some of New York’s most successful women converged to support the nonprofit group, which is devoted to advancing women’s rights and was known until last year as the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund. The organization has worked for 35 years to ensure that girls and women can have the same opportunities as the women it honored Tuesday.

In its fifth year, more than 800 guests attended Aiming High, including more male guests than ever before. That’s tremendous growth since the event started five years ago – when the number of honorees outnumbered the number of guests, according to the group’s president, Kathy Rodgers.

The great pleasure of the event is the remarks by the honoress. Among this year’s recipients were a member of Prudential Financial’s office of the chairman, Vivian Banta; the general counsel of Merrill Lynch & Co., Rosemary Berkery, and the president of HCA Homecare’s Financial Services Group, Beverly Wallace.

The women’s personal stories were most memorable.

Mary Minnick grew up on her father’s golf course, where the concession stand served Pepsi. The soda pop changed to Coke during the course of Ms. Minnick’s 21 years at Coca-Cola Co., where she is currently president and chief operating officer of Coca-Cola Asia. She got there following advice from her father: Just put one foot in front of the other.

In her mid-20s, Beth Comstock was a “very scared” divorced, single mother of a “small, brave,” 3-year-old daughter, and she “needed a plan fast.” She moved to New York to start a new life, inspired by advice her mother gave her: “You need a really good job so you can buy really fancy underwear.” Now, 17 years later, she is the first chief marketing officer of General Electric. She is remarried and has a second daughter. Ms. Comstock attributed her success to her ability to “imagine a future you can fall in love with.”

The event raised $1.1 million for Legal Momentum. That money will help finance the organization’s effort to enact state laws that help victims of domestic or sexual violence maintain economic security. The money will also support work on cases like that of Anne Wedow and Kathleen Kline, the first female firefighters in Kansas City, Mo. They sued, saying they were not provided properly fitting gear and adequate changing and showering facilities. Legal Momentum’s work on the case, now being heard in federal court, could have a positive impact for firefighters throughout the country.