The National Order of Women Legislators (NOWL) (1938 – 2014) was an organization for women legislators in the United States. Emma Poeter's book about its history was published in 1981.
Smith College
Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...
has a collection of the group's records. It was founded in 1938 and was
non-partisan
Nonpartisanship, also known as nonpartisanism, is a lack of affiliation with a political party and a lack of political bias.
While an ''Oxford English Dictionary'' definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., ...
. It used a small gold owl as an insignia. Its first meeting was attended by 31 legislators. Tea was served and the group was invited to the White House. In 2014, it reorganized as the National Foundation for Women Legislators (NFWL), a
501(c)(3)
A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...
tax-exempt
Tax exemption is the reduction or removal of a liability to make a compulsory payment that would otherwise be imposed by a ruling power upon persons, property, income, or transactions. Tax-exempt status may provide complete relief from taxes, redu ...
foundation established by the NOWL in the USA. Headquartered in
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...
, it assists women legislators with public opinion and legislative issues.
According to
Lauren Kozakiewicz, the NOWL never reached the level of influence or solidarity desired by its members.
Harvard University
Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
has a collection of speeches from the group's meeting in
Baltimore
Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
in 1968.
Organization
Through annual educational and networking events, the NFWL supports elected women from all levels of governance. As a non-profit, non-partisan organization, NFWL does not take ideological positions on public policy issues, but rather serves as a forum for women legislators to be empowered through information and experience.
Annual Conference
The NFWL Annual Conference is a national forum designed to encourage the building of alliances among elected women, industry leaders, and issue experts. The conference fosters a safe environment for sharing ideas, discussing current events, and learning about new initiatives and programs through plenary sessions, workshops, roundtables and policy committees. The goal of the annual conference is to intellectually equip elected women to mold public opinion and prepare for legislative debate. Presentations throughout the conference offer elected women new perspectives and innovative ideas that may inevitably lead to policy resolutions and legislation in their respective states. As a non-partisan organization, NFWL does not take ideological positions on any current issue, but rather exists to assist women leaders in the process of issue education, networking, re-elections, and leadership.
NFWL's Annual Conference is unique because a majority of the elected women who attend the conference are given scholarships to support their presence. As a result, NFWL garners high attendance rates at all conference events. This allows NFWL's supporters to have direct access to elected women from across the country in a variety of settings.
References
External links
{{Wikisource, National Foundation for Women Legislators, National Foundation for Women Legislators
Board of DirectorsSophia Smith Collection, Smith College
American women in politics
Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C.