Soroptimist International (SI) , founded in 1921, is a global volunteer service for women with almost 66,000 members in 118 countries worldwide. Soroptimist International also offers Associate Membership and E-Clubs. Soroptimist International has special consultative status at the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

, which gives it a voice on important discussion papers. It also allows them to attend the Commission of the Status of Women in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

each year where the Soroptimist International President leads a delegation.SI, "History"
Retrieved 17 July 2012. Every two years, Soroptimist International launches a Soroptimist International President's Appeal.

Etymology

The name "Soroptimist" was coined by combining the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

words ' "sister" and ' "best", and can be taken to mean "best for women."

Founding and history

The organization has its roots in the Soroptimist movement, started in the U.S. in 1921 by Stuart Morrow, and in particular in the Soroptimist Club of

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

, founded that same year, with Violet Richardson as president. Eloise B. Cushing did the major writing of the organization's first Constitution and By-Laws, which was required to file for the Charter; this document went on to serve as the guidelines for all the national and international Soroptimist clubs. In parallel, in May 1920, a Venture Club was formed in Bristol, UK, with encouragement by the Bristol Rotary Club (formed in 1917) with

Eleanor Addison Phillips Eleanor Addison Phillips (2 December 1874 – 25 June 1952) was an English educationist and founder of the first UK Soroptimist International, Soroptimist movement, the Venture Club. She was also headmistress of Clifton High School, Bristol, Cli ...

(headmistress of

Clifton High School, Bristol Clifton High School is a Mixed-sex education, co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private school in Clifton, Bristol, England. Clifton High School was founded as an Single-sex education, all-girls' school in 1877 for girls ag ...

) as founder and its first president. In 1930, when it was realised that Venture Clubs and Soroptimist Clubs had shared goals, the two organisations amalgamated. In July 2021, to commemorate 100 years of the Bristol Club (and celebrate Eleanor Addison Phillips), a blue plaque was unveiled at Clifton High School. Sources agree that the Soroptimist movement was influenced by the existence of Rotarianism, though sources differ on the precise relationship between the two. For instance, Davis, in reference to early Soroptimism in the U.S., wrote that Soroptimism was a women's organisation connected to the Rotary Clubs for men that promoted the support of professional women as well as the ideals of service and internationalism. By contrast, Doughan wrote that the Soroptimist movement in Britain originally arose as a reaction against Rotarian and other masculinism among women who saw similar opportunities for service, but had no connection with Rotary men, or even if they did, were unwilling to accept the subordinate position implied by the structure of the Inner Wheel. The Soroptimist Club of London was started in 1923 and received its charter in 1924 from Morrow. Its founding members included

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...

's secretary. Other early members included

Sybil Thorndike Dame Agnes Sybil Thorndike, Lady Casson (24 October 18829 June 1976) was an English actress whose stage career lasted from 1904 to 1969. Trained in her youth as a concert pianist, Thorndike turned to the stage when a medical problem with her h ...

Flora Drummond Flora McKinnon Drummond (née Gibson; 4 August 1878 – 17 January 1949) was a British suffragette. Nicknamed 'The General' for her habit of leading women's rights marches wearing a military style uniform 'with an officers cap and epaulettes'Sy ...

, and Mary Allen. The Soroptimist International of London Mayfair commissioned a painted enamel President's badge in 1946 from Arts and Crafts enameller Ernestine Mills, paying seven guineas for it. The design included their founding date of 1942 and commemorates the Alpha Club, founded in 1928, from which they grew, with the chain listing the names of the club's presidents from 1942 to 2006. These included Olympic fencer Elizabeth Carnegy-Arbuthnott and comedian Helena Millais. The chain is now held at the

V&A Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

. Mills was a member of the Soroptimist Greater London club, for which she created an enamelled President's badge in 1933. The federation, Soroptimist International of Great Britain & Ireland (SIGBI), was officially formed in 1934. From 1924 onwards,

Suzanne Noël Suzanne Blanche Gros Noël (January 19, 1878 – 1954), also known as Madame Noël, was a French plastic surgeon and the first female plastic surgeon in the world. She was known for her efficient face lift technique, the "petite operation". Noël ...

was highly instrumental in the growth of Soroptimism. Inspired by Morrow, who had come to Paris, Noël founded a Soroptimist Club in that city that year, whose membership included

Thérèse Bertrand-Fontaine Thérèse Bertrand-Fontaine (15 October 1895, in Paris – 24 December 1987, in Paris), was a French physician and researcher.''Who's Who in France - 1973-1974'', Paris, 1973, p. 242. She earned the Medal of the Resistance and held the title of Gr ...

Cécile Brunschvicg Cécile Brunschvicg (), born Cécile Kahn (19 July 1877 in Enghien-les-Bains – 5 October 1946 in Neuilly-sur-Seine), was a French feminist politician. From the 1920s until her death she was regarded as "the ''grande dame'' of the feminist move ...

Anna de Noailles Anna, Comtesse Mathieu de Noailles (Anna Elisabeth Bibesco-Bassaraba de Brancovan; ; 15 November 1876 – 30 April 1933) was a French writer of Romanian, Greek and Bulgarian descent, a poet and a socialist feminist. She was the only female poet ...

, and

Jeanne Lanvin Jeanne-Marie Lanvin (; 1 January 1867 – 6 July 1946) was a French haute couture fashion designer. She founded the Lanvin fashion house and the beauty and perfume company Lanvin Parfums. Early life Jeanne Lanvin was born in Paris on 1 Janu ...

Alice La Mazière. With the support of her Soroptimist contacts, Noël rapidly expanded Soroptimist internationally, founding new clubs in the Netherlands (1927), Italy (1929), Austria (1929), Germany (1930), Belgium (1930), Switzerland (1930), Estonia (1931), India (1932), Norway (1933), Hungary (1934), and Denmark (1936). The inauguration of the first Lithuanian club was interrupted by the start of

WWII World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Prior to

, Soroptimists worked to assist refugees fleeing unrest in central Europe. Many Soroptimists themselves ultimately fled from the Nazis' consolidation of power. In 1939, many members of the burgeoning

Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

club were killed or deported. In 1943, Marthe Hirsch, the director of a chocolate factory and the first president of the Belgian Soroptimist Club, committed suicide to avoid arrest by the

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

. After WWII, Noël resumed expansion. The Communist coup prevented her attempt to found a club in Czechoslovakia in 1948, but she was successful in Turkey (1949) and Greece (1950). By 1952, at least one club existed in Australia, under the auspices of the Federation of Soroptimist Clubs of Great Britain and Ireland, which included clubs throughout the Commonwealth.

Thelma Eileen Jarrett Thelma Eileen Jarrett Order of the British Empire, MBE (25 February 190513 August 1987) was an Australian Soroptimist International, Soroptimist. She was the first non-British person to become vice-president of the Federation of Soroptimist Clubs ...

joined this club in 1952 and became a prominent international Soroptimist, being elected president of that Federation in 1972. In 1973, in Sydney, Australia, she chaired the first conference of the Federation to be held in the southern hemisphere. –1990, efforts by Soroptimists led to the founding of Caring for Carers Ireland. At the

World Summit for Social Development The World Summit for Social Development was a conference held in Copenhagen from 6–12 March 1995. It aimed to "establish a people-centered framework for social development, to build a culture of cooperation and partnership and to respond to the i ...

in March 1995, Soroptimist International advocated for girls and women to have universal access to basic education and equal access to higher education. It urged that summit to ensure that specific measures to achieve that goal would emerge from the

Fourth World Conference on Women The Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace was the name given for a conference convened by the United Nations during 4–15 September 1995 in Beijing, China. At this conference, governments from around the ...

(Beijing, September 1995). 150px, thumbnail, Soroptimist International Philippines marker In the 2000s, Soroptimist International repeatedly reaffirmed its commitment to the

Beijing Declaration The Beijing Declaration was a resolution adopted by the UN at the end of the Fourth World Conference on Women on 15 September 1995. The resolution adopted to promulgate a set of principles concerning the equality of men and women. Text Declar ...

, which emerged from the latter conference. At least as early as 2003, Soroptimist International had gained consultative status with

ECOSOC The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is one of six principal organs of the United Nations, responsible for coordinating the economic and social fields of the organization, specifically in regards to the fifteen specialized ...

and official relations with the

WHO The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and has 6 regional offices and 15 ...

. In 2007, Soroptimist International initiated Project Sierra, a four-year project to help disadvantaged women and children in

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

, in partnership with the international charity Hope and Homes for Children. As of 2016, the Soroptimist movement continues to provide practical assistance for women in need via means such as educational grants, domestic violence shelters, and mammograms.

Structure and size

Soroptimist International is an umbrella organisation with its headquarters in Ely, UK. Within this umbrella, there are five federations: SI of the Americas (SIA); SI Great Britain and Ireland (SIGBI); SI of Europe (SIE); SI of South East Asia Pacific (SISEAP) and SI Africa (SIAF). Each of these federations in turn contain local clubs.

Notable members

Beatrice Afflerbach Beatrice "Bea" Afflerbach (14 June 1920 – 3 March 2003) was a Swiss graphic designer, painter, drafter and illustrator. Life and work Afflerbach studied at the Kunstgewerbeschule Basel (now, Schule für Gestaltung Basel) and in 1941 w ...

, founded of the

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

branch in Switzerland * Mary Allen *

Mariama Bâ Mariama Bâ (April 17, 1929 – August 17, 1981) was a Senegalese author and feminist, whose two French-language novels were both translated into more than a dozen languages. Born in Dakar, Senegal, Dakar, Senegal, she was raised a Muslim. Her ...

(1929 – 1981),

Senegalese Demographic features of the population of Senegal include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. About 42% of Senegal's population i ...

author, winner of the first

Noma Award for Publishing in Africa The Noma Award for Publishing in Africa (''French:Le Prix Noma de Publication en Afrique''), which ran from 1980 to 2009, was an annual $10,000 prize for outstanding African writers and scholars who published in Africa. Within four years of its es ...

* Mary Creighton Bailey, president of the

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

branch. *

* Margaret Blackwood *

Pauline Suing Bloom Pauline Suing Bloom (January 7, 1883 – March 19, 1940) was an American reporter and feature writer, founder of ''The Spokane Woman''. Early life Pauline Suing Bloom was born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on January 7, 1883, the daughter of Henry B. ...

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher, conductor and composer. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organis ...

* Teckla M. Carlson * Grace Cuthbert-Browne * Mary Campbell Dawbarn * Lucie Delarue-Mardrus *

* Nannie C. Dunsmoor * Béatrix Dussane * Oda Faulconer, President * Nellie A. Goodhue * Winifred M. Hausam *

Lily Laskine Lily Laskine (31 August 1893 – 4 January 1988) was one of the most prominent harpists of the twentieth century who was born and died in Paris. Born Lily Aimée Laskine to Jewish parents in Paris, she studied at the Conservatoire de Paris with Alp ...

* Carrie Morrison *

* Geneve L. A. Shaffer * Mary Jane Spurlin * Mary SykesSybil Thorndike Dame Agnes Sybil Thorndike, Lady Casson (24 October 18829 June 1976) was an English actress whose stage career lasted from 1904 to 1969. Trained in her youth as a concert pianist, Thorndike turned to the stage when a medical problem with her h ...

Etymology

Founding and history

Structure and size

Notable members

See also

References

Bibliography

External links