Browse Organizations
Displaying 26 - 50 of 196
Name |
Description | Founding year | Works by | Works about | Works to |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Association for the Civil and Political Emancipation of Romanian Women | 10 | 29 | |||
| Association of Collegiate Alumnae | The Association brought together college-educated women to advance the cause of higher education for women. Its goals included educational equity for women, equality for women, and internationalism. In 1921, its mer... The Association brought together college-educated women to advance the cause of higher education for women. Its goals included educational equity for women, equality for women, and internationalism. In 1921, its merger with the Southern Association of College Women led to the formation of the American Association of University Women [qv]. Show more Show less | 1882 | 3 | ||
| Association of Southern Women for the Prevention of Lynching | Jessie Daniel Ames, head of the Woman’s Department in the Commission for Interracial Cooperation, called a meeting in November of 1930 that led to the formation of the Association of Southern Women to Prevent Lync... Jessie Daniel Ames, head of the Woman’s Department in the Commission for Interracial Cooperation, called a meeting in November of 1930 that led to the formation of the Association of Southern Women to Prevent Lynching. The Association organized middle- and upper-class white women to oppose lynching in their communities and throughout the South, often by congregating in large numbers where a lynching was rumored to be planned. In this organization white women created new places for themselves in Southern society. Membership in 1939 is said to have reached 40,000. Show more Show less | 1930 | 3 | 2 | |
| Birth Control Movement | The Comstock Law, which made distribution of information about contraception illegal from 1873 to 1936, met with relatively little opposition until the second decade of the twentieth century, when reformers Mary War... The Comstock Law, which made distribution of information about contraception illegal from 1873 to 1936, met with relatively little opposition until the second decade of the twentieth century, when reformers Mary Ware Dennett (1872-1947) and Margaret Sanger (1879-1966) took up the "birth control" cause. From 1916 onwards, Sanger and Dennett competed for leadership, each forming different organizations and promoting different solutions to the issue of making birth control accessible and legal. Dennett founded the National Birth Control League in 1915 and the Voluntary Parenthood League in 1919. Sanger founded the short-lived Birth Control League in 1914, the American Birth Control League in 1921, and helped form the Birth Control Federation of America (1939), renamed the Planned Parenthood Federation in 1942. The Birth Control Movement moved out beyond the borders of the United States with the founding of the International Planned Parenthood Federation in Bombay in 1952. Show more Show less | 1915 | 8 | ||
| Boston Female Reform Society | The New York Female Moral Reform Society, (founded in 1834 and renamed the American Female Moral Reform Society in 1839) and the Boston Female Moral Reform Society (founded in 1835 and renamed the New England Female... The New York Female Moral Reform Society, (founded in 1834 and renamed the American Female Moral Reform Society in 1839) and the Boston Female Moral Reform Society (founded in 1835 and renamed the New England Female Moral Reform Society in 1838) were umbrella organizations that brought together more than 50,000 members in 600 societies in New England, New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio. Part of the mobilization of women during the Second Great Awakening, moral reform societies worked in villages and cities to eliminate prostitution and other forms of sexual exploitation of women, including the sexual double standard. Expressing values associated with the demographic transition from high to low birth rates (1800-1900), moral reform encouraged women to control access to their bodies. The nation's first explicitly female social movement, moral reform offered many middle-class women their first opportunity to venture into the public arena and agitate for social change on behalf of women. Show more Show less | 1835 | 1 | ||
| Carrie Chapman Catt Memorial Fund | The League of Women Voters (LWV) established the Carrie Chapman Catt Memorial Fund (CCCMF) in 1947 to promote citizenship, especially for women, in totalitarian countries transitioning to democracy. Financially inde... The League of Women Voters (LWV) established the Carrie Chapman Catt Memorial Fund (CCCMF) in 1947 to promote citizenship, especially for women, in totalitarian countries transitioning to democracy. Financially independent of the LWV, the CCCMF worked with the League to publish educational materials for use in the United States and abroad. In 1961, the CCCMF changed its name to the Overseas Education Fund (OEF). In 1986, it became OEF International and, after 1991, the League of Women Voters Education Fund (LWVEF). Women and Social Movements International includes more than thirty League documents reflecting its international activities from its founding in 1920 through 1990. Show more Show less | 1947 | 4 | 16 | |
| Catholics for a Free Choice | Catholics for Choice, formerly Catholics for a Free Choice, is a Catholic lay organization based in Washington, D.C., that challenges the traditional Catholic hierarchy and the perspective of the Vatican, especially... Catholics for Choice, formerly Catholics for a Free Choice, is a Catholic lay organization based in Washington, D.C., that challenges the traditional Catholic hierarchy and the perspective of the Vatican, especially on women's issues related to abortion, contraception, HIV/AIDS, and public policy. The CFC believes individuals should make their own moral decisions through education, research and advocacy. Women and Social Movements International includes publications in English and Spanish, reflecting the organization's activity in the United States and Latin America. Show more Show less | 1973 | 7 | 3 | |
| Center for Women's Global Leadership | The Center for Women's Global Leadership, based at Rutgers University, was founded in 1989 by Charlotte Bunch. CWGL develops programs to prepare women for leadership and to influence policy-making from a feminist pe... The Center for Women's Global Leadership, based at Rutgers University, was founded in 1989 by Charlotte Bunch. CWGL develops programs to prepare women for leadership and to influence policy-making from a feminist perspective at the local, national, and international levels. Women and Social Movements International includes half a dozen Center reports focusing on women's human rights. Show more Show less | 1989 | 2 | 4 | |
| Central Committee on the United Study of Foreign Missions | The Central Committee on the United Study of Missions was an interdenominational Protestant group founded in 1900 by the Federation of Women's Boards of Foreign Missions. The organization included Methodists, Congre... The Central Committee on the United Study of Missions was an interdenominational Protestant group founded in 1900 by the Federation of Women's Boards of Foreign Missions. The organization included Methodists, Congregationalists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, and Baptists at the start, incorporating Dutch Reformed and Lutherans later. The group commissioned mission study texts and sponsored mission study conferences and workshops. Between 1912 and 1915, the group changed its name to the Central Committee on the United Study of Foreign Missions. The CCUSFM merged into the Mission Education Movement and published its last book in 1938. Women and Social Movements International holdings include five Central Committee publications focused on women's missionary activities between 1904 and 1933. Show more Show less | 1900 | 3 | ||
| Charitable Cooperatives of Serbian Women | 1886 | 25 | 22 | ||
| Charity Organization Society | Founded in England in 1869, the Charity Organization Society movement began in the United States in New York the late 1870’s. Josephine Shaw Lowell, a prominent theoretician and organizer of the movement, sought t... Founded in England in 1869, the Charity Organization Society movement began in the United States in New York the late 1870’s. Josephine Shaw Lowell, a prominent theoretician and organizer of the movement, sought to rationalize charitable support for poor families by consolidating charitable institutions and promoting scientific methods. Continuing antebellum "friendly visiting" by middle-class women volunteers, the COS was an early, punitive form of social work. During the catastrophic depression of 1893 Josephine Shaw Lowell resigned from the COS and began to work with the New York Consumers’ League to promote minimum wages for low-paid workers, believing that higher wages was the best cure for poverty. The growth of social work after 1900 made the COS a less prominent institution. Show more Show less | 1877 | 1 | ||
| Circle of Ukrainian Women | 1901 | 16 | |||
| Civil Rights Movement | The struggle for full citizenship rights began during Reconstruction following the Civil War, but most scholars associate the origin of the modern Civil Rights Movement with the founding of the National Association... The struggle for full citizenship rights began during Reconstruction following the Civil War, but most scholars associate the origin of the modern Civil Rights Movement with the founding of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in 1909. African-American and white women were active in the early years of the NAACP and in successive efforts to end segregation in public transportation, public accommodations, and education. Voting rights were important during Reconstruction and then once again beginning in the 1960s. Show more Show less | 1909 | 1 | 29 | |
| Colorado Woman Suffrage Association | This major woman suffrage organization in Colorado was affiliated with the American Woman Suffrage Association (see above). The ability of the Association to forge a broad suffrage coalition, drawing support from th... This major woman suffrage organization in Colorado was affiliated with the American Woman Suffrage Association (see above). The ability of the Association to forge a broad suffrage coalition, drawing support from the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, farmers' organizations, and labor organizations accounts for its success in winning woman's suffrage in its second referendum campaign in 1893. Show more Show less | 1876 | 3 | ||
| Colored Woman's League | Part of a larger movement of black women’s clubs aimed at improving the living conditions and status of African Americans, the Colored Woman’s League (CWL) was founded in 1892 with Hallie Q. Brown as its Secreta... Part of a larger movement of black women’s clubs aimed at improving the living conditions and status of African Americans, the Colored Woman’s League (CWL) was founded in 1892 with Hallie Q. Brown as its Secretary. The CWL participated in a series of national conventions that led to the founding of the National Association of Colored Women in 1896. Show more Show less | 1892 | 1 | 5 | |
| Commission on Interracial Cooperation | Founded in 1918, the Commission on Interracial Cooperation (CIC), based in Atlanta, publicly opposed lynching and the Ku Klux Klan and sought to foster a new positive image of African Americans. The successful work... Founded in 1918, the Commission on Interracial Cooperation (CIC), based in Atlanta, publicly opposed lynching and the Ku Klux Klan and sought to foster a new positive image of African Americans. The successful work of women within the CIC and the overly-cautious leadership of white men within the Commission led Jessie Daniel Ames in November 1930 to form the Association of Southern Women to Prevent Lynching. In 1944, the CIC merged with the Southern Regional Council. Show more Show less | 1918 | 2 | ||
| Committee of Correspondence |
Founded in 1953 and based in New York City, the Committee of Correspondence served as a clearinghouse of information for the development of leadership skills among women in newly independent countries. The Committee...
Founded in 1953 and based in New York City, the Committee of Correspondence served as a clearinghouse of information for the development of leadership skills among women in newly independent countries. The Committee distributed monthly bulletins internationally with information on subjects such as child welfare, community development, education, social welfare, the status of women and women in public life. The Committee supported field workers in over 100 countries and offered training for more than 5,000 women. [From the collection description at the Sophia Smith Collection:] Despite the Committee's successes at promoting contacts among women's organizations and hosting conferences both in and out of the United States, it could not recover from revelations published in Ramparts magazine in 1967 that it was among the international organizations covertly funded by the Central Intelligence Agency. Supportive of the Committee's commitment to liberal anti-communism, the CIA had funneled funding for the Committee through private foundation grants. After the expose in Ramparts, which was further publicized in a series of New York Times articles, President Lyndon Johnson curtailed CIA funding of private foundations. Unable to fill the breach through traditional fundraising methods, the Committee of Correspondence elected to dissolve in 1969. Women and Social Movements International includes manuscript reports and letters circulated by Committee women in the course of their international work. Show more Show less |
1952 | 15 | 55 | 11 |
| Communist Party. Women's Division, Uzbekistan Soviet Socialist Republic | In 1925, the Women's Division of the Communist Party in the newly formed Uzbekistan Soviet Socialist Republic sought to shape a new version of Uzbek womanhood, one where women were bold and daring, and found opportu... In 1925, the Women's Division of the Communist Party in the newly formed Uzbekistan Soviet Socialist Republic sought to shape a new version of Uzbek womanhood, one where women were bold and daring, and found opportunities to better their own and their children's lives through education, work, and the aid of Soviet law. The Women’s Division created an Uzbek-language women's magazine, Yangi Yo'l, or New Path, and most of the content was written in Uzbek, by Uzbek writers, for an Uzbek-speaking public. The contributors were furious about violent attacks and murders of unveiled women, interpreting these attacks as martyrdom for the cause of women's liberation. By 1930, the Communist Party in the Uzbekistan Soviet Socialist Republic curbed its support of women’s activism and the latitude given to the Women’s Division magazine by altering content to emphasize Party ideology above all other issues. Documents in this digital archive demonstrate the activism of the late 1920s. Show more Show less | 1925 | 49 | ||
| Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage | Alice Paul and others founded the Congressional Union of Woman Suffrage (CUWS) in 1913 as an American version of the militant British Women’s Social and Political Union. CUWS members engaged in civil disobedience,... Alice Paul and others founded the Congressional Union of Woman Suffrage (CUWS) in 1913 as an American version of the militant British Women’s Social and Political Union. CUWS members engaged in civil disobedience, chaining themselves to the White House fence and going on hunger strikes in jail, which catapulted them to prominence within the suffrage movement. In 1916 Paul and her CUWS allies launched the National Woman's Party (NWP). Show more Show less | 1913 | 2 | ||
| DPP Gerwani | Gerwani was a secular left-wing women’s organization that brought together Indonesian women with a range of commitments to nationalism, feminism and socialism. The women who joined this organization had resisted t... Gerwani was a secular left-wing women’s organization that brought together Indonesian women with a range of commitments to nationalism, feminism and socialism. The women who joined this organization had resisted the Dutch back in the late colonial era, the Japanese during the short occupation, and the Dutch again during the independence struggle between 1945 and 1949. Gerwani began under the name The Movement for Politically Aware Women (Gerakan Wanita Sadar, Gerwis) in 1950. Originally it only had a middle-class educated membership. At its 1954 congress, Gerwis changed its name to Gerwani to reflect a broadening of the organization’s reach and its transformation to becoming a mass movement. It increasingly turned to campaigning for women’s labor rights, and for the achievement of full Indonesian independence and socialism leading to a self-held perception that they were “the vanguard of the women’s movement.” Gerwani experienced rapid growth from 100,000 members in 1957 to 700,000 in 1960 to 1.5 million members in 1963, with branches in every province of Indonesia and sub branches in forty percent of villages. Show more Show less | 1950 | 4 | 43 | |
| Daughters of Bilitis | The Daughters of Bilitis (DOB) was a lesbian social and political organization formed in San Francisco in 1955 by Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon. Though the DOB often worked with the Mattachine Society and others in th... The Daughters of Bilitis (DOB) was a lesbian social and political organization formed in San Francisco in 1955 by Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon. Though the DOB often worked with the Mattachine Society and others in the male-dominated homophile movement, members of the DOB insisted on recognizing their dual experiences as both women and lesbians. In October 1956 the DOB began publishing The Ladder, which over its sixteen years of publication would address contemporary attitudes about lesbians, the growing gay rights movement, and the emergence of the women’s liberation movement. Show more Show less | 1955 | 1 | 10 | |
| Daughters of the American Revolution | Founded in 1891, and still in existence today, the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) was the female counterpart to numerous male patriotic societies that sprang up in the 1890s. Initially, the Daughters ref... Founded in 1891, and still in existence today, the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) was the female counterpart to numerous male patriotic societies that sprang up in the 1890s. Initially, the Daughters refrained from purely political activities, instead devoting themselves to promoting patriotic celebrations and erecting monuments and markers to honor Revolutionary forefathers. During World War I, DAR members supported war work. After the end of World War I, the DAR opposed women’s pacifist groups including the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. Show more Show less | 1891 | 3 | 13 | |
| Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era | Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN) was founded in 1984 in Bangalore, India, at a meeting of women, including Devaki Jain from India and Peggy Antrobus from Barbados, concerned with the effects... Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN) was founded in 1984 in Bangalore, India, at a meeting of women, including Devaki Jain from India and Peggy Antrobus from Barbados, concerned with the effects of development policies on women. The group sought to identify and support alternative development strategies. They presented a report to the 1985 UN Conference on Women held in Nairobi. DAWN is a feminist organization that analyzes and fights against economic, social, and political processes that cause inequality in the global south. DAWN materials in this digital archive include reports from conferences and studies on development and related issues. Show more Show less | 1984 | 4 | 15 | |
| Dress Reform | The dress reform movement of the 1840s and 50s responded to the fact that, while men's clothing had become more restrained and utilitarian in the decades before 1840, women's clothing became more ornamental and dysf... The dress reform movement of the 1840s and 50s responded to the fact that, while men's clothing had become more restrained and utilitarian in the decades before 1840, women's clothing became more ornamental and dysfunctional. Reformers promoted the wearing of trousers (popularly known as “Bloomers”) among women. Three different strands of reformers can be distinguished within this social movement: the water curists, the Oneida Community, and woman's rights reformers. Notable figures in this movement include John Humphrey Noyes of the Oneida community, and the women’s rights activists Elizabeth Smith Miller, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Amelia Bloomer. Show more Show less | 1840 | 5 | ||
| Ecumenical Decade. Churches in Solidarity with Women | The World Council of Churches declared 1988-1998 the Ecumenical Decade of Churches in Solidarity with Women. Decade sponsors aimed to challenge discrimination of women in churches and communities; it recognized wome... The World Council of Churches declared 1988-1998 the Ecumenical Decade of Churches in Solidarity with Women. Decade sponsors aimed to challenge discrimination of women in churches and communities; it recognized women's contributions to their churches and communities and it encouraged churches to take actions in solidarity with women. Women and Social Movements International includes material by women and women's organizations active during the Ecumenical Decade. Show more Show less | 1988 | 1 | 2 |
