There are several excellent accounts of the attitude of
early Rotary to the idea of women becoming Rotarians or perhaps
more usually starting Rotary Clubs exclusively for women. In
David Forward's excellent book 'A Century of Service' , there is
a full account of this, under the heading of 'Women's
Auxiliaries'.
When Rotary was created, it was considered essentially a male
preserve, and the Board of what was then the National
Association of Rotary Clubs, vigorously opposed any attempt to
change this. This remained the official attitude until the last
quarter of the 20th century. In Minnesota and possibly
elsewhere, clubs were formed in 1911 and 1912 called 'The
Women's Rotary Club of Minneapolis' and of Duluth based on the
ideals and organisation of Rotary. The clubs were composed of
business women, one woman from each line of business making up
the membership and thus echoing the set up in Rotary.. The
object of the clubs were to promote sociability among the
business women and to work for business advantages." The
National Rotarian 11, no.1 (November 1911): Interestingly, the
foundation of these clubs was contemporary with those of the
men's clubs.
The ' Minneapolis Journal' in 1911 reported that "Dr. Gertrude
Stanton was elected President of the Minneapolis Women 's Rotary
Club at the meeting of the club yesterday at the West Hotel. The
club was organized last spring and has continued to meet during
the summer."
As David Forward writes "A year later, Ida Buell of Duluth,
Minnesota, was granted permission to address the 1912 Rotary
Convention. She told the delegates about the women's Rotary Club
of Duluth and asked Rotarians for support in establishing
similar clubs in other cities. Although 'The Rotarian' described
Buell as "an interesting and entertaining speaker,"the delegates
took no action on her request.
By the end of the war, there were several "women's Rotary clubs"
in existence and they were supported by many influential members
within what had by than become the International Association of
Rotary Clubs. Some highly placed support for them within the
International Association, the opponents won the day every time
the matter came to the RI Board of Directors. In his Weekly
Letter to club officers, the General Secretary, Ches Perry
reported:
"In December 1918, the Board agreed it did not favour
the establishment of organizations of women similar to
Rotary and that Rotarians should discourage such
organizations from using the name Rotary or Rotarians."
From Chesley Perry's, article called "Women's Clubs Similar to
Rotary," in 'The Weekly Letter', January 20 1919,
For further work on Duluth, please see the article
submitted by Geri Appel on 'Looking back
in history'.
We acknowledge the work of David Forward, of archivist Francine
Keyes at R.I. Evanston, of Peter Bagley of Duluth RC in
compiling this article and of Rachael E. Martin, Duluth Club
historian. Any errors in the above
are the work of the editor Basil Lewis.
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