Soroptimist International (SI) is a global volunteer service organization for women with nearly 72,000 members in 121 countries worldwide. According to Soroptimist.org, their mission statement says that, "Soroptimist is a global volunteer organization that provides women and girls with access to the education and training they need to achieve economic empowerment." The name

Soroptimist Soroptimist International (SI) is a global volunteer service organization for women with nearly 72,000 members in 121 countries worldwide. According to Soroptimist.org, their mission statement says that, "Soroptimist is a global volunteer organiza ...

was coined from the Latin ''soror'' meaning sister, and optima meaning best. Soroptimist is interpreted as ‘'the best for women’'. There are nearly 72,000 Soroptimist members worldwide, the majority of whom belong to their local Clubs, where they can make friends with like-minded women of all walks of life (professional and business women), have fun, attend conferences and conventions, and work on projects that help improve the lives of women and girls locally, nationally and internationally. Soroptimist International also offers Associate Membership and E-Clubs for busy women who believe in what Soroptimists do but do not have the time to get involved in Club activities. There are five Soroptimist Federations under the umbrella of Soroptimist International: Soroptimist International Africa Federation (SIAF), Soroptimist International of the Americas (SIA), Soroptimist International of Europe (SIE), Soroptimist International of Great Britain & Ireland (SIGBI)and Soroptimist International of South East Asia Pacific (SISEAP). Soroptimist International has special consultative status at the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) at the United Nations which gives it a voice on important discussion papers and allows them to attend the Commission on the Status of Women in New York each year.SI History
Retrieved 17 July 2012.

Etymology

The name "Soroptimist" was coined by combining the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

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 USA in 1921 by Stuart Morrow, and in particular in the Soroptimist Club of

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay ...

, founded that same year, with Violet Richardson as president. Interestingly, in May 1920, a Venture Club was formed in Bristol with encouragement by the Rotary Club (formed in Bristol in 1917). In 1930, when it was realized that Venture Clubs and Soroptimist Clubs had shared goals, the two organizations amalgamated. (Reference ‘100 Years of Sisterhood: Bristol Fashion’ by Dr Marion Reid - Redcliffe Press). The Federation, Soroptimist International of Great Britain & Ireland (SIGBI) was formed in 1934. Sources agree that the Soroptimist movement was influenced by the existence of Rotarianism, but differ on the precise relationship between the two. For instance, Davis, in reference to early Soroptimism in the USA, wrote that "Soroptimism was a women's organization 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 writes, "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 simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

'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 ...

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, 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 Ernestine Evans Mills (née Bell; 1871 – 6 February 1959) was an English metalworker and enameller who became known as an artist, writer and suffragette. She was the author of ''The Domestic Problem, Past, Present, and Future'' (1925). Three pi ...

, 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 (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

. Mills was a member of the Soroptimist Greater London club, for which she created an enamelled President's badge in 1933. From 1924 onwards,

Suzanne Noël Suzanne Blanche Gros Noël (1878–1954), also known as Madame Noël, was one of the world’s first plastic surgeons and the first female plastic surgeon in the world. She was known for her efficient face lift technique, the “petite operation.� ...

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,

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 movem ...

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 and Greek descent, a poet and a socialist feminist. Biography Personal life Born Princess ...

, 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 Alice La Mazière, born Alice Kühn Tomb of La Mazière (1880-1962) was a French journalist, socialist and feminist activist. Career as a journalist Alice La Mazière started her career during World War I: she published an article on women wo ...

. 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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Prior to

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

Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...

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

Gestapo The (), 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 Prussia into one organis ...

. After WWII, Noël resumed expansion. Her attempt to found a club in Czechoslovakia in 1948 was prevented by the Communist coup, 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 MBE (25 February 190513 August 1987) was an Australian Soroptimist. She was the first non-British person to become vice-president of the Federation of Soroptimist Clubs of Great Britain and Ireland, a position she held from 1 ...

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. C. 1988-1990, efforts by Soroptimists led to the founding of

Caring for Carers Ireland Family Carers Ireland is a non-profit organisation based in Dublin, Leinster. History It started as The Carers Association in 1987, and was the first national carers association for lobbying government, representing family carers and advocate ...

. At the World Summit for Social Development 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). 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 Declara ...

, 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; french: links=no, Conseil économique et social des Nations unies, ) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations, responsible for coordinating the economic and social fields ...

and official relations with the

WHO Who or WHO may refer to: * Who (pronoun), an interrogative or relative pronoun * Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism * World Health Organization Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Who, a creature in the Dr. Seuss book ''Horton Hear ...

. 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 by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

, in partnership with the international charity

Hope and Homes for Children Hope and Homes for Children (HHC) is a British registered charity operating and working with children, their families and communities in several countries in Central and Eastern Europe and Africa, to help children grow up in safe and productiv ...

. As of 2016, the Soroptimist movement continued to advocate for women's independence, and to provide practical assistance for women in need via means such as educational grants, domestic violence shelters and mammograms.

Mission and principles

Educate a Girl – Soroptimists, by Lisa Roscoe (17046636069)

The mission statement of the organization is: The principles of Soroptimism are to strive for: * The advancement of the status of women, * High ethical standards, * Human rights for all, * Equality, development and peace, and * The advancement of international understanding, goodwill and peace.

Structure and size

Soroptimist International is an umbrella organisation, with its headquarters in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge becam ...

, UK. Within this umbrella, there are five federations: SI of the Americas (SIA); SI Great Britain and Ireland (SIGBI); SI of Europe; SI of South East Asia Pacific and SI Africa. Each of these federations in turn contain local clubs. * ''c.'' 1995, Soroptimist International had approximately 95,000 members in over 2,800 clubs in ninety-five countries or territories. These members contribute time and financial support to community-based and international projects. * ''c.'' 2019, SI of the Americas had almost 30,000 members in 1,300 clubs in 21 countries. It has 30 staff at its headquarters in Philadelphia, US, with a budget of $6–8 million.

Notable members

* Mary Allen * Thérèse Bertrand-Fontaine * Margaret Blackwood * Pauline Suing Bloom *

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

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

Lucie Delarue-Mardrus Lucie Delarue-Mardrus (3 November 1874 in Honfleur – 26 April 1945 ) was a French journalist, poet, novelist, sculptor, historian and designer. She was a prolific writer, who produced more than 70 books in her lifetime. In France, she is ...

Nannie C. Dunsmoor Nannie C. Straus Dunsmoor (November 17, 1860 – July 18, 1941) was an American medical doctor and one of the first woman to be a medical doctor in California. She continued to practice into her 80s. She was the oldest active member in the Unit ...

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

* Lily Laskine *

Carrie Morrison Carol Morrison (3 February 1888 – 20 February 1950) was the first woman to be admitted as a solicitor in England. Biography Morrison was born in Richmond, Surrey to father Thomas Morrison (1834–1901), son of a Scottish innkeeper who worked ...

Geneve L. A. Shaffer Geneve Lucy Angela Shaffer (July 20, 1888 – December 13, 1976) was an American realtor, lecturer and writer. In 1909 she was touted by the ''San Francisco Call'' as "the first woman in the world to sail in a flying machine". Early life and fami ...

* Mary Jane Spurlin * Mary Sykes *

Violet Richardson Ward Violet Richardson Ward (August 27, 1888 - August 1979), B. A., M. A., was the founding president of Soroptimist International and a pioneer in American physical education for schoolchildren. Early life Violet Richardson was born in New Jersey on ...

* Ida V. Wells * Madrid Williams

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

* * {{Authority control 1921 establishments in California International women's organizations International nongovernmental organizations Organizations established in 1921 Peace organisations based in the United Kingdom Service organizations