The Federated Women's Institutes of Ontario (FWIO) is a not-for-profit charitable organization with affiliations around the world, working with and for women in Ontario.
History
The FWIO was organized on February 6, 1919, when it became apparent there was a need for the coordination of the work of the Branch Institutes. The FWIO was incorporated under The Agricultural Associations Act by an order-in-Council of the Government of Ontario, dated May 11, 1921. Through the provincial organization, the Women's Institutes of Ontario are able to speak with authority as one voice.
Origin and growth of women's institutes in Ontario
In 1897,
Adelaide Hoodless
Adelaide Sophia Hoodless (née Addie Hunter; February 27, 1858 – February 26, 1910) was a Canadian educational reformer who founded the international women's organization known as the Women's Institute. She was the second president of the Hami ...
was invited by
Erland Lee
Erland Lee (1864 – 1926) was a Canadian farmer, teacher, and government employee from Stoney Creek, Ontario. He was a co-founder of the Women's Institutes, an international organization originally formed to promote the education of isolate ...
to speak at a Farmers' Institute Ladies Night in
Stoney Creek, Ontario
Stoney Creek is a community in the city of Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton in the Canadian province of Ontario located 10 km east of Downtown Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton and 57 km south-west of Toronto. It was a municipality until 2001, ...
where she suggested the formation of an organization for rural women. The next week, on February 19, 1897, the first formal organization of a Women's Institute took place in Saltfleet Township. The original Branch is now known as the Stoney Creek Charter Women's Institute, by Ontario Regulation 352/78.
Organizational structure
The Branch is the basic building block from which the Women's Institute has grown since its inception in 1897. In Ontario, Members belong to a network that connects Branches to Districts and Areas, as well as to the provincial (FWIO), national (
Federated Women’s Institutes of Canada
Federated may refer to:
* Federated state, a constituent state within a federal state
* Federated school, a model of administration in some educational institutions
* Federated congregation, a type of religious congregation
Computing
* Federat ...
) and international (
Associated Country Women of the World
The Associated Country Women of the World (ACWW) is the largest international organization for rural women, with a membership of nine million in 82 countries (per 2023). ACWW holds a triennial conference and publishes a magazine, ''The Countrywoman ...
) levels of the organization.
See also
*
British Women's Institute
The Women's Institute (WI) is a community-based organization for women in the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand. The movement was founded in Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada, by Erland and Janet Lee with Adelaide Hoodless being the ...
*
Women's rights in Canada
The history of feminism in Canada has been a gradual struggle aimed at establishing equal rights. The history of Canadian feminism, like modern Western feminism in other countries, has been divided by scholars into four "waves", each describing ...
*
Erland Lee Museum
The Erland Lee (Museum) Home is a National Historic Site of Canada located on the ridge of the Niagara Escarpment in Stoney Creek, Hamilton, Ontario. Originally a farmhouse belonging to Erland and Janet Lee, the museum is recognized as the b ...
External links
Federated Women's Institutes of OntarioFederated Women's Institutes of CanadaAssociated Country Women of the World
References
{{Authority control
Organizations based in Canada with royal patronage
Human rights organizations based in Canada
Women's organizations based in Canada
Women in Ontario