International Council of Women
Encyclopedia
The International Council of Women (ICW) was the first women's organization to work across national boundaries for the common cause of advocating human rights for women. In March and April 1888, women leaders came together in Washington D.C. with 80 speakers and 49 delegates representing 53 women's organizations from 9 countries: Canada
, the United States
, Ireland
, India
, England
, Finland
, Denmark
, France
and Norway
. Women from professional organizations, trade unions, arts groups and benevolent societies participate. National Councils are affiliated to the ICW and thus make themselves heard at international level. The ICW enjoys consultative status with the UN and its Permanent Representatives to: ECOSOC, ILO, FAO, WHO, UNDP, UNEP, UNESCO, UNICEF, UNCTAD, UNIDO, etc.
managed much of the details of the planning of the first ICW, and Susan B. Anthony
presided over 8 of the 16 sessions. The ICW drafted a constitution and established national meetings every three years and international meetings every five years.
Millicent Garrett Fawcett (of England) was elected as president but she refused to serve. Other early ICW presidents were:
In the early years, the United States supported many of the expenses of the organization and dues from U.S. members made up a significant part of the budget. Most meetings were held in Europe or North America, and they adopted the use of three official languages - English, French and German - which discouraged participation from women of non-European origin. The ICW did not actively promote women's suffrage
as to not upset the more conservative members. In 1904 at the Berlin congress of the ICW, a separate organization formed to accommodate the strong feminist identity of the national suffrage associations: the International Woman Suffrage Alliance.
In 1925 the ICW convened their first coalition, the Joint Standing Committee of the Women's International Organisations, to lobby for the appointment of women to the League of Nations. By 1931 The League of Nations called together a "Women's Consultative Committee on Nationality" to address the issue of woman's rights (and their nationality) when married to a man from another country. Two additional coalitions were formed in 1931: the Liaison Committee and the Peace and Disarmament Committee. The ICW constitution was revised in 1936.
National Council of Women of the United States
was founded in 1888 at the first ICW gathering. The National Council of Women of Canada
was founded in 1893. The first National Council of Women of Australia
was established in 1931 to coordinate the state bodies existing prior to Australia's Federation
.
during the 1920s and the United Nations
post-World War II
. Today the ICW holds Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, the highest accreditation an NGO can achieve at the United Nations. Currently, it is composed of 70 countries and has a headquarters in Lasaunne, Switzerland. International meetings are held every three years.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. Women from professional organizations, trade unions, arts groups and benevolent societies participate. National Councils are affiliated to the ICW and thus make themselves heard at international level. The ICW enjoys consultative status with the UN and its Permanent Representatives to: ECOSOC, ILO, FAO, WHO, UNDP, UNEP, UNESCO, UNICEF, UNCTAD, UNIDO, etc.
Beginnings
Rachel Foster AveryRachel Foster Avery
Rachel Foster Avery was a corresponding secretary of the National American Woman Suffrage Association during the late 19th century.-Biography:...
managed much of the details of the planning of the first ICW, and Susan B. Anthony
Susan B. Anthony
Susan Brownell Anthony was a prominent American civil rights leader who played a pivotal role in the 19th century women's rights movement to introduce women's suffrage into the United States. She was co-founder of the first Women's Temperance Movement with Elizabeth Cady Stanton as President...
presided over 8 of the 16 sessions. The ICW drafted a constitution and established national meetings every three years and international meetings every five years.
Millicent Garrett Fawcett (of England) was elected as president but she refused to serve. Other early ICW presidents were:
- Lady AberdeenIshbel Hamilton-Gordon, Marchioness of Aberdeen and TemairIshbel Maria Hamilton-Gordon, Marchioness of Aberdeen and Temair, GBE was a Scottish author, philanthropist and an advocate of woman's interests.-Family:...
(Scotland) 1893-99, 1904–20, 1922–36 - May Wright Sewall (United States) 1899-1904
- Pauline Chaponnière-Chaix (Switzerland) 1920-22
- Baroness Marthe Boël (Belgium) 1936-47
In the early years, the United States supported many of the expenses of the organization and dues from U.S. members made up a significant part of the budget. Most meetings were held in Europe or North America, and they adopted the use of three official languages - English, French and German - which discouraged participation from women of non-European origin. The ICW did not actively promote women's suffrage
Suffrage
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply the franchise, distinct from mere voting rights, is the civil right to vote gained through the democratic process...
as to not upset the more conservative members. In 1904 at the Berlin congress of the ICW, a separate organization formed to accommodate the strong feminist identity of the national suffrage associations: the International Woman Suffrage Alliance.
In 1925 the ICW convened their first coalition, the Joint Standing Committee of the Women's International Organisations, to lobby for the appointment of women to the League of Nations. By 1931 The League of Nations called together a "Women's Consultative Committee on Nationality" to address the issue of woman's rights (and their nationality) when married to a man from another country. Two additional coalitions were formed in 1931: the Liaison Committee and the Peace and Disarmament Committee. The ICW constitution was revised in 1936.
National Council of Women of the United States
National Council of Women of the United States
The National Council of Women of the United States is the oldest, nonsectarian organization of women in America. Officially founded in 1888, the NCW/US traces back to the anti-slavery movement and is now an accredited non-governmental organization with the Department of Public Information and in...
was founded in 1888 at the first ICW gathering. The National Council of Women of Canada
National Council of Women of Canada
The National Council of Women of Canada is a Canadian advocacy organization based in Ottawa aimed at improving conditions for women, families, and communities. A federation of nationally-organized societies of men and women and local and provincial councils of women, it is the Canadian member of...
was founded in 1893. The first National Council of Women of Australia
National Council of Women of Australia
The National Council of Women of Australia is an Australian organisation founded in 1931. The council is an umbrella organisation with which are affiliated seven State and Territory National Councils of Women...
was established in 1931 to coordinate the state bodies existing prior to Australia's Federation
Federation
A federation , also known as a federal state, is a type of sovereign state characterized by a union of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central government...
.
The ICW Today
The ICW worked with the League of NationsLeague of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
during the 1920s and the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
post-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Today the ICW holds Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, the highest accreditation an NGO can achieve at the United Nations. Currently, it is composed of 70 countries and has a headquarters in Lasaunne, Switzerland. International meetings are held every three years.