As time moved on towards the next Congress,
the Executive Committee was much occupied
interpreting and implementing the wishes
of the Board Meeting in Helsinki. The expansion
of Widening Horizons necessitated putting
it onto a subscription basis and required
the services of someone experienced in handling
a small magazine with international coverage.
Miss Lisa Sergio, who was now editing it
felt that a much greater contribution of
material from National Federations, payment
for translation and someone part-time to
rewrite articles would be essential. This
would need funds. So also would the sending
of representatives to U.N. meetings and
commissions, to which the Federation was
being invited more and more. If the radio
programme scheduled to go out over the N.B.C.
network for International Week was to be
recorded for countries unable to hear it,
that too would need funds.
Headquarters
had been working all out to keep pace with
developments, and more help was needed.
The devaluation of currency as it affected
member federations and currency restrictions
still imposed by many governments presented
many problems. The Finnish Federation had
helped by paying the costs of the Helsinki
Board Meeting and was now being credited
with dues to a similar amount. The question
whether the Federation should continue to
be represented on the Liaison Committee
of Women's Organisations was still unresolved.
It was decided no action be taken until
the pattern of Consultation in process of
review by the United Nations had been settled.
The
Fifth Congress opened at Central Hall, Westminster,
London on July 31, 1950, under the patronage
of H.R.H. Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of
Edinburgh. Over 2,000 Delegates and Observers
had registered representing twenty countries.
Dame Caroline Haslett welcomed the gathering
on behalf of the United Federations of Great
Britain. It was the largest gathering of
business and professional women ever held.
Four Federations, Danish, Rhodesian, South
African, and Swiss, were welcomed as new
affiliates.
Among
the resolutions passed was one moved by
Dr. Lena Madesin Phillips, which empowered
and instructed the Board of Directors:
"When
requested by a Member Federation to investigate,
through the United Nations or otherwise,
any alleged infringement of the rights guaranteed
to the individual by the Declaration of
Human Rights or by the Charter of the United
Nations, particularly where our own members
are involved, the Board of Directors shall
take such action as deemed wise."
The
voting was unanimously in favour, but Miss
Sally Butler, making doubly sure, called
on all those present without the right to
vote to endorse this resolution by standing.
All present stood. Another resolution concerning
the training, skills, and experience of
man and woman power of each country, urged
an investigation into the problems faced
in any sphere of employment of women over
40 years of age, and for appropriate action
by National Federations to obtain a solution
of these problems.
On
the Federation's domestic affairs, the two
most important resolutions adopted entitled
its elected officers, irrespective of country,
to vote at its Congresses, and authorised
the holding of Regional Meetings.
The
theme throughout the Congress was "The
Trained Woman" and brilliant talks
were given under the subtitles "Her
Contribution to World Affairs, to Everyday
Living, and to the Work of the United Nations."
Miss Barbara Ward, Economist and ex-Governor
of the British Broadcasting Company, said
that women's contributions must be made
as trained executives and responsible citizens
fostering humanitarian feelings to "overcome
the tendency to find the statistics and
lose the man." Women were responsible
for the early training of new generations,
and it was vitally important they should
give and earn confidence and respect. Miss
Gordon Holmes touched upon a weakness in
women's outlook on finance when she urged
them, if they wished to become partners
with men in world affairs, to take a lesson
from men in bold imaginative spending. The
foregoing and later talks on the best possible
training being made available for the housewife,
the growing contribution of women to housing
programmes, and of women architects to studies
in housing design, and their part in planning
open spaces in cities for the greater health
of the population, all carried the stamp
of the aims of national programmes. The
wider resources of the International Federation
had not yet been fully explored. Dr. Margaret
Hickey, reporting on the work of its United
Nations Committee, was emphatic. She said:
"The
continuing job on an international level
of Government is so immense ... that we
cannot follow all areas of interest no matter
how expert the committee, how large the
staff cooperating ... our membership has
great diversity of interest and considerable
disagreement in a number of areas under
consideration."
It
was necessary to narrow down to a defined
area of work which the Federation was equipped
to carry forward effectively. For this a
greater response from individual Federations
to enquiries was needed as a basis for comment
before the Commissions and Committees. The
place of women in world leadership had been
highlighted by the work of Mrs. Eleanor
Roosevelt as Chairman of the Human Rights
Commission; increased participation by women
in the 1949 Session of the General Assembly
was encouraging. Fifteen countries had included
women in their delegations. For thousands
of B. & P. W. members, participation
in the international level of
Government
had become a reality. As far back as 1934,
it will be remembered, the Federation succeeded
in getting exemption for certain categories
of women in leading positions from the Convention
on Night Work for Women. Now, in 1949, the
Federation had been the only women's organisation
officially invited by the I.L.O. to send
an Observer to the Advisory Committee on
Salaried Employees and Professional Workers.
The
ways in which the International Federation
had made use of its Consultative Status
in Category B with the Economic and Social
Council of the United Nations was summed
up by Miss Ruth Tomlinson of Great Britain,
recipient of the first Fellowship granted
by the International, with particular regard
to the Status of Women Commission.
This Fellowship enabled
the holder to attend three Commissions at
Lake Success for a period of nine weeks.
The
positive goal of the Commission, then as
now, was the removal of discrimination against
women everywhere. The Federation had highlighted
the position of women in 20 countries still
unable to vote. In Beirut in 1949, the International's
Consultants urged a convention on Married
Persons to ensure married women full equality
in nationality and prevent hardships arising
from becoming stateless. Property Rights
of married women and Family Law, equal opportunities
of access to education and public service
at all levels, the rate for the job, policy
making posts to be opened to women at the
U.N., their vocational guidance, and access
to positions in all fields, particularly
in agricultural and less developed countries,
were matters upon which the International
could make recommendations. It did so within
the range of those Federations which had
responded to questions and requests for
information. It must, however, be realised
that this section of work was only a part,
however important, of the Federation's Three-Year
Plan as adopted in Paris in 1947.
Putting
forward the Plan for the next three years
(1950-1953), the Committee's Chairman, Miss
Kathleen Armistead of Great Britain, drew
attention to a Minority Report from Mrs.
Liljegren of Sweden, which wished to change
the emphasis of the major report. She said
the four Nordic Federations held the opinion
that the question of equal remuneration
for men and women should be a main consideration.
The
Report adopted recognised the need to strengthen
the International Federation itself and
the bonds between Member Federations as
a preliminary to more effective external
action. It concentrated, therefore, on increasing
its financial resources, preferably by expansion
in countries where no Federations existed,
as well as a study of the "techniques"
of expansion within those already active.
Widening Horizons, it was felt, should be
supported and enlarged and include another
language than English and French (possibly
a Scandinavian one to increase circulation).
Regional meetings were to be encouraged
and exchange visits developed when financially
possible. An effective research into anomalies,
the examination of difficulties which militate
against women in training facilities and
their entry into appropriate professional
bodies and other still vital factors remained
unexhausted from previous years. Behind
them, and giving substance to them, was
expressed support for the third object of
the International Federation, namely, "To
promote friendly relations and understanding
among business and professional women of
all countries."
Certainly
the festivities may be said to have warmed
the hearts of those present. The British
Vogue Export Book gave tea at the Hyde Park
Hotel, which was followed by a fashion show
by the Incorporated Society of London Fashion
Designers. The same evening, Princess Marina,
the Duchess of Kent, graced with her presence
a reception by H.M.’s Government at
the Tate Gallery, where members had supper
in the Galleries and wandered among world
famous art treasures. The Chief Warden entertained
groups of members to dinner and the Ceremony
of the Keys at the Tower of London, bringing
it to life with appropriate anecdotes. Among
the organisations offering hospitality with
their own particular flavour were: The Electrical
Association for Women, the Royal College
of Nurses, and the Society of Women Journalists.
A trip down the Thames with the Port of
London Authority, visits to various industrial
establishments, a reception by the London
County Council, and a concert under the
auspices of the Arts Council of Great Britain
by no means exhausted the list of events.
It was the Banquet at the Guildhall which
made history. For the first time, this ancient
city hall was handed over for use by a women's
international organisation. A lucky 700
delegates and observers from twenty countries
heard Miss Sally Butler, retiring President,
propose the toast to the "City of London,"
with as she said "some trepidation"
because she was aware that "history
is being made here tonight in a hall whose
every beam and stone is laden with historic
events ... the City is a citadel of independence
and freedom. Even a king must beg admission
at Temple Bar to come within your precinct,"
a reference to the ancient ceremony still
observed on Lord Mayor's Day when the Sovereign
is entertained at Guildhall in the City
of London.
There had been no nominations
other than Dame Caroline Haslett, D.B.E.,
of Great Britain for the succession to President.
She
took over on August 5, when the Board of
Directors held its Post Congress Meeting
at Church House, Westminster. On the agenda
was the resolution on Human Rights discussed
at previous special meetings of the Board.
In the realm of expansion plans members
of the Executive Committee and the Board
of Directors had talked to many Observers
about ways and means of forming clubs which
would be democratic in organisation and
be able to carry out the Federation's objectives
at national level. It was agreed to ask
the Executive to arrange for Miss Bergliot
Lie to visit clubs in Germany before affiliation
was considered.
Reporting
on financial conditions, Mrs. Phillips-Marder
had said that the International Delegates'
Fund conceived at the West European Regional
Conference in 1948 had been shown to be
justified in that delegates had been brought
from as far afield as Australia, itself
a contributor, and New Zealand.
Besides
giving the right to elected officers of
the Federation to vote at International
Congresses, another important addition to
the Constitution was adopted. It provided
for Regional Meetings to be convened by
any national Federation after consultation
with the Executive Committee. When held,
such Regional Meetings would have the power
to make recommendations to the Executive
or the Board of Directors, but not to take
executive action. Moreover, any recommendations
coming from a Regional Meeting must have
unanimous agreement among the participating
Federations. Failing this, the recommendations
could only be submitted under the names
of the approving countries and not as a
Regional decision. Legislation was retained
as a standing Committee after some discussion
as to whether it should be a subcommittee
of the United Nations Committee. The Commercial
Exchange Committee was removed. Headquarters,
instead of being fixed by the President
upon taking up office, were to be permanently
in London, England.
This
decision came opportunely for Dame Caroline
Haslett, the new President. She made it
possible for an office to be used at 35
Grosvenor Place, S.W.1, in the building
of the Electrical Association for Women,
of which she was Chairman and therefore
conveniently at hand.
Following
Mrs. Claridge Taylor's announcement that
she would shortly have to retire as Treasurer
owing to pressure of domestic reasons, Miss
Doris Smart of Great Britain was asked to
become Assistant Treasurer. This, to everyone's
delight, she agreed to do. Later, she took
on full office as Treasurer, and until her
sudden death in 1969 held everyone's confidence
and affection. Her first international triumph
had been the organisation, as its Honorary
Secretary, of the 1950 Congress in London.
Dame
Caroline set about getting the standing
Committees up to full complement. There
were now seven: Employment Conditions, Finance,
Legislation, Membership, Publicity, United
Nations (an umbrella for subcommittees on
UNESCO, ILO, WHO), and the Fellowship. The
Fine Arts Committee had been retained also
by the narrow majority of 4 after much airing
of conflicting opinions on the interest
provided by the arts as a line of communication
even in time of war and the need in some
countries for the protection of women artists,
as against the suggested undesirability
of favouring one sphere of professions within
the ranks of the Federation and the possibility
of it leading to harmful discrimination.
The
14th Meeting of the Board of Directors was
held for the first time in Holland from
June 26-28, 1951, at the famous Kurhaus
at Scheveningen. The revival of the Dutch
Federation, Dr. Van Meerten, its President
said, was "mainly due to the concern
women felt over the economic and social
problems resulting from the war." Mrs.
Fortanier De Wit, Member of Parliament,
followed this up by saying that "as
it is a woman's job to reconcile conflicting
members of the family to allow it to grow
and develop in peace, so it is a woman's
job to shoulder her responsibilities to
do the same in the family of nations."
The official welcome of the Government of
the Netherlands was offered at the opening
session by the Minister for Social Affairs,
Dr. A. M. Joekes and for the Hague by Alderman
Mr. C. C. A. van Luttervelt, who gave rare
evidence of having read Widening Horizons.
At
the Public Meeting which followed after
luncheon, Mrs. Agda Rössel (Sweden)
took a thoughtfully militant line on the
theme "men and women working together
in partnership." It was but a step
from that to the talk on "Training
for Civic Responsibility" delivered
by Dr. J. F. Schouwenaar-Franssen (Holland).
Finally, "equal educational facilities
and vocational opportunities" was the
plea of Miss O. M. Hastings, M.A. (Great
Britain), who said that true partnership
was not yet achieved in most countries because
the potentialities of women were not developed
to the same extent as those of men.
UNESCO
desired to give special attention to the
problem of access of women to education,
and the International Federation could give
valuable help to UNESCO, she said.
Under
the influence of such evergreen considerations,
members next focussed their attention on
what was happening in their own house.
Finance
was still complicated by currency regulations,
and though Mrs. Claridge Taylor, Treasurer,
reported that dues had been received from
14 countries and Holland's would be met
against the Board Meeting expenses, this
did not save the Budget presented by Mrs.
Phillips-Marder, Finance Chairman, from
showing a deficit of $1,945. For the first
time, two offices were necessarily being
maintained-Headquarters in London and the
New York Office to disseminate releases
from the United Nations, the preparation
and dispatch of Widening Horizons and other
essential work. Judge Hughes (U.S.A) doubted
the wisdom of presenting a budget which
showed a deficit but Mrs. Phillips-Marder
said she was confident that increased membership
would balance the deficit, and in fact,
this did happen.
Western
Germany and Berlin had been entrusted to
Miss Bergliot Lie, the Federation's Honorary
Secretary. The Women's Affairs Officers
in the British and American Zones were very
helpful. But it was the keen interest of
the German women themselves which brought
about the formation of Clubs and their application
for affiliation as a Federation. This was
made the subject of a mail vote which gave
consent. Other individual members were actively
making contacts in many parts of the world
which were eventually to become Associate
Members, or Federations where the required
qualification of at least three clubs made
full affiliation possible.
Membership
and the work of the United Nations continued
to make the heaviest demands on cooperation
from National Federations. "Some do
very well, others not so well. Some people
answer letters, some do not," said
Dame Caroline. It is apparently a universal
weakness, an automatic brake on achievement
and wasteful drain on the finances of all
voluntary organisations. On the other hand,
it might be a safeguard against premature
decisions or ill-digested information.
The
United Nations Committee, chaired by Miss
Ruth Tomlinson, in spite of the difficult
and specialised nature of its work, had
succeeded in putting forward a coordinated
statement on the Legal Status of Women questionnaire
which had earned praise and recognition.
This was one way in which the International
Federation was carrying out the obligations
of its Consultative Status in Category B
with the Economic and Social Council. Another
was the way Mrs. Esther W. Hymer, who had
succeeded Dr. Hickey as the Federation's
Representative to the U.N. Commissions in
New York, fed information to National Federations
so that an opinion would evolve from coordinating
the work of the subcommittees through the
National representatives. The details of
this most important and complicated side
of the Federation's work make good reading,
but are beyond the scope of a publication
such as this one.
Twenty-one
years had now passed since the International
Federation was inaugurated. Its Founder,
President Dr. Lena Madesin Phillips, commenting
on this fact at the Banquet held towards
the end of the Congress, said, "Gone
were the uncertainties; in their place lay
a record of achievement, a course charted."
Recalling the period 1939 through 1946,
Dr. Phillips said the "International
had found its soul... Finally when at last
the Nations convened at San Francisco to
form the United Nations, a copy of the Federation's
considered suggestions lay on the desk of
every delegate."
The
toast to H.M. Queen Juliana of the Netherlands
was proposed by Dame Caroline Haslett. Earlier
Queen Juliana had graciously received some
of the Officers of the Federation, including
Dr. Phillips, and revealed her deep interest
in the activities of women. Under the arrangements
made by Mrs. George van Os and her Committee,
a programme of festivities, entertainments,
and excursions to places of industrial and
artistic fame ended this memorable visit
to Holland.
Holland
was followed a year later, almost to the
day, by the 15th Board Meeting held at the
Savoy-Plaza Hotel, New York, June 24-26,
1952. A well-known figure was missing. Miss
Gordon Holmes, former Finance Chairman and
Founder of the National Federation of Business
and Professional Women's Clubs in Great
Britain, who had achieved so much to improve
the financial climate of the International,
had died on November 21 the previous year.
Dame Caroline Haslett, presiding, opened
the proceedings in pleasurable but serious
vein saying that "one could not live
in a world of opportunity and privileges
without accepting the corresponding responsibilities."
Judge Sarah T. Hughes, President of the
American Federation, read a message from
President Harry S. Truman which said that
"private groups like the Federation,
profitably exchanging views and experiences,
were promoting international understanding."
Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt was evidently of
the same mind. When attending the General
Assembly, she had noticed that while Government
officials were well-informed on the United
Nations, the people seemed woefully lacking
in knowledge. The day had passed, she said,
when matters could be left to Governments.
It was important that women should be concerned
in opening up as many avenues of communication
as possible, and her message to the International
Federation was that it could do a very great
service by spreading knowledge.
It
was a day of thoughtful and well-informed
talks. Though not every member present might
hope to reach the same heights of understanding
of world affairs as some of the speakers,
few could be deaf to the call to an intelligent
approach to its problems.
Meanwhile,
their attention was claimed by a full agenda
to carry the International's own work a
step further. The many aspects of the Federation's
relations with the United Nations and its
specialised agencies were reported upon
by Miss Ruth Tomlinson, and showed the same
team of members had continued their work
since the last Board Meeting. Searching
reports from its National Federations had
been transmitted to the Status of Women
Commission and to the Commission on Human
Rights, and also, through its subcommittees,
to the ILO, UNESCO and WHO. In this way,
the voice of the Federation was being heard
on many questions vitally important to business
and professional women, which came within
the Federation's expressed aims.
Social
events included a flying visit to Washington
where, at the White House, delegates shook
hands with President Harry Truman with pleasant
informality. Lunch at the Capitol with seven
of the ten women members of the House of
Representatives, and a visit to the Senate
and to the House while in session filled
a day of great interest. These arrangements
had been brought about by the District of
Columbia State Federation and by Representative
Errett P. Scrivner of Kansas. The closing
Banquet was held in the Plaza Hotel Ballroom
in New York. Many of the members experienced
a heat wave for the first time. H.E. Hernan
Santa Cruz, Chilean Ambassador and delegate
to the U.N., and H.E. Mrs. Pearle Mesta,
U.S. Minister to Luxembourg, were among
the guest speakers. The theme running through
all the speeches was that the power of women
intelligently used could provide the structure
for the kind of peace, with freedom and
self-respect, for which mankind so desperately
yearns.
There
was one thing which made this Meeting different
from any other so far. It was due to Mr.
J. B. Orrick, Chief of the Section of Nongovernmental
Organisations Services of the Department
of Public Information at United Nations.
In its impressive new Headquarters, the
Committee of Nongovernmental Organisations
was discussing the handling of complaints
on petitions against Governments. The Chairman
drew attention to the presence of 150 members
of the International Federation and expressed
appreciation for the interest the organisation
had shown in the work of the United Nations.
In another Conference room, they heard about
the work that UNRRA, a group of sixty sovereign
nations, was doing. Mr. William Agar, Director
of these Special Services said "the
United Nations would only be as good as
people made it." His words might be
applied to the Federation itself. It had
gotten off to a good start with the quality
and unself-seeking character of its pioneers.
Their spirit was echoed in a Memorial Resolution
passed at this meeting, the tenth anniversary
of the execution of Senator Frantiska Plaminkova
of Czechoslovakia, a former Vice-President
and woman of great ability, wide sympathies
and courage.
When
the Sixth Triennial Congress was held from
July 5-10 in 1953 in Stockholm, the Federation
had moved a long way. In the previous three
years, its activities had increased so much
that a "three-year plan," as previously
followed, seemed to have been outgrown.
The Federation's structure of Standing Committees
was now much stronger and reinforced by
the practice of setting up ad hoc Committees
to deal with matters not otherwise specified.
Invitations were even more numerous to send
representatives to Conferences of the Specialised
Agencies and other Organisations. The latest
had been from the Food and Agricultural
Organisation, which asked the Federation
to consider forming an F.A.O. subcommittee.
Indeed there was some anxiety in the minds
of Executive Members that the Federation's
activities were in danger of outrunning
its machinery. To meet this situation an
Ad Hoc Committee on Procedure had been formed
and briefed to study the situation. As a
result, a number of minor changes tidying
up the Constitution were adopted by Congress.
An addition of some importance was proposed
by the Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish
Federations supported by the Ad Hoc Committee.
It required that any new National Federation
should submit its Constitution and bylaws
for approval on applying for membership.
This had not previously been a requirement
for affiliation.
A motion
in favour of four-yearly Congresses instead
of three-yearly was defeated by 52 votes
to 42. It was, however, agreed that the
Board of Directors should meet immediately
after and in the same place as Congress,
and then only once in the intervening two
years. The need for a Programme Coordination
Committee was recognised by a vote of 59
to 12. This was intended to ease the strain
on the Executive Committee and include plans
for International Week, which had been annually
observed, and any special projects which
might present themselves.
The
Congress had opened in the Great Hall of
the Konserthuset, Stockholm, with the Prime
Minister Tage Erlander speaking after the
welcome by Miss Brita Elmen, Member of Parliament,
and President of the Swedish Federation.
He is reported as saying that an investigation
by the Labour Market Committee had revealed
that a housewife with children at home and
who was employed in industry had only 48
minutes of leisure throughout a 24-hour
day.
This
must have been especially interesting to
the Employment Conditions Committee, which
reported that in some countries, employers'
and employees' organisations pursued a "wait
and see" policy with regard to part-time
employment, though their fear was more for
a possible negative effect on wages. The
report on a questionnaire on the subject
sent to National Federations, as presented
to the Board Meetings in Holland in 1951,
and in the United States in 1952, had been
submitted to the Status of Women Commission
but the result of their discussion was not
yet known.
Very
full reports from the Federation's standing
Committees had been circulated prior to
the meeting. That of the United Nations
Committee and its subcommittees ran into
some thousands of words. It was an important
reminder, it was claimed, "of a few
of the goals for which the International
had battled for nearly 30 years and of the
policies which have, at all times, guided
their actions through their consultants
at international level."
During
discussion, a warning note was struck by
a member from Finland, who feared that the
Federation was tending to become a specialized
agency of the United Nations, and another
from the United States commented on the
need for the Federation to continue its
work with the U.N., yet to retain its independence...
the countries of some member Federations
did not yet belong to the United Nations.
 Miss
Ruth Tomlinson, Chairman, saw fit to remind
members of the Federation's Consultative
Status. During the previous three years,
the Federation had been represented at those
specialised Agencies and Commissions which
dealt with questions within the competence
of its members. At National level, Clubs
had been encouraged to assist in building
a better informed public opinion on world
affairs.
Subcommittees
were sometimes faced with increasing difficulties
as, owing to expanding membership, their
composition was spread over considerable
distances, and in the case of UNESCO, its
Chairman, Miss Challis Hooper, said a great
deal of work had devolved upon other officers
which should properly be carried out by
the subcommittee. In fact, the penalties
of success, it seems, were beginning to
appear alongside the rewards.
Mrs.
Claridge Taylor was able to finish as Honorary
Treasurer, after fifteen years in that office,
with the satisfactory report that income
had exceeded expenditure by $25,861.93 (£9,236).
A scroll illuminated by a British artist,
Mr. Henry J. Fisher, was presented to her
for a "devotion far beyond the ordinary
demands of office."
Membership
was now some 350,000, and Miss Hyndman,
the Chairman of that Committee, said the
Membership Clinic at the time of the Board
Meeting in New York had provided some fine
ideas. Also, the Membership Development
Committee, under the Chairmanship of Mrs.
Margaret Thompson, had been most effective
in an experiment to bring together groups
from National Federations, and in supplying
information and advice. Unfortunately, Miss
Lisa Sergio had found that technical problems
involved in running commercial advertising
in Widening Horizons were beyond the ability
of its small circulation, and the high costs
of mailing the journal restricted the flow
of information, however good its quality.
It was still being published in English
and French.
Once
again, the hostess Federation excelled in
its social programme. Queen Louise paid
the Federation the compliment of returning
from her summer vacation specially to greet
the fourteen hundred members with a smile
and a handshake, and here and there a few
words of conversation as they moved through
the rooms of the Swedish Royal Summer Palace
of Drottningholm. The Banquet in the Blue
Hall of the Stadshuset provided a breathtaking
moment of pageantry as the V.I.P.s proceeded
down its magnificent staircase to the haunting
strains of an old Swedish folk song.
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