It did not pass unnoticed
that a meeting in the month of April brought
a contrast as interesting and diverse as
can be found in the cross section of the
Federation's membership. In April 1964,
the Board met in the new world at Canberra
in an Australian autumn, but in April 1967,
it found the ancient City of Rome under
the spell of an Italian spring.
The
opening ceremony took place in the Capitol,
designed in the Middle Ages by Michelangelo.
The following day there was a Reception
in what is possibly the earliest fortress
in the Roman Empire - Castel Sant' Angelo.
On the third day Pope Paul VI granted an
audience in St. Peter's.
Signor
R. Rebecchini, Surveyor for the City of
Rome Antiquities and Fine Art, welcomed
members of the Federation on behalf of the
Mayor. The last time it had met in Rome
was 37 years ago, a fact noted by Signor
Rebecchini when congratulating it on having
achieved the entry of women into the professions,
a change which had begun in the seventeenth
century, he said, when women, particularly
in Padua and Siena, had started to instruct
other women.
Professor
Gianturco, President of the Italian Federation,
said it had been one of the first to join
during the historic Geneva meeting in 1930.
The Prefect of Rome, Signor Adami, quoted
women children's doctors as having something
which made them better than even "very,
very good men doctors. It was the maternal
feeling." In other sections too, "the
public administration in Italy would collapse"
if the women were withdrawn from it.
Lady
Littlewood, in her presidential address,
moved from the actual challenges implicit
in the current three-year theme to the means
within the International Federation to meet
them. Such a close-knit body as the Federation
should provide an ideal forum for communicating
with each other and exchanging ideas and
experiences. Though a project would not
necessarily be equally suitable in one country
as in another, it might be capable of adaptation
and so be rendered useful to more than one.
For this reason, Lady Littlewood said, it
was a good thing for Federations to know
about each other's programmes through exchange
of their own magazines, by greater use of
Widening Horizons and through standing Committees.
At least two Chairmen had allocated a group
of National Federations to each of their
members. This was a way of achieving com¬munications
whether on internal projects or the wider
sphere of the United Nations, where the
International's representatives needed to
know the views of the membership in order
to put them forward at the appropriate time.
It
was a plea which must be familiar to everyone
holding office of any kind who tries in
all sincerity to present the results of
collective thinking among those who put
them there. Equally familiar must often
be the sense of frustration when members
fail to do their share by not responding.
The
Offices of the International were now in
London. This meant the appointment of new
Staff to replace those who had served it
so well in New York under the direction
of Mrs. Vera Campbell whose death in 1965
was so greatly regretted. Miss Elizabeth
de Bourbel had been appointed as General
Secretary in February 1966 and the following
April the office was transferred to its
present address. The move was completed
in August. While this change was taking
place and three new part-time Staff members
were being appointed, Miss Doris Smart,
former Honorary Secretary, rallied to the
situation. With characteristic good nature
she assumed responsibility for editing and
publishing the proceedings of the Washington
Congress and printing the Constitution and
By-Laws. Miss Margaret McIrvine reported
that plans were well advanced for the Congress
in London in 1968.
The
reports of the Standing Committees were
received with general satisfaction, starting
with that of the Finance Chairman. Mrs.
King drew attention to the first credit
balance for four years, the economies achieved
by moving the office to London, the possibilities
for expanded programmes and service as a
result of the increased income brought by
the 25c. Dues.
There
was a pleasing report also from Miss Elisabeth
Feller on the activity of the ad hoc Committee
for Rehabilitation and Refugee Relief. She
said that 20 girls in the new business class,
1966/68, at Ramallah College had been sponsored
by member Federations and there was some
left over for a second segment. The Committee
had received a request from an African Federation
for assistance for a training school for
young girls but technical assistance of
that nature was outside the Committee's
scope at that moment. Moreover new schemes
might not have the same facility which the
Ramallah scheme enjoyed in that the school
was already established under U.N.R.W.A.
Advantages were by no means all one sided.
The Federation stood to gain from its support
of Ramallah. This was illustrated by the
reception given Miss Ruth Tomlinson during
her promotional tour of the Middle East
in 1967. In Kuwait she had received a very
good welcome. Some of the Ramallah graduates
were employed by the Kuwait Oil Company
and she had met them at a tea party. There
she made a contact which resulted in a television
show and thanks from the Minister of Social
Affairs for making known the work of B.P.W.
In thinking about expansion, it cannot be
overlooked that in some countries official
permission has to be obtained before a Club
can function. Certain formalities surround
such an application. For instance, a copy
of the Constitution, a complete list of
members with their addresses, telephone
numbers and occupations must be supplied
(in quintuplicate) to the right Ministry
or the Police, and officeholders and members
should be prepared to be interviewed.
Miss
Tomlinson's journey had been made to do
exploratory work. She had been through the
Middle East and into India doing all she
could to make existing Clubs feel less isolated,
and prepare the ground for new ones. She
had, in fact, done great service the results
of which, to borrow her own words, she could
"only wait and see." Her route
had taken her to Lebanon, Syria, Jordan,
Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and India (Bombay,
New Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Sitapur and West
Bengal). Promotional work was also in progress
in the Caribbean by Mrs. Bayley who was
sponsored by the Canadian Federation.
It
probably cannot be said too often that Club
programmes must be interesting, helpful
and related to the aims and objects of the
Federation. These could also and often did
benefit the local Community. Sometimes this
was achieved by the B.P.W. Club working
in cooperation with School or local authorities,
by sponsoring other Clubs for Girls of Senior
School level. These Clubs provided development
in leadership, training and citizenship.
Not all countries could hope to reach the
level of approximately half-a-million dollars
which Clubs and State Federations in the
U.S.A. raised annually to give financial
aid to mature women no less than to college
students who wished to further their education.
But even on lesser terms it was possible
to point to the obvious advantages of activities
which projected the International work,
whether in the art of management in countries
where women were established in business
and the professions, or in the art of homemaking
as in the emergent countries where background
conditions presented many difficulties.
The
International had been invited to serve
on a semiofficial group set up to reexamine
the consultative process. To emphasise the
importance of proper briefing, Mrs. Esther
Hymer reminded the meeting that submissions
by the International Federation were circulated
to 122 members of the United Nations. Despite
the widely publicised political problems
of the U.N., some two-thirds of its work
was concerned with people. Little could
be done in many countries to improve conditions
under which they lived and worked without
first improving the position of the women.
Mrs. Hymer said United Nations Agencies
acted on the requests of governments which,
in their turn, must be made aware of the
competence of women. At B.P.W. Club level
this involved study and research. Speakers
from F.A.O. left no doubt that they thought
the Federation could do immensely valuable
work in generating the interest that would
provide the right kind of assistance to
developing countries. Dr. Charles Weitz
asked for understanding of the importance
of agriculture, and Dr. Ingred Janelid,
the need for training in home economics
or the preparation of food, and the ability
to read.
A realistic
attitude was evident towards the need not
only to retrain women in vocational skills
but to give psychological assistance in
adjusting to the work situation after being
out of it for some years. Resolutions urging
member Federations to press with the responsible
authorities for recognition of the requirements
of a changing world were unanimously carried,
nor was there any opposition to one which
called upon B.P.W. Federations to work actively
to create in their clubs an atmosphere without
prejudice as to race, language or religion,
social origin or status.
There
were, however, divergent views on a resolution
that Federations and Associates should consider
timing their national programmes to follow
each Congress so that over the same period
of time all would be actively giving thought
to matters of prime
importance to the International Federation.
Some thought there was a danger in too much
streamlining although, on some issues, the
impact on individual governments would be
greater when it was known that all were
being approached. The motion was carried
by 32 votes to 15 with 2 abstentions.
Six
Discussion Groups, four in English and two
in French, had been going on between business
Sessions. There appears to be no doubt that
they produced a great amount of valuable
material exchanges for delegations to take
back and adapt to the differing needs of
their own countries.
A proposition
was carried for the future: that National
Federations should register their annual
conventions with the International whose
own Board Meetings and Congresses should
be fixed at least five years ahead.
A most
enjoyable part of the social side was the
Banquet held in the Ballroom of the Cavalieri
Hilton Hotel. Members rose to toast the
President of Italy, proposed by Lady Littlewood.
The Guests of Honour were His Excellency
Sir Evelyn Shuckburg, British Ambassador
in Italy, and Signor Adami, the Prefect
of Rome who responded to the toast of the
President of the Republic of Italy.
The
toast to the International Federation of
Business and Professional Women was given
by H.E. Sir Evelyn Shuckburg who said, "I
see that you regard business and the professions
not so much as an end in themselves for
women but as a means by which women can
come to play a more equal and effective
part in society and its future developments."
Dr.
Adami, adding to the points he had made
in his welcoming address, said that the
secret of achieving real peace was through
people learning to know each other better.
The
resolutions of thanks on the closing day
contained many names which would be remembered
as contributing to the all around success
of this 27th Meeting of the Board of Directors.
There remained nothing more to do in the
formal sense than to wish for safe journeys
home and happy memories, inspired by enthusiasm
for the B.P.W. organisation; this Lady Littlewood
did, knowing that individually members would
once more have gained a great deal from
contact with their contemporaries.
The
next time they were to meet was in London
from August 19 to 24, 1968. The attendance
was the largest there had ever been. Some
1,684 members were accommodated in Grosvenor
House or in neighbouring Hotels. The Conference
Hall was the great ballroom of Grosvenor
House which had recently been adapted to
seat 1,800 people. The acoustics were unusually
good and the earphones were only necessary
to those who wanted the instant translation
service they provided. Twice this great
hall was cleared and rearranged as a dining
hall because the Banquet was divided on
two different nights owing to the large
numbers. The official guests, like the members
attending, were also different on each occasion.
The International Officers attended both
nights and the division gave occasion for
all the Vice-Presidents to introduce a Speaker
or propose a toast. The Guest Speaker on
the first night, Sir Anthony Meyer, was
one time British diplomat turned politician
who was accompanied by Lady Meyer. Speaking
of the mess "science had got the world
into" out of which "science can
get us," he referred to the prediction
that by 1980, half of the people in America
would be making things yet to be invented.
"Has anybody stopped to think whether
inventing these things is going to satisfy
man's real wants, to still his real fears,
to satisfy his real hopes?" he asked.
On
the second night, Baroness Birk, a life-peeress
whose elevation to the British House of
Lords typifies the progress of women in
a world until recently reserved for men
and privilege said, "If women really
wanted to take action and lead the way they
could have done so, could have altered priorities
and seen that education and the Social Services
came first, but their natures were divided.
By putting a high priority on the value
of family life, a woman can trample on other
values which she ought to take into account."
Another guest was Sir Louis Gluckstein who
called the long happy married life of himself
and Lady Gluckstein, who was also present,
an example of the benefits of equality.
Technological advance and what science has
done had not produced the really understanding
heart, he said, and he begged the Federation
through its International activities to
sound a warning note. Many other social
arrangements included a visit to the Ballet
at the Royal Festival Hall with John Gilpin
and Dagmar Kessler in The Sleeping Beauty,
and the always much appreciated private
entertainment by Clubs or individuals, and
educational and pleasure tours of various
kinds. An International service in St. Paul's
Cathedral was attended by 600 members on
the eve of the opening. The ceremony itself
was preluded by a message from Her Majesty
Queen Elizabeth II, Patron of this 11th
Congress. The Lord Mayor of Westminster
was represented by his Deputy, Councillor
Lieutenant-Colonel R.F. Shaw-Kennedy. Everyone
had been welcomed by Miss Mildred Head,
President of the National Federation of
Business and Professional Women's Clubs
of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and
the International President, Lady Littlewood,
had replied.
The
formal acceptance of opening came from the
Duke of Bedford, who was accompanied by
his Duchess. Messages from President Lyndon
B. Johnson and Prime Minister Mrs. Indira
Gandhi, were among the many good wishes
received for a successful Congress.
Reviewing
the three years of her Presidency, Lady
Littlewood referred to the generosity of
the American Federation in inviting the
International to select one young woman
from each of three European countries to
attend their Federation's National Convention
in Minneapolis. Their fares and living expenses
would be paid in their entirety by the U.S.
Business and Professional Women's Federation.
One young woman from each of these countries,
England, Belgium and Finland, had been selected.
Lady Littlewood said that for some years
it had been the practice for each State
to take one Career Woman as their guest
to their National Convention. By this means
many young women in America just beginning
their careers are made aware of the ideals
for which B.P.W. is working. This is farseeing
and links up with Lady Littlewood's remark
later that "what we can achieve as
women is directly related to what we try
to achieve, and the clarity of our vision
and the determination with which we set
about achieving our objectives also relate
to our final achievement." She urged
employers to invest in training women because
even after her family has grown up, a woman
may be facing half a century of life which
could be more productive, if she had trained,
and that valuable commodity – womanpower
– would not be wasted.
The
decisions of the 1968 Congress in London
are still too near for an assessment of
their effects. The Delegates' Travelling
Fund was brought into line with the method
of collecting annual dues and the registration
of dates with Headquarters was incorporated.
In the realm of taxation, an interesting
resolution was for National Federations
and Associates to study the laws in their
own countries and, where necessary, to urge
responsible bodies to have taxation defined
so that the laws "neither penalise
nor favour different civilian status nor
working conditions (such as gainful employment
or household work within the home)."
The exchange of messages on International
Nights was upheld with five specified items
to be sought and circulated by December
1 each year - number of Clubs and members,
achievements in the last twelve months,
current programme theme and established
future plans. Others concerned the date
for announcing the triennium theme, and
requests that Chairmen of the International's
Standing Committees should give more guidance
to their National counterparts and act as
liaison between them. Two resolutions allowed
as emergency ones raised an appeal for member
Federations to obtain international harmonisation
of training and qualifications for immigrants,
and in case of transplants of organs, to
urge their Government and Medical bodies
to establish and conform to a standard code
of ethics including (1) specific and accepted
definitions of death and (2) a central coordinating
office to select donors and recipients.
A third resolution did not meet the qualification
of "urgency" and the sponsors
were advised to submit it in the ordinary
way for the next Congress. More members
were subscribing to Widening Horizons, which
Miss Patience Thoms described as the members'
"hot line" to the International.
Promotional material had been prepared to
help further sales. Miss Doris Smart had
suggested that the French text might sometimes
appear on the front page as well as inside,
and Mrs. Woods carried the idea further
suggesting different languages on the front
page throughout the year. No decision was
made since much would depend on the magazine's
financial position. Two U.N.E.S.C.O. travel
grants had been made to members of the International.
One grant was in favour of Mrs. Jibunoh
of the Nigerian Federation to whom Federations
in the United Kingdom, Switzerland and France
acted as hostesses. The second grant was
awarded to Mrs. Manurat of the Associate
Bangkok Club in Thailand for whom the Australian
Federation arranged a three months' tour.
In
connection with Human Rights Year, Mrs.
Paula van Gorp enumerated replies from eleven
Federations, which showed considerable activity,
with similar problems recurring over and
over again. A tribute from the Chief of
NGO's Section of the Economic and Social
Council Secretariat had contained the remark
that "The Federation can be proud of
its record here at the United Nations. You
have won a place in the inner circle of
NGO's, and by that I mean the effective
ones." It was undoubtedly a credit
to Mrs. Hymer's work.
Reports
from all the Standing Committees, augmented
in some cases by members actually present,
showed a serious application to questions
within their domain. A particularly exciting
report on membership was made by Mrs. Margaret
Thompson, the Committee Chairman. It showed
expansion in many parts of the world. Increasingly
members were travelling abroad singly or
in groups and making contacts with business
and professional women which were being
followed up. "Twinning" of Clubs
was to be encouraged.
Three
eminent men spoke on the theme, "Human
Values in Today's World." They were
Mr. Kenneth Adam of the B.B.C., Mr. lain
McLeod, Member of Parliament, and Sir Charles
Hilary Scott, a Past-President of the Law
Society. Their talks reached thoughtful
depths and stimulated a large number of
questions.
Mrs.
Esther Hymer, in a brief but illuminating
review of the Federation's relation to United
Nations, pointed out that the opportunity
it provided to help set international standards
was greater and more significant than ever.
"Women are becoming a prime consideration
at the United Nations because they are being
recognised as essential to the building
of their countries," she said. The
International Federation's Consultative
Status as a nongovernmental organisation
and its accreditation to the Office of Public
Information as an official observer did
not give the right to speak in the General
Assembly or in the Security Council, nor
on political matters, but gave the privilege
of sitting in on meetings related to economic
and social affairs. Miss Andrée Travelletti,
the Federation's Representative at the I.L.O.
and United Nations in Geneva, spoke on her
attendance at the conference which had taken
place in Teheran to analyse the progress
made since the Declaration of Human Rights
and to identify the main obstacles.
It
is rare to have every Speaker reaching the
same heights of practical idealism and making
their audience feel they had given thought
to the preparation of what they would say.
The day has passed for compliments only,
sweet as they are to payer and receiver's
ears. Women, who after first making perhaps
complicated arrangements in their personal
or business affairs and having travelled
thousands of miles to attend such a meeting
as this Congress, appreciate a greater understanding
from men of what they are trying to accomplish.
On this occasion in London they were content.
The
address by Mrs. Lena Jeger, M.P., on "Women
of Tomorrow" equalled in its punch
any of the others. "We do not do ourselves
justice if we allow what we have done to
be interpreted purely in terms of the feminism
of women who want something because men
have it," she said. Mrs. Jeger had
been at a meeting of the United Nations
Status of Women Commission when some women
had suggested that all protective legislation
should be abolished. One Western delegate
had said, "After all, we are all out
of the pits now, so what do we want all
this for?" Mrs. Jeger recalled that
a woman from another country replied, "You
may be, but we are not," -an illustration
of how important it is to keep a world focus.
Referring to the future world of noise,
electronics and glut of bigness –
vast oil tankers, giant aircraft –
all diminishing the stature of the individual,
Mrs. Jeger stated her belief "that
we have been rightly preoccupied with the
need to assert the right of women to have
any say at all, to have any participation
in national and international life."
It was for the next generation to use their
opportunities. "These future women
are going to be increasingly battered by
progress in communication which will bring
a challenge of closeness – perhaps
of unbearable closeness – to each
other's problems. . . If I had to identify
one single problem for tomorrow's women
it would be related to the title of this
conference – Human values in tomorrow's
world."
There
this story of the International Federation
of Business and Professional Women may fittingly
be left.
The
future must be handed over to the new President,
Miss Patience R. Thoms, of Australia, with
admiration for her own courage and that
of those who will be sharing the coming
responsibilities with her.
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