The woods are lovely, cool and deep,
but I have promises to keep
and miles to go before I sleep.
Robert
Frost
Theme
for Triennuim:
The Crisis in Human Environment
| Conservation
of Natural Resources |
..........................1972 |
| In Housing and
the Community |
..........................1973 |
| In New Education
for Work and Leisure |
..........................1974 |
Nazla
Dane was elected as the International Federation's
ninth president in 1971 at the Twelfth Congress
in Edmonton, Canada. She was the second
president from Canada. Margaret P. Hyndman
was president from 1956 to 1959. President
Dane's career as Public Relations Officer
for the Canadian Life Insurance Association
had spanned twenty-six years during which
time she developed educational programs
and materials, made hundreds of speeches,
collaborated on projects with newspaper,
radio and television personnel as well as
with women's organizations and educators
and traveled extensively.
 In
1919 at age twelve, Nazla Dane recalls listening
to a speech by Agnes MacPhail, the first
woman ever elected as a Member of Parliament
in Canada. She was not only inspired by
the speech, but even more so by the political
achievement of this woman coming just one
year after Canadian women had won the right
to vote as well as the right to be elected
to Parliament.
Soon
after joining the Toronto BPW Club in 1947,
Nazla Dane proposed the idea of sponsoring
annual career guidance conferences for young
women. Her local club responded to her suggestion
by organizing career conferences for five
hundred high school girls each year from
1950 to 1970.
President
Dane initiated the practice of sending information
from International Headquarters to all former
International Presidents. They responded
to this gesture with enthusiasm and appreciation.
The delegates at Congress in 1974 approved
a constitutional amendment according former
International Presidents, for the first
time, the right to vote at future Congresses
and Board Meetings.
Believing
in the importance of bringing the International
Federation to the members unable to attend
International meetings, President Dane logged
150,000 miles and visited all fifty-six
countries in which there were affiliates.
During her travels, the President made it
a point to meet the delegates and observers
who would be attending up coming Board Meetings
and International Congress.
President
Dane was asked frequently during press conferences
and interviews if the need for Business
and Professional Women's Clubs were not
outdated as women already had so much "equality."
She replied: "Our organization could
disband when there is perfect equality between
men and women in every country in the world,
that is: shared responsibilities within
the family unit, equal pay for work of equal
value, equal access to training and education,
equal opportunities for advancement in business,
professional and public life, and equal
opportunities to be appointed or elected
to public office on the local, national
and international level."
IFBPW
President - Elisabeth Feller
1959-1962 Switzerland
In
Memoriam
Elisabeth
Feller died on January 12, 1973. She was
the International Federation's fifth president
and had also served as its Honorary Secretary.
She was the Founding President of BPW Switzerland
in 1949. She became the first Chairperson
of IFBPW's Rehabilitation and Refugee Relief
Committee in 1962 and remained in that position
until 1969. Continuing as a member of the
Committee until her death in 1973, her name
became synonymous with "Ramallah"
because of her ardent support of the project.
"She was generous not only in material
things but in her judgment and treatment
of people," according to Past International
President, Margaret P. Hyndman (Canada).
The news of her sudden and early death was
received with sadness by BPW friends worldwide.
Founder
President's Biography is Published
A Measure Filled by Lisa Sergio
The
Founder President of the International Federation,
Dr. Lena Madesin Phillips (USA), had begun
writing her autobiography before her death
in 1955. Marjory Lacey-Baker (USA), longtime
member of IFBPW and close personal friend,
carried on the project until her death in
1971. Isabelle Claridge Taylor (USA), former
treasurer of IFBPW, then persuaded Lisa
Sergio (USA) to complete the project begun
more than twenty years earlier. Lisa Sergio
had written several books prior to this
and had edited Widening Horizons from 1948
to 1962. The book was published in 1972
with the title, A Measure Filled, The Life
of Lena Madesin Phillips, drawn from her
autobiography. It was dedicated to the memory
of Marjory Lacey-Baker.
International
Headquarters News
The
International Headquarter's address changed
from Chansitor House at 37/38 Chancery Lane
to 54 Bloomsbury Street, London, in April
1972, when an agreement was made to rent
space in the building where the BPW UK Federation
already had its National Headquarters. Not
only did the International Headquarters
gain more floor space, but costs were reduced
through paying less in rent and sharing
office equipment with the UK Federation.
International
Week Message from the International President
1973 Theme: The Crisis in Human Environment
in Housing and the Community
"The
recent United Nations Conference on the
Environment called the subject of the 1973
theme - 'human settlements.' I [Nazla Dane]
will call it that also. The degradation
of 'human settlements' relates to substandard
housing, poor sanitation, malnutrition,
neglect of rural areas, poorly planned cities,
insufficient education and training for
jobs. Let us lead the way with action to
address these problems as we have in the
past!"
33rd
Board Meeting
MUNICH, GERMANY, June 4-8, 1973
Many
members attended a pre-Board Meeting United
Nations Seminar on June 3, 1973, where information
was presented about issues relating to the
environment and the role of women in the
development process.
The
site for the Thirty-Third Board Meeting
was Munich, Germany. International President
Nazla Dane and the President of the hosting
German Federation, Marie-Luise Fock, welcomed
577 members. The keynote speaker Liselotte
Funcke, Vice President of the Federal German
Parliament, introduced the theme for Board
Meeting workshops, "Towards a New Society."
She stressed "the urgent need for active
participation of women in public life, especially
in politics, because no demand, however
justified it may be, gains acceptance by
itself or by appeals or demonstrations but
through the often tedious deliberations
of the political process."
The
concluding words of President Dane's Address
to the Thirty-Third Board Meeting were,
"As business and professional women,
we must be willing to help other women gain
equality of opportunity, education, training
and remuneration. We cannot expect this
to be done for us. After reading the recently
published book, A Measure Filled, about
the life of IFBPW's Founder President, Dr.
Lena Madesin Phillips, I can say with no
hesitation that there was a woman who never
expected others to carry forward projects
for her. She knew she had to do it herself,
in cooperation with others. That has not
changed. We must do likewise."
Regional Seminar
An
IFBPW sponsored seminar was held at the
University of the West Indies, St. Augustine,
Trinidad, from July 17-20, 1973, for women
living in the Caribbean region. Margaret
Thompson (UK), International Honorary Secretary,
was the seminar's chairperson. Joyce Inniss,
member of the North Trinidad Club, welcorned
the delegates from eight countries. The
seminar's theme was "Living in Town."
Practical recommendations were developed
by the participants for improving rural
life, relating education to the needs of
society and relating training to the requirements
of the work force. The importance of including
women in policy-making positions regarding
national development issues, housing and
environmental planning was stressed.
 Membership
Committee
During
the triennium, Beryl Nashar (Australia),
Chairperson of the Membership Committee
and Second Vice President divided up the
world into regions and assigned each Membership
Committee member responsibility for reporting
on membership developments in a particular
area. To keep each committee member informed
of membership news in other parts of the
world, the Chairperson published a quarterly
bulletin.
The
Chairperson reported that there were affiliates
in 56 countries in 1974, an increase of
6 countries since 1971.
Lucile
Dunham (USA), the Membership Committee member
responsible for the Southeast Asia region,
visited seventeen countries in that region
during the triennium. She conducted a seven
month membership drive from July 1972 through
January 1973 with the help of a grant from
the Lena Madesin Phillips Endowment Fund.
She assisted recently established Associate
Clubs, set up the planning committee for
the formation of an Associate Club in Kathmandu,
Nepal, and helped the Taipei Club in Taiwan
in its formation. Lucile Dunham, at the
request of the Executive Committee, planned
a return trip during the 1974-1977 triennium
in order to consolidate her work.
Honorary
Treasurer/Finance Committee
M.
Joyce Kinchington (UK), Honorary Treasurer,
told Congress that "we have been forced
to draw on our reserves because income has
been insufficient to meet our financial
commitments." Myra Ruth Harmon (USA),
Finance Committee Chairperson, added, "Due
to inflation and currency exchange devaluation,
we have operated with a deficit budget during
the 1973/74 fiscal year." The Finance
Committee therefore proposed an increase
in dues from twenty-eight cents to fifty
cents per member which was approved by delegates
at the Thirteenth International Congress.
Publications
Committee
Widening Horizons
Isabel
MacMillan (Canada) agreed to act as editor
of Widening Horizons on a "temporary
basis" in 1962. At the Thirty-Third
Board Meeting in 1973 Margaret Lessing (South
Africa), Chairperson of the Publications
Committee, thanked her for a job well-done
while acting as the "temporary editor"
of Widening Horizons for ten years (1962-1972).
President Dane expressed regret upon the
editor's resignation but added, "Of
one thing we can be sure, Isabel MacMillan
will put all her energies into whatever
she does and will keep up her interest in
IFBPW." Upon the recommendation of
Isabel MacMillan, it was decided to publish
Widening Horizons in the future at International
Headquarters and hire an editor. Until this
time, the editors of the magazine were members
who volunteered their time and effort. Ruth
Jowett, a London-based Australian journalist,
was hired as editor in 1973. Because she
was not a member of the International Federation,
the Executive Committee set up a Widening
Horizons Editorial Board to assist her;
Margaret Thompson (UK) was appointed as
its first Chairperson.
Economic
Information Committee ( AD HOC Working Group
)
The
working group of the newly formed Economic
Information Committee had two objectives
during the triennium, according to its Chairperson,
Marie van der Ent (Netherlands): dissemination
of international economic information to
the membership, and collection of information
from affiliates concerning regional economic
collaboration. The responses of affiliates
to the committee's economic survey showed
that all countries were collaborating at
regional and international levels. The Chairperson
reported that Regional Economic Commissions
had been set up by the United Nations in
the regions of Europe; Latin America; and
Asia and the Pacific leading to international
negotiations and economic agreements between
countries. In relation to economic, political,
monetary and governmental issues, the Chairperson
said that "there was a large field
of work for IFBPW affiliates because women
make up the world's largest consumer group."
She asked, "Do women also have a say
in economic policy?" and answered,
"Let us work for it!"
Educational
and Cultural Committee
The
Educational and Cultural Committee under
the direction of Ada Someda (Italy) had
carried out a survey of affiliates in relation
to annual expenditures on education. Responses
indicated that more money was invested in
the education of men than women and that
women comprised only thirty per cent of
the enrollment in advanced courses. A recommendation
had been made to affiliates that they study
practical ways of fighting illiteracy and
observe "The Year of the Book"
proclaimed by the United Nations in 1972.
Employment
Conditions Committee/ILO
Madeleine
Jaccard (Switzerland), Chairperson of the
Employment Conditions Committee, explained
that her committee's first duty was to encourage
the advancement of women in the fields of
employment, vocational education and technical
training. She reported that during the years
since the founding of the International
Federation, over thirty resolutions had
been adopted at International Board Meetings
and Congresses concerning employment. Chairperson
Jaccard, quoting Past International President
Elisabeth Feller (Switzerland), said,
"Resolutions
are not for the pigeon hole; they are for
interpretation leading to intelligent, concerted
and responsible action by each National
Federation, Club and individual member."
A survey of affiliates conducted by the
Employment Conditions Committee demonstrated
that resolutions do indeed lead to "concerted
and responsible action." The survey
showed that the best developed projects
of affiliates involved helping girls and
women acquire vocational education and/
or training.
Madeleine
Jaccard was the International Labor Organization
(ILO) Representative as well as Chairperson
of the Employment Conditions Committee.
As ILO Representative she reported that
an ILO document called "Women Workers
in a Changing World" was published
in 1973 and would form the cornerstone of
the organization's program during International
Women's Year 1975. The document said, "Despite
the positive influence of governments on
efforts to promote equality of opportunity
for women, much more involvement of people
is needed. Women's Organizations may also
be in the front line of action." The
ILO considered the help of international
women's organizations invaluable in pinpointing
the needs and problems of women.
Legislation
Committee
The
Legislation Committee under the leadership
of its Chairperson, Hilla-Britta Lindberg
(Sweden), circulated a questionnaire about
issues having to do with access to sex education,
contraceptives, leave of absence from work,
and abortion. Believing that women's organizations
should encourage the dissemination of information
relating to sex education, a resolution
urging its promotion was passed at the Thirty-Third
Board Meeting in 1973. Availability of day
care centers for children was another subject
under study by the Committee.
Rehabilitation
and Refugee Relief Committee (AD HOC)
Unversity of West Indies Social Welfare
Training Centre Scholaship Program - U.W.I./UNICEF
Delegates
to the Twelfth Congress in 1971 had voted
to support a second international project,
a scholarship program administered by the
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
at the University of the West Indies (U.W.I.).
Under terms of the program, scholarships
were awarded to employed women with three
years of practical experience in social
welfare with no prior professional training.
Three scholarships were funded by the International
Federation and its affiliates in 1973 and
again in 1974. Scholarships covered tuition,
room and board for an intensive four-month
program at the Social Welfare Training Centre
of the University of West Indies. This program
was a practical step toward addressing a
key problem which was the lack of educational
opportunities.
Women
and Vocational Centre at Ramailah Scholarship
Program - UNRWA/UNESCO
President
Dane visited the Centre at Ramallah during
her term and was impressed by the devotion
of the teachers and staff and by the new
life it made possible for each of the students
who came from refugee families. IFBPW and
affiliates had contributed $12,833 in scholarship
aid during the triennium.
United
Nations Committee
Prior
to the presentation of the UN Committee
report to Congress in 1974, President Dane
spoke about IFBPW's relationship with the
United Nations. She said, "We are a
mini-UN! The United Nations is important
to us. As a non-governmental organization
(NGO) with consultative status, we have
an important voice in many UN agencies and
commissions." She spoke of visiting
the UN Representatives in New York, Paris
and Geneva whose function was "to represent
IFBPW at the UN: on its Commission on the
Status of Women and Commission on Human
Rights; within its specialized agencies
- ILO, UNESCO and UNICEF; and during special
events such as International Women's Year
(1975)." President Dane explained that
"after attending UN meetings, the Representatives
then reported back to the members by suggesting
statements that IFBPW should make and projects
for affiliates to support and/or undertake
themselves." The President characterized
the relationship with the UN as "two-way"
because UN Representatives were able to
suggest agenda items for meetings, make
interventions and issue statements on matters
of interest to IFBPW. Minnie C. Miles (USA),
Chairperson of the United Nations Committee,
added that "the United Nations and
its family of agencies, councils, commissions
and related international bodies remained
the one global force striving to meet problems
in all parts of the world."
The
Chairperson listed the three major areas
of emphasis of the United Nations Committee
during the triennium: the environment, the
role of women in development, and increasing
the number of women in public office and
within the United Nations system. Helvi
Sipila, member of BPW Finland, had first-hand
knowledge of how few women were part of
the UN system. She was one of only nine
women holding senior posts in the entire
United Nations system. Attending a United
Nations Population Conference with two hundred
and seventy people, she noted that there
were only twenty-one women, just four of
whom were there to represent their governments.
United
Nations Appoints First Women Assistant Secretary-General
In
1972, the first time in the history of the
United Nations, a woman was appointed Assistant
Secretary-General. Her name was Helvi Sipila,
a long-term member of BPW Finland. As Assistant
Secretary-General, she assumed leadership
of the newly created Centre for Social Development
and Humanitarian Affairs which was responsible
for the Branch for the Promotion of Equality
of Men and Women, later renamed the Branch
for the Advancement of Women. A respected
Finnish lawyer and judge, she had represented
her country at UN General Assembly Sessions
since 1966. Prior to her appointment as
Assistant Secretary-General in 1972, she
served as Chairperson of the UN Commission
on the Status of Women.
United
Nations Conference on the Human Environment
 Attending
the United Nations Conference on the Human
Environment held in Stockholm, Sweden, June
5-16, 1972, were representatives from 113
countries. This was the first large-scale
conference to discuss international guidelines
for the human environment. The theme was
"Only One Earth" and the charge
of the UN to the Conference was to define
what should be done to maintain the earth
as a place suitable for human life. President
Dane and First Vice President and UN Committee
Chairperson Minnie C. Miles (USA) represented
the International Federation at the Conference.
Because of the International Federation's
consultative status with the United Nations,
President Dane was permitted to make an
oral intervention at the Plenary Session
of the Conference. Addressing the governmental
delegates from around the world, she stated,
"We, the International Federation of
Business and Professional Women, propose
to distribute to our members recommendations
from this conference with guidelines to
assist them in reaching citizens at the
community level. Information and inspiration
will be spread to our constituents around
the world about changes in the human environment
that are so necessary to health and happiness
and to the future of our planet."
The
consensus document of the Conference, the
"Declaration on the Environment,"
was adopted on June 16, 1972. One of its
key resolutions recommended the creation
of a new organizational structure to address
environmental concerns. This structure became
known as the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) and had its headquarters
in Nairobi, Kenya. IFBPW, the lone international
women's organization invited to serve on
the Environmental Liaison Board of UNEP,
received an invitation to the official launching
ceremony of UNEP in 1974. President Dane
and four members attended the ceremony in
Nairobi.
Statement
Requesting the Proclamation of an International
Year for the Advancement of Women
A statement
(E/CN.6/NGO/244) was submitted to the Twenty-Fourth
Session of the Commission on the Status
of Women in 1972 by IFBPW and nine other
women's international non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) with consultative status with the
Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of
the United Nations. The statement drew "attention
to the general objectives and minimum targets
[related to women] to be achieved within
the Second United Nations Development Decade
as defined by the Commission on the Status
of Women and adopted by the General Assembly
of the United Nations in 1971." The
ten international organizations believed
that "a year for the advancement of
women could encourage and multiply efforts
for the full application of the Declaration
on the Elimination of Discrimination Against
Women" and therefore closed their state¬ment
with the following suggestion. "The
organizations submitting this statement
suggest that the Commission on the Status
of Women should study the possibility of
proposing to the General Assembly of the
United Nations the proclamation of an International
Year for the advancement of women."
The
Commission did subsequently recommend that
1975 be designated International Women's
Year and the General Assembly of the United
Nations gave its approval in 1972.
Non-governmental
organizations such as IFBPW participated
in preparation for International Women's
Year through a newly formed committee (1972)
called the NGO Committee on the Status of
Women with Esther Hymer (USA), IFBPW's Representative
to the United Nations in New York, as its
Founding Chairperson. She served as its
Chairperson for ten years.
Affiliates
were encouraged to press for the formation
of a National Commission on the Status of
Women within their own countries and to
publicize and promote the Declaration on
the Elimination of Discrimination Against
Women (DEDAW) adopted by the General Assembly
of the United Nations in 1967.
13th
International Congress
BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA, August 5-10, 1974
The
Thirteenth Congress was a milestone in IFBPW
history because it was the first International
Congress in Latin America and the first
one officially opened by a female head of
a republic. Her Excellency, the President
of the Argentine Republic, Senora Maria
Estela Martinez de Peron, opened the Thirteenth
International Congress and welcomed 758
business and professional women from 45
countries of the world. She told the membership
that "yesterday's woman had been a
symbol of home and the family giving up
her rights in favor of the family group,
but today's woman stands out for her intellectual,
political, economic, artistic and managing
abilities." Saira Adriana Arias, President
of BPW Argentina, welcomed her fellow members
and said: "Let us seek the truth when
faced with doubt, justice in the face of
policies which debase mankind and above
all faith which, in a trilogy, should motivate
our action and be our guiding light."
The
theme for the Thirteenth Congress was "Looking
Towards the Twenty-First Century" and
was also the theme chosen for the up coming
triennium. "Looking Towards the Twenty-First
Century" in relation to "Improving
the Quality of Life" provided the framework
for small-group discussions at Congress
coordinated by Immediate Past President,
Patience Thoms (Australia).
President's
Address
 President
Dane began her Address to Congress by commending
the 1971-1974 International Officers and
Committee Chairpersons who had given their
best, often at the expense of their leisure
time and other interests. She thanked the
Honorary Secretary, Margaret Thompson (UK),
for her selfless efforts on behalf of the
International Federation and listed the
many other "hats" she had worn
during the triennium: Chairperson of the
IFBPW Planning Committee for both the Thirty-Third
Board Meeting and the Thirteenth Congress;
Chairperson of the Widening Horizons Editorial
Board; organizer of the IFBPW regional seminar
in the Caribbean area; representative at
meetings of the WINGOs and the Environment
Liaison Board of the United Nations Environment
Programme. The President noted that Margaret
Thompson had also previously served as International
Vice President (1965-1971).
"No
word of mine can do justice to the loyalty
and hard work of our General Secretary,
Beatrice Kyle," continued President
Dane. "We are also loyally and wonderfully
served by our UN Representatives: Esther
Hymer (USA) at the United Nations in New
York; Jeanne Chaton (France) at UNESCO in
Paris; Louise Allenspach (Switzerland) in
Geneva; Madeleine Jaccard (Switzerland)
at ILO; and Marie van der Ent (Netherlands)
at ECOSOC. The Immediate Past President,
Patience Thoms (Australia), deserves our
appreciation for serving as Chairperson
of both the Constitution Advisory Committee
and the International Theme Committee."
Noting
especially the new membership contacts in
Africa and Asia, President Dane reported
that IFBPW had grown in both numbers of
members and affiliations during the triennium.
Relations with the United Nations and its
agencies had expanded and strengthened.
President
Nazla Dane concluded her Address to Congress
with these words:
Ladies
- women are on the march. For many years
there were few of us in not very many countries.
Our marching was faint and seemed far away,
but our numbers have increased, our ranks
are filling. The tempo of the marching is
faster now. It is no longer faint and far
away. We are women with a common purpose.
With a common will to achieve, we are invincible.
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