 IFBPW
welcomes The History of the International
Federation of Business and Professional
Women - Volume II -1968-1995 which marks
the sixty-fifth anniversary of the International
Federation. It has been edited by John and
Margaret Taylor. John is the son of Isabelle
Claridge Taylor, a close friend of Dr. Lena
Madesin Phillips. The editors share the
deep affection Isabelle Taylor had for the
Federation, and I thank them for the many
hours they have dedicated to the research
and writing of our history. With this book
we offer our members a record of our most
recent achievements.
The
chronicle of the first thirty-eight years
of the International Federation, In Pride
and With Promise by Phyllis Deakin (UK),
was published in 1970. This book, which
was out of print, has been republished in
1996 under the new title, The History of
the International Federation of Business
and Professional Women - Volume I-1930-1968.
A word of special thanks goes to Kate Lawrance
(UK), a member of the 1993-1996 IFBPW History
Task Force, who spent a great deal of time
helping to prepare In Pride and With Promise
for republication under its new title. A
related work in our growing collection of
publications is A Measure Filled (1972)
by Lisa Sergio (USA) about the life of the
Founder President of IFBPW, Dr. Lena Madesin
Phillips.
I would
like to especially thank Katherine G. Peden,
1993-1996 IFBPW History Task Force Chairperson,
current President of BPW /Kentucky, and
Past President of BPW /USA. In her capacity
as a member of the Board of Directors of
Westvaco Corporation, she secured the funding
for the publication of The History of Business
and Professional Women - Volume 1-1930-1968
and The History of the International Federation
of Business and Professional Women - Volume
II - 1968-1995. These books could not have
been published without the wonderful generosity
of the Westvaco Corporation. On behalf of
all members of IFBPW, I would like to express
my deep appreciation. The United Parcel
Service (UPS) also deserves special recognition
for transporting the books to Venice, Italy,
for the International Federation's Twenty-Second
Congress in 1996.
The
last twenty-seven years, which are covered
in detail in The History of the International
Federation of Business and Professional
Women - Volume II -1968-1995, have seen
many dramatic changes: the pacifist movement
which changed our attitude toward war; radical
feminism; a raised consciousness about ecological
issues and human rights; the Convention
on the Elimination of Discrimination Against
Women (CEDAW), the fall of the Berlin Wall
and the establishment of free markets with
the end of the Cold War; and four United
Nations World Conferences on Women.
As
President of the International Federation
of Business and Professional Women, I am
grateful to all those who sent "pieces
of their history" to the editors, thus
making an invaluable contribution to this
volume.
Thank
you.
Livia
Ricci, IFBPW President
December 1995
Verona, Italy
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