A HISTORY OF WOMEN IN ROTARY TITLE 1905 -2017

ROTARY IS FOUNDED WITH FOUR MEMBERS FEBRUARY 23, 1905 ROTARY IS FOUNDED WITH FOUR MEMBERS Paul Harris Gus Loehr Hiram Shorey Silvester Schiele

1950 An enactment is proposed by a Rotary Club in India at the Rotary International convention to delete the word “male” from the standard Rotary Club Constitution IT FAILS

1964 A Rotary Club in Ceylon proposes an enactment to the Council on Legislation to permit the admission of women into Rotary Clubs IT IS WITHDRAWN

1972 A Rotary Club in the United States proposes admitting women into Rotary at the Council on Legislation IT FAILS

1977 Three separate proposals are submitted to the Council on Legislation to admit women into Rotary ALL 3 FAIL

1977 The Rotary Club of Duarte, CA admits women as members

1978 Rotary International terminates the charter of the Rotary Club of Duarte

1980 The RI Board of Directors and Rotary Clubs in India, Sweden, Switzerland and the U.S. propose an enactment to remove all references to “male persons” in RI and club constitutions IT FAILS

1983 The Rotary Club of Duarte files a lawsuit to admit women into Rotary

1983 The California Superior Court rules in favor of Rotary International, upholding gender-based qualification for membership

1986 The California Court of Appeals reverses the lower court’s decision The California Supreme Court refuses to hear the case and it is appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court

MAY 4, 1987 The U.S. Supreme Court rules that Rotary Clubs may NOT exclude women from membership on the basis of gender

1987 Rotary International issues a policy statement that any Rotary Club in the U.S. can admit qualified women

MAY 28,1987 The Rotary Club of Marin Sunrise, California is chartered and becomes the first club after the Supreme Court ruling to have women as charter members.

1987 Sylvia Whitlock, of the Rotary Club of Duarte, becomes the first woman to be a Rotary Club President

1989 The Council on Legislation votes to eliminate the requirement in the RI Constitution that membership in Rotary Clubs be limited to men.

JUNE 1, 1989 Carol Van Bruggen becomes the first woman inducted into Point West Rotary

JULY 1, 2002 Sandy Thompson becomes the first woman President of Point West Rotary

MAY 5, 2017 There are currently 33 women members (23%) in Point West Rotary

MAY 5, 2017 30 years after the Supreme Court ruling we celebrate all women in Rotary!