TheLoWDoWN - Rotary Down Under

EditorialMark WallaceJust between usA Woman’s Worth:Celebrating Women in RotaryAs you may have gathered from ourstriking cover, this month’s RotaryDown Under is dedicated to thewonderful work of women in Rotary.When Paul Harris and his matesformed Rotary back in 1905, therewas no mention of Rotary as anorganisation for men, to the exclusionof women. The first constitution of theRotary Club of Chicago (#1) referred toits members as “persons” not “men”.Indeed, easily accessible history ofthe involvement of women in Rotaryshows that women were Rotariansas early as 1911, when there was anall-female club in Minneapolis, and1917, when there was a similar clubin Minnesota.According to an article by NormWinterbottom, of the Rotary Club ofKatikati, NZ, efforts to get women intoRotary in Northern Ireland in 1912failed, and there was a swing towardsthe formation of women’s auxiliariesin the US in 1916-17, which were alsorejected, but it was not until 1921that the RI Convention in Edinburghreally laid down the law, stipulatingin article 2, Section III of the StandardClub Constitution that “A Rotary Clubshall be comprised of men ...” Which,more or less, led to the formation ofInner Wheel in the UK in 1923.In 1950 the Indian club ofAhmadabad proposed at the RotaryConvention in Detroit that women becleared to join Rotary, but this wasdefeated, as were several attemptsbetween 1960 and 1977, when theCalifornian club of Duarte boldlyadmitted women on the occasion of its25 th anniversary. RI moved swiftly (byRI standards) and withdrew the club’scharter in 1978! Not to be outflanked,Duarte re-named itself the “Ex-RotaryClub of Duarte” and promptly fileda suit in the California SuperiorCourt, which, to its undoubtedhorror, found in favour of RI. Butthey were nothing if not determined,and Duarte successfully appealedto the California Court of Appeal,which reversed the decision. RI thenappealed to the California SupremeCourt, but it refused to hear the case,so RI took it all the way to the USSupreme Court. The Supreme Courtcame down on RI like a ton of bricks,with a 7-0 decision in 1987. That wason May 4, and by June 23, Dr SylviaWhitlock was inducted as President ofthe Rotary Club of Duarte, and in sodoing, became the first female Rotaryclub President in history. The RotaryInternational Council on Legislationfinally amended its constitution andby-laws to allow women into Rotarymembership in January, 1989.This Rotary year Dr Sylvia Whitlockis Governor of District 5300 in theUnited States, and it was a privilegeto hear her speak about diversity inRotary membership at the recentInternational Assembly in San Diego.She spoke so eloquently on why wenot only need more gender diversity,but diversity of ethnicity, age, religion,sexual orientation, you name it.As for female members, plenty ofclubs have one or two women andpat themselves on the back, thinkingthe work is done. The sad fact is thatin this part of the world, too manyclubs are comprised of a mostlymale structure that deems that oneor two women set them apart fromthe dinosaurs.PDG Joan KiernanThen, of course, there’s that oldchestnut that I heard plenty of in theUK last year. “Of course we’re open towomen as Rotarians, we just haven’tfound ‘the right woman’.”Hardly surprising, really – blinkeredbigotry will indeed send you blind! •PDG Raewyn KirkmanDr Sylvia WhitlockPDG Jessie HarmanPDG Jennifer ScottPDG Cathy Rothwww.rotarydownunder.org 5