In 1978, the Rotary Club of Duarte, California, USA, invited three
women to become members. The RI Board withdrew the charter of that
club for violation of the RI constitution. The club brought suit
against RI claiming a violation of a state civil rights law that
prevents discrimination of any form in business establishments or
public accommodations. The appeals court and the California Supreme
Court supported the Duarte position that Rotary could not remove
the club’s charter merely for inducting women into the club. The
United States Supreme Court upheld the California court indicating
that Rotary clubs do have a “business purpose” and are in some ways
public-type organizations.
This action in 1987 allowed women to become Rotarians in any
jurisdiction having similar “public accommodation” statutes. In
October of 1987, the Rotary Club of Angels-Murphys D5220 inducted
three women and in spite of threats to quit Rotary by some of the
older male members – none did. Two of these three women went on to
lead the A-M Rotary Club as president and one those has just
completed over two years as charter president of the Angels Camp
Centennial Rotary Club (a club which which is very proud of its 50%
female membership). That president has completed 19 years of
perfect attendance.
The RI constitutional change was made at the 1989 Council on
Legislation, with a vote to eliminate the “male only” provision for
all of Rotary. Since that time, women have become members and
leaders of clubs and districts throughout the world.
Women in Rotary – A Potted History
The predominantly dependent status of women in western societies
changed irrevocably during World War II as women filled occupations
previously the domain of men when the men were called upon to serve
in the armed forces. This change accelerated with the growth of the
feminist movement in the 1960s and 1970s. Throughout the course of
nearly seven decades of Rotary’s history has run the thread of the
debate of women as members, yet the first constitution of the
Chicago Club #1, adopted in January,1906, makes no reference to
gender, referring only to “persons.”
In 1911 an all-women club existed in Minneapolis and between
1911 and 1917 an all-women Rotary club existed in Duluth, Minnesota
alongside the men’s club. This club met on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday
of the month, while the Duluth club #25 met on the 1st and last
Thursday. In 1912, the board of directors of the Belfast, Northern
Ireland club discussed the advisability of electing women to
membership or allowing them to attend weekly luncheons. The club
records of that period indicate the board considered it undesirable
to elect women to membership or have them at the weekly luncheons.
In that year, also, Ida Buell of the Duluth women’s club spoke to
the 1912 Duluth Convention seeking support for women’s clubs. The
Convention discussed the admission of women and rejected the idea.
The RI Boards of 1914-15 and 1915-16 disapproved of Women’s
Auxiliaries but the Board of 1916-17 held no objection to them
being formed. In 1918 the Board refused recognition of them.
The 1921 Convention in Edinburgh, Scotland produced the Standard
Club Constitution in which Article 2, Section III stated “A Rotary
Club shall be comprised of men . . . ”
In May 1921, Alwilda F Harvey the wife of the Chicago Club
president convened a luncheon meeting of 59 women who formed “Women
of Rotary.” The Board of RI rejected that name so it was changed to
“The Women of the Rotary Club of Chicago.” In England, on 15
May1923, the Manchester Club proposed “The Formation of a Ladies’
Rotary Club in Manchester.” The proposal was lost, but instead, the
first Inner Wheel Club was formed with Mrs Margarette Golding as
president. In 1940, Edwina Yearian Nicholls attended many meetings
of the Salmon, Idaho club after taking control of her late
husband’s Ford dealership, although she did not become a member. In
1950, at the Detroit Convention, the Ahmedabad Club of India
proposed that the word “male” be dropped from Article III of the
Standard Club Constitution. This was soundly defeated. Between 1964
and 1977 a number of unsuccessful attempts were made to provide for
the admission of women.
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However, the die was finally cast by a club in a small
California town.
On the occasion of its 25th anniversary, the Duarte club
admitted Mary Lou Elliott and Donna Bogart to membership on 1 June,
1977 and they were followed shortly afterwards by Rosemary Freitag.
The reaction of the Board of RI was predictable: on 27 March 1978,
Duarte’s charter was terminated. Duarte re-named itself the “Ex
Rotary Club of Duarte” and in June, 1978 filed a suit in the
California Superior Court against the RI Board decision. This was
not heard by the court until 1983 when Judge Max Deutz ruled
against Duarte, which in 1986 appealed that decision to the
California Court of Appeal and the Deutz judgment was reversed. The
RI Board appealed that decision to the California Supreme Court
which refused to hear the case and the RI Board then appealed to
the United States Supreme Court in 1986.
In 1984, District 5030 District Governor Carl E Swenson
perceived the need of a new Rotary club in Seattle and appointed
Lloyd Hara as his DG’s Representative to form the Rotary Club of
Seattle International Districts. When the provisional club prepared
and filed its Charter Application, it deleted references to “male”
or “men” and the application was rejected by RI. The application
was re-submitted including those terms and a charter was issued on
18 September, 1984, and Seattle ID took a resolution for the
admission of women to the 1986 COL. This was soundly defeated. On 4
September, 1986 Seattle I D admitted 15 women members and on 17
September, General Secretary Philip H.Lindsey wrote a strong letter
to the club informing it that it could not admit women and
continuing to do so would result in its charter being withdrawn. In
January 1987, Seattle I D then filed an amicus brief with the
United States Supreme Court in support of the Duarte club, and in
that year the Oakland club #3 wrote to the General Secretary of RI
questioning the termination of Duarte’s charter.
On 30 March, 1987, the US Supreme Court heard an appeal by the
Board of RI against the California Court of Appeal decision and on
4 May handed down a 7-0 unanimous decision affirming the California
Court of Appeal decision, ruling that Duarte could not discriminate
against members because of gender. Duarte had the final say in the
matter when on 23 June, 1987 Dr Sylvia Whitlock was inducted by DGE
Dr Kim K Siu as the first woman Club president in the history of
Rotary. In January 1989, the Council on Legislation voted to change
the Constitution and By-laws to permit the admission of women into
Rotary and on 1 July1995 Mimi Altman of the Deerfield, Illinois
club became the first woman District Governor of District 6440,
followed by Gilda Chirafisi (District 7230), Janet Holland
(District 5790), Riba I Lovrein (District 5220), Virginia B Nordby
(District 6380), Donna J Rapp (District 6310), Ann Robertson
(District 6710) and Olive P Scott (District 7190).