BPW INTERNATIONAL AND THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS

19 Jan 2020 11:04 AM | Jean Murray (Administrator)

2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the League of Nations — the intergovernmental organisation, headquartered in Geneva, that emerged from the ashes of WW1.  Although the League was branded a failure due to its inability to prevent WW2, its legacies continued long after 1939 when it folded. As the template for modern global governance, and direct precursor to the United Nations which was established in 1945, the League profoundly shaped the world we live in today.

This history parallels that of BPW.

BPW USA was formed in 1919 by our Founder, lawyer Lena Madesin Phillips and she worked to spread the organisation internationally, with BPW International established in 1930 in Geneva.  BPW International was one the international women's organisations that lobbied and influenced the League of Nations to include and involve more women, and subsequently the United Nations where BPW advocated strongly for the establishment of the Commission on the Status of Women.

This article in The Conversation charts the influence of Australian women and women's organisations on the work and focus of the League of Nations and the United Nations.


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