Soroptimist International

Soroptimist International (SI) is a worldwide volunteer service organization for women, organized as an umbrella network of local clubs and regional federations. Its name combines the Latin words soror, meaning sister, and optima, meaning best; the organization commonly interprets the name as meaning “the best for women.” The movement emerged in the United States in 1921, when Stuart Morrow helped establish the Soroptimist Club of Oakland, California. Violet Richardson became the club’s first president, while Eloise B. Cushing played a major role in preparing the constitution and bylaws that shaped the early organization. The movement developed alongside, but not uniformly in direct institutional relationship with, the male Rotary tradition. Its early purpose was to provide women—particularly professional and community-minded women—with an organization centered on service, fellowship, internationalism, and civic participation. A parallel women’s service movement developed in Bristol, England, where the Venture Club was formed in 1920 under Eleanor Addison Phillips. Venture Clubs and Soroptimist Clubs shared sufficiently similar objectives that they amalgamated in 1930, helping establish a durable British and international base. Expansion accelerated during the 1920s and 1930s. The Soroptimist Club of London began in 1923 and received its charter in 1924. In the same period, French surgeon Suzanne Noël became one of the movement’s most important international organizers. After founding a Paris club in 1924, she supported the establishment of clubs in the Netherlands, Italy, Austria, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Estonia, India, Norway, Hungary, Denmark, and other countries. The federation now known as Soroptimist International of Great Britain and Ireland was formally established in 1934. The organization’s history has been shaped by war, authoritarianism, migration, and reconstruction. Before and during the Second World War, Soroptimists assisted refugees and other people affected by political upheaval. Members in occupied and authoritarian countries faced persecution, exile, deportation, and death. After the war, Noël resumed efforts to extend the network, including successful expansion into Turkey in 1949 and Greece in 1950. The movement also spread through Commonwealth networks, including Australia, where Thelma Eileen Jarrett later became a prominent international leader. Soroptimist International’s work combines direct assistance with public advocacy. Local and federation-level initiatives have supported educational grants, scholarships, domestic-violence shelters, health services, refugee assistance, and programs addressing poverty and exclusion. The organization has also advocated for universal access to basic education, equal access to higher education, the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, and the advancement of women’s rights in international policy. SI operates through five federations: Soroptimist International of the Americas, Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland, Soroptimist International of Europe, Soroptimist International South East Asia Pacific, and Soroptimist International Africa. These federations contain local clubs, associate members, and e-clubs. The network is reported to have almost 66,000 members in 118 countries. Soroptimist International holds special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council and maintains official relations with the World Health Organization, enabling representatives to contribute to international discussions, including the annual United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. Every two years, the international president launches a President’s Appeal to focus fundraising and project activity on a selected women’s empowerment or humanitarian priority.

Soroptimist International traces its origins to the formation of the Soroptimist Club of Oakland, California, in 1921. Stuart Morrow was central to the creation of the early movement, and Violet Richardson served as the Oakland club’s first president. Eloise B. Cushing prepared much of the organization’s first constitution and bylaws. These founding documents provided a framework for subsequent clubs and helped define Soroptimism as a women’s service movement focused on professional fellowship, civic responsibility, and international cooperation. A related women’s service movement developed in Britain. The Venture Club was formed in Bristol in 1920 with Eleanor Addison Phillips as founder and first president. Because the two movements pursued similar objectives, Venture Clubs and Soroptimist Clubs amalgamated in 1930. The Soroptimist Club of London had already begun in 1923 and received a charter in 1924. Its early members included prominent figures from public, cultural, educational, and professional life. The British and Irish federation was formally established in 1934, creating one of the principal regional structures of the growing movement. International expansion was strongly advanced by Suzanne Noël, a French surgeon who established a Paris Soroptimist club in 1924. With support from contacts across the movement, she helped organize clubs in numerous European countries and in India during the late 1920s and 1930s. Clubs were established in the Netherlands in 1927, Italy and Austria in 1929, Germany and Belgium in 1930, Switzerland in 1930, Estonia in 1931, India in 1932, Norway in 1933, Hungary in 1934, and Denmark in 1936. The planned development of a Lithuanian club was disrupted by the outbreak of the Second World War. The wartime period brought both humanitarian work and severe danger. Soroptimists assisted refugees fleeing political unrest in central Europe, while members in countries taken over by Nazi Germany faced persecution. Many members fled, and members of the Kaunas club were killed or deported. Marthe Hirsch, an early Belgian Soroptimist leader and director of a chocolate factory, died by suicide in 1943 to avoid arrest by the Gestapo. These experiences reinforced the movement’s association with humanitarian assistance and international solidarity. Following the war, Noël continued her expansion efforts. Political conditions prevented the establishment of a club in Czechoslovakia in 1948, but clubs were founded in Turkey in 1949 and Greece in 1950. Commonwealth links helped extend the network to the southern hemisphere. By 1952, an Australian club operated within the federation associated with Great Britain and Ireland. Thelma Eileen Jarrett joined the Australian movement that year, later becoming federation president in 1972 and chairing the first federation conference held in the southern hemisphere, in Sydney, in 1973. From the late twentieth century onward, Soroptimist programs increasingly combined local service with international advocacy. Soroptimist efforts contributed to the creation of Caring for Carers Ireland around 1988–1990. At the 1995 World Summit for Social Development, the organization advocated universal access to basic education and equal access to higher education for girls and women. It continued to support the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action during the 2000s. By at least 2003, SI had consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council and official relations with the World Health Organization. In 2007, SI began Project Sierra, a four-year initiative with Hope and Homes for Children supporting disadvantaged women and children in Sierra Leone. Contemporary Soroptimist activity remains organized through five federations and local clubs, with programs that include educational awards, domestic-violence support, health initiatives, refugee assistance, and policy advocacy. The international organization is headquartered in Ely, England, and reports a network of almost 66,000 members in 118 countries. Its United Nations role includes participation in international policy discussions and representation at the Commission on the Status of Women. A President’s Appeal is launched every two years to focus the organization’s international fundraising and service priorities.

• 2007

  Project Sierra launched

  [1]Soroptimist Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  SI and Hope and Homes for Children began a four-year program for disadvantaged women and children in Sierra Leone.

• 1995

  Education advocacy at the World Summit for Social Development

  [1]Soroptimist Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  Soroptimist International called for universal basic education and equal access to higher education for women and girls.

• 1973

  First southern-hemisphere federation conference held

  [1]Soroptimist Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  The federation conference chaired by Thelma Eileen Jarrett took place in Sydney, marking an important stage in the movement’s geographic development.

• 1934

  British and Irish federation formed

  [1]Soroptimist Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  The federation now known as Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland was formally established.

• 1930

  Venture and Soroptimist movements amalgamated

  [1]Soroptimist Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  The two related British women’s service movements combined after recognizing their shared objectives.

• 1924

  London club chartered and Paris club founded

  [1]Soroptimist Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  The London club received its charter, while Suzanne Noël founded a Soroptimist club in Paris and began a major period of international expansion.

• 1921

  Oakland Soroptimist Club established

  [1]Soroptimist Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  The Soroptimist movement began with the formation of the Oakland club in California, led initially by Violet Richardson.

• 1920

  Bristol Venture Club founded

  [1]Soroptimist Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  Eleanor Addison Phillips founded the Venture Club in Bristol, a women’s service organization that later merged with the Soroptimist movement.

A global, women-led volunteer network positioned around practical service, education, advocacy, international fellowship, and the advancement of women and girls.

• Women’s empowerment

  Education grants and scholarships

  Soroptimist clubs and federations provide financial and practical support intended to help women and girls pursue education, training, and greater economic independence. These awards are part of the organization’s broader strategy of addressing structural barriers through education rather than a commercial product line.

• Community service

  Domestic-violence and shelter support

  Local Soroptimist organizations support shelters and services for people affected by domestic violence. Activities vary by club and federation and may include fundraising, material assistance, awareness work, and collaboration with specialist community organizations.

• International fundraising campaign

  President’s Appeal

  Every two years, the international president selects and promotes an appeal that concentrates Soroptimist fundraising and project activity on a defined humanitarian or women’s empowerment priority. The specific theme and beneficiary programs can change between presidential terms.

• Membership service

  Soroptimist membership and e-clubs

  The organization offers participation through local clubs, associate membership, and e-clubs. These structures provide opportunities for volunteering, professional fellowship, advocacy, fundraising, and international connection without constituting a conventional commercial subscription product.

• 2007Project Sierra

  Sierra Leone

  Soroptimist International partnered with Hope and Homes for Children on a four-year project intended to help disadvantaged women and children in Sierra Leone.

  Source
• 1995Education and equality advocacy

  International · United Nations

  At the World Summit for Social Development, SI advocated universal access to basic education and equal access to higher education for women and girls.

  Source
• Soroptimist International President’s Appeal

  International

  A recurring international appeal launched every two years by the Soroptimist International president to support a selected women’s rights, empowerment, or humanitarian priority.

  Source

1. 1Soroptimist Internationalen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Soroptimist International official websitesoroptimistinternational.org