When you told people you joined Rotary, did anyone make a comment about it being an "Old Boys' Club"? If so, that would not be surprising. Joe Batory has written the story below so you can understand more about the evolution of Rotary over the years:
It was an “earth-shaking” moment in the Rotary world.
In 1977, the Rotary Club of Duarte (California) “dared” to admit women as members in violation of the Rotary International Constitution. As a result, the Rotary Club of Duarte had its club membership terminated by Rotary International (March 1978).
It then became a battle for gender-based equality to prevail. The California courts went back and forth for several years regarding a lawsuit by the Rotary Club of Duarte against Rotary International. But finally, the United States Supreme Court in 1987 ruled that Rotary clubs could not exclude women.
Very soon after, Sylvia Whitlock, of the Rotary Club of Duarte, California, became the first female Rotary club president. By 1995, eight women had advanced to positions as Rotary District Governors.
Indeed, the progression of women into leadership positions has been “rapid-fire.”
Look no further than 2010-2011 when our own Philadelphia Rotary’s Joan Batory became the Rotary District 7450 Governor. And our Rotary District 7450 has now had a number of other high achieving female leaders as District Governors including: Langhorne’s Sandra Costanza, 1999-2000; Longwood’s Bonnie Korengel, 2011-2012; Greater West Chester’s Dawn deFuria, 2017-2018; and Conshohocken-Plymouth-Whitemarsh’s Renee de Coskey, 2023-2024 .
Topping this off, in 2022, Rotary named its first ever International President in Jennifer Jones (pictured below, with past club President Lisa Leonard, at the recent Rotary Zone training event in Toronto.
Paul Harris, who founded Rotary way back in 1905, offered these prophetic words. “This is a changing world; we must be prepared to change with it. The story of Rotary will have to be written again and again!”
It took a while for this change to occur and it wasn’t easy… but here in 2023 Rotarians around the world are celebrating 46 years of “Women in Rotary.”
