Size: 7.25 linear feet

Provenance: Received from Carol Holton, President of Business and Professional Women, Toledo

Access: Open

Related Collections:  Monroe-Central Business and Professional Women’s Club, Toledo, MSS-100

Collection Summary: Collection contains pictures, newspaper clippings, memorabilia, reports, scrapbooks, and audio-visual materials documenting the activities of this politically active social service organization. A supporter of such issues as Pay Equity for Women as well as an Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution, this organization has championed the causes of working women for most of the 20th century.

Subjects: Business and Commerce, Civic Interests, Women

Processing Note:  As per request of the donor, this collection was processed in chronological order.

Copyright: The literary rights to this collection are assumed to rest with the person(s) responsible for the production of the particular items within the collection, or with their heirs or assigns.  Researchers bear full legal responsibility for the acquisition to publish from any part of said collection per Title 17, United States Code.  The Ward M. Canaday Center for Special Collections may reserve the right to intervene as intermediary at its own discretion.

Completed by: Lisa Petree, Ben Grillot, and Marsha Weatherspoon, July, 1999.  Additions by Kim Brownlee 2009 & 2010.  Additions made by Brad Sommer, 2013

Historical Sketch

     The history of the Business and Professional Women's Organization (BPW) can be traced to 1914 when a "club" dedicated to promoting the interests of working women formed in Toledo, Ohio.  This prototype was only the third nationwide (Omaha, Nebraska and Detroit, Michigan were the other two) and the first in the state of Ohio.  Similar groups with similar goals began to spring forth nationwide.  In 1918, the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) decided to organize these groups and in 1919 the National Federation of Business and Professional Women was born.  The Ohio Federation, formed in 1920, had individual chapters in Dayton, Cincinnati, and Toledo.
     With the advent of a national group, a committee was chosen to select an appropriate Federation emblem.  Several designs were submitted.  Nike, the "Winged Victory of Samothrace", had particular significance because she represented "strength, progress, freedom and triumph in the face of adversity"---ideals BPW embodied.  Nygaard, a sculptor, was chosen as the designer in 1921 and is responsible for creating the emblem still used today.
     BPW is a social service organization which advocates on local, state, national and international levels for the "equity of all women in the workplace through advocacy, education and information.”  This goal is met through legislative programs, clinics and workshops for professional women, scholarships to women who wish to pursue careers, and by serving as a network for colleagues to interact socially and professionally.  Locally, scholarships from the Florence Allen Endowment Fund are offered to two high school women for their college tuition although additional monetary awards exist on state and national levels as well.
     During the early years of the club, it advocated for passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which gave women the right to vote.  BPW was also on the cutting edge of the movement pushing for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment in the mid-1970s.  Its strong commitment to political issues and how these issues affect women continues today.  With the creation of the BPW Political Action Committee (PAC) in 1980, the organization continues to pursue its political aims.
     The National Federation of Business and Professional Women boasted nearly 200,000 members throughout 3,700 chapters during the seventies.  Even though membership has declined over the years (today there are 80,000 members among 2,800 clubs), the Federation continues to remain an important, active and committed voice fighting for the rights of women in the workplace and the world.

Scope and Content Note

     At the request of the Donor, the collection was processed chronologically.  All folders entitled "Club Materials"/"BPW Program"are arranged by the earliest date with the following order:
                       
                        1. Correspondence
                        2. Bulletins
                        3. Reports
                        4. Financial Reports
                        5. News Clippings
                        6. Ephemera (Programs)
                        7. Photographs
                        8. Awards and certificates
                        9. Artifacts (Box 7, Folder 17 only).

   Undated materials within each of the seven classifications are filed after dated materials.     

Folder List

Box	Folder	Arrangement
1	1	1922-1924, Minutes
	2	1929-1935, Club Materials
	3	1936-1938, Club Materials
	4	1939-1940, Club Materials
	5	1941-1942, Club Materials
	6	1943-1947, Club Materials (1 of 2)
	7	1943-1947, Club Materials (2 of 2)
	8	1948-1950, Club Materials
	9	1951, Festival of Britain in Oxford
	10	1951-1952, Club Materials
	11	1953-54, Club Materials (1 of 2)
	12	1953-54, Club Materials (2 of 2)
	13	1954-55, Club Materials
	14	1956-1957, Club Materials
	15	1958-1959, Club Materials
	16	1959-1971, Club Legislation Committee (1 of 2)
	17	1959-1971, Club Legislation Committee (2 of 2)
	18	1960, Club Materials
	19	1961, Club Materials
	20	1962-1963, Club Materials
2	1	1964-1965, Club Materials (1 of 2)
	2	1964-1965, Club Materials (2 of 2)
	3	1966-1967, Club Materials
	4	1968-1969, Club Materials
	5	1968-1970, Personal Development Committee
	6	1970, Club Materials
	7	1971-1972, Club Materials
	8	1972-1973, Club Materials (1 of 2)
	9	1972-1973, n.d., Club Materials (2 of 2)
	10	1973-1974, Club Materials (1 of 2)
	11	1973-1974, Club Materials (2 of 2)
	12	1974-1975, Club Materials (1 of 2)
	13	1974-1975, Club Materials (2 of 2)
3	1	1975-1977, Club Materials (1 of 3)
	2	1975-1977, Club Materials (2 of 3)
	3	1975-1977, Club Materials (3 of 3)
	4	1976, Club Materials
	5	1977-1978, Club Materials (1 of 3)
	6	1977-1978, Club Materials (2 of 3)
	7	1977-1978, Club Materials (3 of 3)
	8	1978-1979, Club Materials (1 of 2)
	9	1978-1979, Club Materials (2 of 2)
	10	1980, Club Materials
	11	1981, Club Materials (1 of 2)
	12	1981, Club Materials (2 of 2)
4	1	1982, Club Materials (1 of 2)
	2	1982, Club Materials (2 of 2)
	3	1983-1984, Club Materials (1 of 3)
	4	1983-1984, Club Materials (2 of 3)
	5	1983-1984, Club Materials (3 of 3)
	6	1984-1985, Club Materials (1 of 2)
	7	1984-1985, Club Materials (2 of 2)
	8	1985-1986, BPW Program (1 of 3)
	9	1985-1986, BPW Program (2 of 3)
	10	1985-1986, BPW Program (3 of 3)
	11	1986-1987, BPW Program (1 of 4)
	12	1986-1987, BPW Program (2 of 4)
	13	1986-1987, BPW Program (3 of 4)
	14	1986-1987, BPW Program (4 of 4)
7	1	1987-1988, Club Materials
5	1	1987-1989, BPW Program (1 of 2)
	2	1987-1989, BPW Program (2 of 2)
	3	1988-1990, Club Materials (1 of 3)
	4	1988-1990, Club Materials (2 of 3)
	5	1988-1990, Club Materials (3 of 3)
7	2	1989-1990, Club Materials
	3	1991-1992, Club Materials
5	6	1991-1993, Club Materials (1 of 6)
	7	1991-1993, Club Materials (2 of 6)
	8	1991-1993, Club Materials (3 of 6)
	9	1991-1993, Club Materials (4 of 6)
	10	1991-1993, Club Materials (5 of 6)
	11	1991-1993, Club Materials (6 of 6)
7	4	1993-1994, Club Materials
5	12	1994-1995, BPW Program (1 of 2)
	13	1994-1995, BPW Program (2 of 2)
6	1	1995-1996, Club Materials (1 of 3)
	2	1995-1996, Club Materials (2 of 3)
7	5	1995-1996, Club Materials (3 of 3)
6	3	1997-1999, Club Materials (1 of 2)
	4	1997-1999, Club Materials (2 of 2)
7	6	1997-1998, Club Materials
6	5	Club Materials, n.d.
	6	Club Materials, n.d.
	7	Club Materials, n.d.
	8	Club Materials, n.d.
	9	Club Materials, n.d.
	10	Club Materials, n.d.
	11	Club Materials, n.d.
	12	Club Materials, n.d.
	13	Club Materials, n.d.
	14	Membership award and certificates, 2007
7	7	1999-2000, Club Materials
	8	2001, Club Materials
	9	2002, Club Materials
	10	2003, Club Materials
	11	2004, Club Materials
	12	2005, Club Materials
	13	2006, Club Materials
	14	2007-2008, Club Materials
	15	2009, Club Materials
	16	Club Materials, n.d.
	17	Artifacts, Club Materials
8	1	Ohio Senate Award, 2004