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The
founding of Zonta International occupies a
unique moment in women's history. Established in Buffalo, New
York, USA in 1919, early members were among the first generation
of college-educated women, the first generation of North
American women to vote, and a part of the growing, though still
comparatively small, legion of women entering the workforce.
Over the decades, Zonta International has grown
into a worldwide service organization of executives in business
and the professions working together to advance the status of
women. There are more than 31,000 members in more than 1,200
clubs in 67 countries all over the world.
Inspiration and Founder
While working in a prominent role at the Buffalo Express at a
time when women rarely held leadership positions, playwright and
journalist Marian de Forest conceived the idea of an
organization that would bring together women in executive
positions. She envisioned a strong network that would help women
reach their rightful places in the professions.
By March of 1919, five women had chartered
Zonta International's first club, in Buffalo, New York.
Membership grew rapidly. By 1920, a confederation of nine Zonta
clubs had formed with 600 members.
Helping Shape Women's Lives in the 20th and 21st
Centuries
While Zonta shared a common vision with hundreds of women's
clubs in the first part of the 20th century - encouraging
women's teamwork, courage, risk-taking, and self-reliance - it
also represented something of a departure.
Zonta's strict business and classification system required its
members to be employed at least 50 percent of the time at an
executive or decision-making level in a recognized business or
profession. In addition, each club could have just one member
per business classification, a requirement that ensured clubs
would consist of "experts" in a broad range of fields. The
founders foresaw the benefits of having clubs made up of
architects, artists, educators, entrepreneurs, executives,
doctors, government officials, lawyers, pilots, scientists and
more. This diverse expertise meant clubs could offer their
communities and the world optimum service, backed by a broad
range of understanding and insight.
Early members were keenly aware of the challenges of carving a
place for themselves in what was still a predominantly male
domain. Many Zonta clubs actively pursued gender equity in
employment opportunities.
During the 1930s, Zonta International
grew to 130 clubs in six countries spanning three continents and
continued its push for gender equity in employment. After the
United States passed the "Married Persons Law," which
predominantly affected wives by prohibiting more than one family
member from working for the government, Zonta adopted a
resolution to demand repeal of the law; and, in 1944, delegates
to the Zonta International Convention endorsed the elimination
of gender discrimination in job opportunities and rates of pay.
The organization also expressed support for women's reserves to
the military service.
While Zonta's work to achieve gender equity in employment dates
back many years, so do its efforts in other critical areas of
women's lives. Education has been a focus since the adoption of
the Vocational Education for Girls Project, Zonta's first US
service program, in 1928. The project asked Zontians to provide
information on their job descriptions, work conditions,
compensation and training requirements for a centralized job
bank available to high school libraries, universities and
colleges.
In 1923, Zonta supported relief efforts to care
for 115,000 orphan children in Smyrna, Turkey, an event that
marked the beginning of Zonta's dedication to helping women
internationally. As technology made the world a smaller place
and Zonta clubs sprang up around the globe, international
service projects, initially dedicated to world peace and women's
role in attaining it, increased. Action for World Peace
expressed support for the fledgling United Nations (UN) and was
adopted at the 1946 Convention.
The Amelia Earhart Fellowships Program, launched in 1938,
commemorates groundbreaking aviator and Zontian Amelia Earhart.
Ellen Parks, then serving as Zonta International President,
remembered, "At that time few women considered a career in
aerospace engineering, yet not one voice of doubt was raised as
to the success of such a scholarship." Ten years later, the Z
Club Program was established to promote youth leadership and
career mentorship. Today, these programs stand as Zonta's
longest running programs, two of several dedicated to improving
educational, leadership and youth development opportunities for
women around the world.
In 1956, when Soviet troops marched into
Hungary, Zonta International worked through the
UN to provide food and shelter to Hungarian refugees. Since
then, Zonta has frequently funded UN projects through the
International Service Fund. Projects such as the Vocational and
Teacher Training Center for Women in Ramallah, Jordan; Mobile
Medical Units to serve mothers and children in rural Ghana; the
Young Mothers Hostel Project in Uruguay; and the Revolving Loan
Fund for Village Women in the Delta and Upper Egypt have
improved thousands of women's lives.
One of the first service organizations to understand women's
unique role in achieving world peace, Zonta International
continues to promote justice and universal respect for human
rights and fundamental freedoms.
Zonta Clubs still select, fund and participate in community
projects fundamental to promoting women's economic
self-sufficiency, political equality, access to education and
health care and the elimination of violence against women.
Each year, Zontians dedicate thousands of volunteer hours and
millions of dollars to affecting these changes, while the Zonta
International programs funded by the Zonta International
Foundation impact these issues on a global level. |
