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A Brief Overview of Women's History

"It is Important to remember that men were suffragists, too. The suffrage movement both included men as supporters and depended on the votes that only men could cast."

"To get the word male... out of the Constitution cost the women of this country 52 years of pauseless campaigning..."

During that time they were forced to coduct:
   • 19 campaigns with 19 successive congresses.
   • 56 campaigns of referenda to male voters;
   • 480 campaigns to get legislatures to submit suffrage amendments to voters;
   • 47 campaigns to get state constitutional conventions to write woman suffrage into state constitutions;
   • 277 campaigns to get state party conventions to include woman suffrage planks;
   • 30 campaigns to get presidential party conventions to adopt woman suffrage planks in party       platforms.

NYS Women Inc Buffalo Niagara Chapter Time Line of Important Events

1933- Business and Professional Club founded.

1938- The controversy over the competition of women for men's jobs continues. Surveys showed over 2,700,000 more women seeking work than had been anticipated.

1941- Focus of the NYS Women Inc Buffalo Niagara Chapter centered around changes in order to achieve more effective club programs.

1943- Thomas J. Watson is a quest speaker and points out that more than 1,750,000 women were working; doing jobs never before done by women. He stated that "men must begin to consider women and train them for jobs to replace vacancies left by enlistments in the armed forces."

1950- May C. Sickmon named NYS Women Inc Buffalo Niagara Chapter's 1950 Outstanding Business Woman for National Business Women's Week for her work in crusading for more educational opportunities for girls and young women who could not financially afford to.

1960- Mrs. Helen Zaidee M. Rogers died-honored by being the only woman appointed to head a committee, for being an active worker for woman suffrage, the first woman lawyer to try a case before the State Court of Appeals, and a member of the NYS Women Inc Buffalo Niagara Chapter.

1970's- This era was dominated by the effort to have the Equal Rights Amendment ratified.

1980's- The focus of monthly meetings changed to focus on women's issues; career fairs initiated.

1990's- NYS Women Inc Buffalo Niagara Chapter continued to be an advocate for working women and to achieve equality for all women in the workplace.

Archive of Documents in the History of NYS Women Inc Buffalo Niagara Chapter

Complete NYS Women Inc Buffalo Niagara Chapter history (PDF)
Announcement from NYS Women Inc Buffalo Niagara Chapter 1934-1964 (Word doc)
1975-1976 Annual NYS Women Inc Buffalo Niagara Chapter Report:
Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4 | Page 5
1975 Club Report (jpg image)
Club Officers Report 1974-1975 (Word doc)

Newspaper Article: