BPW Foundation

Each year in June, we ( the committee members ) mutually agree on recipients for our Annual Scholarship Awards . Additionally, we donate to a Charity of our choice in December. All proceeds from our events go toward Scholarship Awards and Charity Donations. The National Federation of Business and Professional Women's clubs was founded in July 1919.... The organization later filed to "do business as" (dba) Business and Professional Women/USA (BPW/USA). While mobilizing for World War I, the U.S. Government recognized the need for a cohesive group to coordinate identification of women's available skills and experience. A Women's War Council, financed through a federal grant, was established by the War Department to organize the resources of professional women. Throughout the years, three major issues shaped BPW's legislative agenda: elimination of sex discrimination in employment, the principle of equal pay, and the need for a comprehensive equal rights amendment. 1920s -"BPW Goodwill Tour" of Europe initiated the founding of the International BPW Federation. With the theme, "Better Business Women for a Better Business World, "National Business Women's Week was established to celebrate and dramatize the contribution of women to the country. 1930s -BPW worked to prohibit legislation or directives denying jobs to married women. BPW lobbied hard and successfully to legislatively end the legal practice, of workplace preference for unmarried persons and, in the case of married persons, preference for males. 1940s -At the advent of World War II, BPW developed a classification system for women with specialized skills critical to the effort; BPW supported the formation of women's branches of the Armed Forces. While wage discrimination has existed in the u.s. since women and minorities first entered the paid workforce, its prevalence was not felt until the massive influx of women sought work during World War II. I immediately following the war, the Women's Pay Act of 1945- the first ever legislation to require equal pay ...Read More