THE HISTORY OF AAUW

AAUW’s story begins in 1881 when a small group of female college graduates banded together to open the doors for women’s career advancement and to encourage more women to pursue higher education.  Its founder was Marion Talbot, who became the Dean of the College of Women at the University of Chicago and a leading figure in higher education, and Ellen Swallow Richards, the first woman to earn a degree in chemistry and a leader in the field of home economics.

At that time, women faced significant barriers in accessing higher education and in pursuing jobs outside a limited number of fields. AAUW’s founding marked one of the first organized efforts to advance opportunities for women to pursue higher education and careers — and for equal treatment with men.

In our early years, we offered women a way to unite as a source of strength, support and power. We launched one of the most enduring fellowship programs for women in world. And we commissioned groundbreaking research that documented women’s abilities and equal value.

Prominent members included such influential woman as Hull House co-founder Jane Addams, suffragist pioneers Carrie Chapman Catt and May Wright Sewall, Edith Abbott who was the first woman Dean of a graduate school (University of Chicago), pioneering geneticist Nettie Stevens, groundbreaking research scientist Gertrude Rand who discovered the test for color blindness, the first woman elected to Congress Rep. Jeannette Raskin (R-MT) and the first Jewish woman elected to Congress Rep. Florence Prag Kahn.

Throughout the economic boom of the 1920s, the Great Depression and the New Deal of the 1930s and the WW II and post-war era of the ‘40s and ‘50s, AAUW continued to thrive. Our influential network helped to increase the number of women attending college and universities and supported women in their career development.

By the time we celebrated our 50th anniversary in 1931, AAUW had had 521 branches and 36,800 members. By 1949, we had grown to 1,097 branches and more than 108,000 members.

We greatly expanded our fellowship program, providing direct support for women to pursue their educations. We documented discrimination on campuses and fought for increased inclusion and improved recognition for women in higher education and the workplace.  And we supported many pioneering women in STEM, including Nobel Prize winner Marie Curie.

In addition, AAUW worked with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt to help to launch the World Center for Women’s Archives, which literally wrote women into the history books.

During WWII, we supported the establishment of women’s units of the armed services and advocated for equal pay and rank for women. Members at the national and local level participated in civilian and military wartime activities, including raising money for a War Relief Fund to assist European scholars and university women displaced by the military occupation.

AAUW actively advocated for the creation of the United Nations: President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed AAUW board member Virginia Gildersleeve, founder of the International Federation of University Women (now Graduate Women International) and one-time Barnard College president, as the sole female U.S. delegate to the San Francisco Conference  (United Nations Conference on International Organization) to discuss the creation of the United Nations in 1945. AAUW was granted permanent U.N. observer status in 1946.

The 1960s ushered in an era of significant social progress in the U.S., and AAUW played a pivotal role. Throughout the decade, we became grew increasingly engaged in the Civil Rights Movement: AAUW President Blanche Dow was on the Steering Committee of the National Women’s Committee for Civil Rights.

We launched efforts to mark the 15th anniversary of the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights  and the Action for a Unified Society program, with branch activities around the country designed to promote racial understanding and civil rights. We created the Coretta Scott King Fund  to provide scholarships to enable Black women to become leaders in academia, business, the professions, the arts and public service.

AAUW remained at the forefront of the Feminist Movement, continuing its fight for laws and policies to increase gender equity. Our members served on the 1961 Presidential Commission on the Status of Women, and around the country and in Washington D.C., our local branches lobbied for passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963. We advocated for reforms on issues such as equal pay, reproductive rights, maternity leave, sexual harassment, and sexual violence. Our commitment to environmental issues was marked by the publication of a 1968 study, This Beleaguered Earth—Can Man Survive? and corresponding local initiatives focused on improving the environment.

We continued to lead the fight for equality in education. AAUW published the groundbreaking Campus 1970: Where Do Women Stand? report, which documented widespread sexual discrimination against women at all levels of education. AAUW was instrumental in the creation and passage of Title IX, which was introduced by AAUW Member Rep. Edith Green (D-OR) and was co-sponsored by AAUW Member Rep. Patsy Mink (D-HI). We have continued to track the progress —as well as the setbacks – of Title IX, continuing to push for advances in gender equity education ever since.

Our members forged new pathways in leadership. AAUW member Rep. Shirley Chisholm (D-NY) was the first Black woman elected to the U.S. Congress, the first Black American to run for president and the first woman to run for presidential nomination from a major political party. AAUW member Patricia Roberts Harris was the first Black woman appointed to the U.S. Cabinet, serving as U.S. Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development and of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. She was also the first Black woman to become a U.S. Ambassador. AAUW member Juanita Kreps was appointed as the first woman U.S. Secretary of Commerce.

AAUW has continued to trailblaze for women, breaking down barriers and making the world more equitable for future generations. We are a prominent voice in the national conversation about the gender pay gap, anchored in the annual publication of The Simple Truth about Gender Pay Gap.

We advocate for laws and policies at the federal and state level. AAUW galvanized and led the fight for the passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 and for upgraded pay laws in dozens of states. We were active in the White House United States of Women Summit and the White House Equal Pay Pledge in 2016. We also have trained thousands of women through our Work Smart and Start Smart salary negotiation training programs. And since 2002, we have hosted the National Conference for College Women Student Leaders (NCCWSL), which provides support and training for thousands of women as the embark on their careers.

Our Legal Advocacy Fund has supported more than 120 plaintiffs in lawsuits related to sex discrimination in higher education and the workplace, including supporting the Dukes v. Walmart case, the largest-ever class-action sexual discrimination lawsuit. Although the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the suit, deeming the class too big to move forward, the case brought renewed and galvanized national attention and advocacy to the issues.

We continue to focus on women’s education: Our research includes the landmark How Schools Shortchange Girls report in 1992, which sparked national debate and led to greater investments in closing the gaps. Our 2006 report, Drawing the Line: Sexual Harassment on Campus, and 2011 report, Crossing the Line: Sexual Harassment on Campus, helped to set standards for new policies and practices. AAUW was active in the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault and to ensure the enduring promise of Title IX.

AAUW’s Why So Few? Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics and Solving the Equation: The Variables for Women’s Success in Engineering and Computing became sentinel publications in identifying the gaps keeping women from the STEM fields and igniting efforts for change. Our Deeper in Debt: Women and Student Loans report documented how much more debt women occur than men.

Today, more than a third of American women get a college education, a larger percentage than men. The number of women in the workforce is above 50%.

In 2018, AAUW adopted its strategic plan, providing the foundation and  vision to advance gender equity for women and girls. Since then, we’ve achieved many milestones toward our goals. As we approach 2021, we’ve honed in on key areas where AAUW can continue to lead with an improved set of strategic objectives — call it the 2.0 version — that align with the enormous social, political and organizational changes we’ve seen since in the past two years.

As we embark together on this update to our 2018 plan, we at AAUW stand ready. We know that we can— and will — lead the change we want to achieve.

EDUCATION & TRAINING

GOAL: Champion equal access in education, emphasizing STEM.

• Increase success for girls and women of color in STEM through improvement of and access to learning environments.
• Support educational pathways for women and girls, particularly STEM and with increased focus for women and girls of color.

GOAL: Ensure education at every level is free from sex discrimination.

• Protect and expand compliance with Title IX and other civil rights laws across all U.S. states and territories.

ECONOMIC SECURITY

GOAL: Shrink the gender pay gaps.

• Champion pay equity federally and in all U.S. states and territories.
• Lead nation in providing salary negotiation programs for employees and tools for employers, reaching 1 million women.

• GOAL: Bolster inclusive career pathways for women in skills and training.
• Develop blueprint and scalable plan for women of color to access STEM careers.
• Expand Empower career development series for women in the workforce by at least 15%.
• Support employers with tools and best practices to create inclusive pipelines and pathways for women, particularly women of color.

 LEADERSHIP

GOAL: Expand number of women in leadership, particularly in STEM.

• Encourage early and midcareer women of color to pursue leadership pathways.
• Showcase the impact of leadership development for advancing women, particularly women of color.
• Advocate for leadership transparency & change in education and nonprofit sectors.

GOVERNANCE & SUSTAINABILITY

GOAL: Implement continuous improvement and best practices in governance, inclusion and organizational functioning.

• Embody the goals and spirit of equity, inclusion, diversity and intersectionality across all AAUW activities and participants, prioritizing women of color. Conduct a SWOT of AAUW’s work to ensure inclusion and equity lens and review of structural racism in all work.
• Evaluate and competitively assess AAUW’s governance model, ensuring best practices in nonprofit board structure and service.
• Modernize AAUW’s technology infrastructure and build strategic, integrated, comprehensive, forward-looking communications and program platforms.

GOAL: Enhance financial sustainability by increasing and diversifying revenue.

• Complement existing membership model with new modes to engage new audiences, increase donor populations, and achieve greater impact through partnerships.
• Showcase ways affiliates can support national initiatives and priorities in ways that round out the local impact affiliates are making.
• Explore feasibility of a fundraising campaign that will embolden national priorities.

* 145,000 represents the last two years. Total trained in our negotiation programs to date is 176,000