The Congress of American Women was an American women's rights organization. It was founded in New York on International Women's Day, March 8, 1946, following the 1945 founding conference of the Women's International Democratic Federation in Paris, to which it affiliated. Its primary organizer was Elinor S. Gimbel (wife of Louis S. Gimbel, Jr., grandson of Adam Gimbel of Gimbels department store). In 1948 the organization was attacked as a communist front organization by the House Un-American Activities Committee and was forced to register as a "subversive" organization. The organization was finally dissolved in 1950.
The congress was an official US branch of the Women's International Democratic Federation, which though an antifascist organization was pro-Soviet. The organization supported progressive policies giving women full rights and equality both in the home and economically. They supported labor organizing and civil rights and were against anticommunist attacks on liberals. Though many members were communists or part of the popular front, membership in the organization included a broad mix of liberal, middle-class women.
Author Eleanor Flexner was appointed executive director in 1946. Among its other members were anthropologist Gene Weltfish, aviator Jacqueline Cochran, social worker Mary van Kleeck, educator Charlotte Hawkins Brown, author and artist Muriel Draper, labor leader Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, politician Cornelia Bryce Pinchot, and journalist Susan B. Anthony II. Actress Jean Muir was briefly a member.
The Congress of American Women was an American women's rights organization. It was founded in New York on International Women's Day, March 8, 1946, following the 1945 founding …
Of the 151 women in the Current Congress: 9 identify as Asian American/Pacific Islander; 29 identify as Black; 19 identify as Latina 1 identifies as Native American/Alaska Native/Native …
Women have served in the United States House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the United States Congress, since 1917 following the election of Republican Jeannette Rankin …
women first entered by winning regular general elections. women lawmakers held previous elective offices prior to entering Congress.
13 Jan 2025 · Despite a long-running trend toward more racial, gender, age and ethnic diversity on Capitol Hill, the makeup of this session will look dramatically different, with fewer women, …
21 Jan 2025 · Scott is the first lawmaker of Filipino descent in the U.S. Congress. Strickland is the first Black lawmaker to represent her state at the federal level, as well as one of the first …
This infographic highlights 10 Congresses that are notable in the history of women’s fight for equal representation in the United States. Three years before the ratification of the Nineteenth …
As of October 12, 2022, 151 women are serving in the 117th Congress. There are 127 women serving in the House (including 3 Delegates and the Resident Commissioner), 93 Democrats …
21 Jan 2025 · In 2016, Duckworth successfully ran for U.S. Senate, becoming the first disabled woman and second Asian American woman elected to the chamber. Two years later, she …
The Congress of American Women was an American women's rights organization. It was founded in New York on International Women's Day, March 8, 1946, following the 1945 founding …
