MC 838

Inventory to the Records of New Jersey Federation of Business and Professional Women, 1919-1998

By Fernanda Perrone

2001

Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries

Administrative History of the New Jersey Federation of Business and Professional Women

Foundation

The New Jersey Federation of Business and Professional Women (NJBPW) was founded on May 30, 1919. The Trenton Business and Professional Women's Club, the first such club in the state, took the lead in organizing the initial meeting. As well as members of the Trenton Club, the founders included representatives of various types of professional women's clubs, such as the Philanti Club of Paterson, the Young Women's Club of Orange, the Girls Service Club of Jersey City, the Business Girls Club of Camden, and others. 1 The establishment of the New Jersey Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs, as it was originally known, was part of a national movement to create an organization of white collar working women. This movement arose out of the need to mobilize business and professional women during the First World War. In 1917, the U.S. War Department established a Women's War Council, made up of leaders of the Young Women's Christian Association, to collect data on working women in each state, which found that scattered local organizations already existed. As a result of the survey, the War Department allocated $65,000 to create a national organization. In May 1918, about one hundred women met in New York for a two-day planning meeting, the result of which was the creation of a new organization known as the National Business Women's Committee, made up of 25 women representing various clubs and organizations. Lena Madesin Phillips, the newly-arrived Secretary of the National Board of the YWCA, who had expressed a desire to work among business and professional women, was chosen as executive secretary.

Although the Armistice was signed before Phillips could begin her new duties, the War Department authorized the continuing funding of the project as valuable to post-war society. Under Phillips' leadership, the Committee divided the country into five districts, put an organizer in charge of each one, and drafted a sample constitution. In March 1919, the Committee recommended that state federations be established, and delegates met in St. Louis in July to form a permanent organization. While the New Jersey federation's role in the founding convention is unclear, among the delegates was Louise Connelly, a museum curator from New Jersey, and attorney Paula Laddey, also of New Jersey, who became the first national federation treasurer and was one of the designers of the national federation's constitution. Lena Madesin Phillips continued as executive secretary of the new organization. 2

The purpose of the New Jersey Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs, as expressed in the earliest extant example of the state constitution, was: to promote the interests of Business and Professional Women; to secure beneficial legislation for women, to encourage co-operative efforts among women and an inter change of ideas;to gather and distribute information relative to vocational opportunities and to bring about a great solidarity of feeling among business and professional women throughout the State. 3

The constitution set up two classes of membership (club and individual) and stipulated that every club holding membership in the state federation would automatically become a member of the national federation, paying dues accordingly. Notably, only clubs 75 per cent of whose membership was made up of active business and professional women were eligible for membership. The constitution also identified officers (President, First Vice President, Second Vice President, Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretary, and Treasurer), who were to be elected by ballot at the annual meeting. A Third Vice President was added later. The constitution also set up standing committees, initially legislation, program and publicity, organization, membership, and finance. Other committees were added or subtracted as needed. One of the duties of the program committee was to outline suggested programs of study and advocacy to the state federations, and through them to the local clubs. 4 Local clubs could in turn make program suggestions through their state federation which were transmitted to the national. Most importantly, the constitution established the policy of the federation as a "self-governing, self-supporting, non-sectarian, and non-partisan" organization. 5

Early Years and Depression Era

In the early years of its existence, the New Jersey federation focused its efforts on the founding of new clubs. In the Charter Day Celebration on November 19, 1923, national federation president Lena Lake Forrest presented charters to the New Brunswick, Princeton, Plainfield, Trenton and Summit clubs. By the annual meeting held in Lakewood in 1926, there were seven local clubs in New Jersey, including members from 50 different businesses and professions, as compared to 15 a few years earlier. At this meeting, dues were raised from 25 to 50 cents per member. During this period, the federation actively raised money for scholarships, contributing to the national Lena Lake Forrest Scholarship Fund, founded in 1923. In 1927, a scholarship and loan fund was established in honor of Mary L. Johnston, state president from 1922 to 1928 and national treasurer. The first recipient was Barbara Milliken, a student at Jackson College in Medford, Massachusetts. The federation also became involved in the first of many legislative campaigns. In 1921, each local club was urged to appoint a committee to study special legislation for women. In that year, the federation joined the New Jersey League of Women Voters and other women's organizations in endorsing the Sheppard Towner Maternity and Infancy Protection Act, which provided federal funds to improve maternal and infancy care. 6

The second decade of the federation's existence began positively with the inauguration, after several false starts, of an annual statewide publication, Chat, which reported on local club news, in 1929. In 1928, the national federation had introduced the yearly observation of National Business Women's Week, which was first celebrated in New Jersey with a proclamation by the state governor in 1930. During Business Women's Week, clubs throughout the country called "national attention to the purposes and achievements of the federation through elaborate community events in each locality." 7

In the late 1920s, the NJBPW followed the lead of the national federation in supporting the cause of international peace. In 1923, at the Portland, Oregon Convention, the national federation declared in favor of the entry of the United States into the World Court. 8 In November 1928, the state federation endorsed the Kellogg-Briand Pact, a multi-lateral treaty by which all signatories renounced war as an instrument of national policy. 9 The New Jersey federation also joined an umbrella organization, the New Jersey branch of the Committee on the Cause and Cure of War, which included ten other state women's organizations. 10 In conjunction with the Committee, the federation contributed $25 for a delegate from New Jersey to attend the national convention, two local conferences were held, programs were suggested and "an institute was held for training in leadership of groups for study of international problems." 11 The national federation had established a Commission on International Relations, which sponsored a series of goodwill tours to meet with business and professional women from other countries. In 1930, Lena Madesin Phillips, who served as national president from 1927 to 1929, founded the International Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs in Geneva, of which the U.S. federation became an affiliate.

The economic crisis of the Great Depression, however, led to a change in the federation's direction. In 1931, the national federation adopted a Ten-Year Objective which broadened the organization's mission to include "improving social and economic conditions of everyone to ensure fullest opportunities for development of their varying capacities." 12 On the local level, New Jersey responded with several initiatives. In 1931, the federation lobbied for the Old Age Pension Bill then before the New Jersey Assembly. In 1933, the state federation wrote to the governor urging continuation of the Bureau for Women and Children; only established in 1929, the Bureau had been suspended as a result of the Depression. 13 At the 1933 state convention in Atlantic City, the federation recommended that each club establish an Economic Roundtable in line with the Ten Year Objective. At the convention the following year, the federation resolved to "contribute towards economic rehabilitation by adopting as a major project the re-employment of white collar women." 14 In response, local clubs set up vocational referral bureaus, and worked with local Chambers of Commerce, State Emergency Relief bureaus, businesses and men's service clubs to match applicants with jobs. By May 1934, a total of 178 women were placed in temporary or permanent jobs. 15

During the early 1930s, the federation was divided in its support for protective legislation, measures which limited the hours, set minimum wages, and prohibited night work for women. These laws, which were supported by the majority of working-class women's organizations, were seen as important for protecting women's health and well-being and saving them from exploitation. In 1933, in spite of the opposition of former suffragist Amelia Moorfield, president of the Newark Club, who served as a representative of the Industrial Standards Committee on the state board, the federation passed a resolution opposing any labor legislation which did not equally protect men and women. 16

At the 1937 Biennial Convention, which was held in Atlantic City, the national federation passed a resolution declaring itself opposed to any legislation which protected women only. From this resolution, it naturally followed that the federation would come out in support of the Equal Rights Amendment. The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), written by Alice Paul and first introduced in Congress in 1923, was opposed by women's organizations such as the State Federation of Women's Clubs, Consumers League and the League of Women Voters, who feared it would invalidate the protective legislation for which they had fought so hard. In 1937, under the leadership of its new president, attorney and former state assemblywoman May Carty, the NJBPW endorsed the Equal Rights Amendment: Whereas, this Federation has for the past six annual conventions declared itself as opposed to all discriminatory legislation including so-called "protective legislation" for women, be it therefore resolved that we support the Susan B. Anthony amendment to the Federal constitution and that we instruct our delegates to the National Convention of this action and policy. 17

Carty, who had supported protective legislation in the Assembly ten years before, like many other upper middle-class professional women, changed her position when she realized that such laws might interfere with her goal of equality with men. 18

The War Years

In 1938, veteran suffragist Mary Philbrook formed the Committee to Eliminate Discrimination against Women (CEDAW,) which included representatives of the New Jersey Women Lawyers Club and NJBPW. CEDAW's objectives were to repeal protective legislation and to secure passage of an ERA to the state constitution. The group drew up two bills, one to amend the minimum wage law by deleting the word woman, and another to repeal the Night Work Law. The NJBPW, which at that time boasted five thousand members, endorsed both bills. Although neither bill was successful, the drive for a state ERA would have important consequences.

In late 1940, the New Jersey League of Women Voters was approached by several organizations and individuals to promote the idea of revising the now antiquated 1844 New Jersey State constitution. The movement for revision was inaugurated in February 1941 when League president Lena Anthony Robbins chaired a meeting attended by about 200 representatives of interested groups, including the NJBPW. Unlike the League, however, the NJBPW was not deeply involved in the plans for constitution revision, except as pertained to the Equal Rights Amendment. In spring 1941, Mary Philbrook formed the Women's Consultive Committee on Constitutional Amendments, the sole purpose of which was to incorporate a state ERA into the new constitution. Among the members of this 23-woman committee was NJBPW president Emma Dillon, the first female executive officeholder of the New Jersey State Bar Association.

The outbreak of war in December 1941 caused the NJBPW to once again shift its focus. Topics of discussion at the 1942 annual convention included the constitutional legitimacy of Japanese internment, and how the federation could best contribute to the programs of the State Defense Council. Indeed the NJBPW was extremely successful in raising money for the war effort. Through the purchase of war bonds, the federation financed the building of an Air Craft Rescue Boat and hospital airplane, for which it received an award from the U.S. Treasury Department. Women's participation in war work did, however, make the concept of protective legislation seem outdated. NJBPW and CEDAW called for complete repeal of the laws, while the League of Women Voters and Consumers League supported a one year limitation.

In spite of the wartime emergency, work on the revision of the New Jersey constitution continued. Between 1942 and early 1944, Mary Philbrook and the Committee on Constitutional Amendments continued to press for the inclusion of an ERA in the revised constitution. When in spring 1944, she learned that the proposal did not include a specific amendment guaranteeing equal rights for women, Philbrook organized the Women's Non-Partisan Committee against the Proposed Revised Constitution. This committee was co-chaired by Emma Dillon and included the president of the Business and Professional Women of Westfield. The committee issued press releases, broadsides, pamphlets, and gave speeches urging women to vote no to the referendum. Emma Dillon agreed with Philbrook but opposed any militant activity, noting that the long-retired Philbrook could spend all of her time on the campaign, while her own members had to spend 90 per cent of their time earning their livings. 19

The referendum was ultimately defeated by a coalition of women's organizations and forces loyal to Democratic Party chairman Frank Hague, who viewed the constitution as partisan and threatening to the power of his local organization.

The movement was revived in January 1947, when, in his inaugural address, Governor Alfred E. Driscoll called for revision by Constitutional Convention. Mary Philbrook, now 74, immediately organized the Women's Alliance for Equal Status, which included the NJBPW, the New Jersey Women's Party, the New Jersey Women Lawyers Club and the Organization of Women Legislators of New Jersey. The members submitted a proposed Equal Rights Clause to the Convention: All persons are by nature free and independent, and have certain natural and unalienable rights among which are those of enjoying life and liberty, acquiring and possessing, and protecting property, and of pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness. The word "persons" shall be construed to "mean men and women, and no distinction shall be created between them in their equal enjoyment of said rights." 20

The convention had eight women delegates, including Jane Barus, president of the League of Women Voters of New Jersey, and Olive Sanford, assemblywoman and former president of the League. Several NJBPW members ran for delegate positions, but none were elected. 21

During the convention, Philbrook's committee sought out the Committee on Rights and Privileges and on Rules, and urged them to include the equal rights clause. The Committee on Rights, however, was uncomfortable with the clause because of the fear that the specific reference to women would invalidate protective legislation--the committee furthermore perceived that women were divided among themselves over the issue. Only by an ingenious compromise devised by four women attorneys and NJBPW members was the controversy resolved.

These four women--May Carty, former NJBPW president Myra Blakeslee, Judge Libby Sachar, president of the BPW of the Plainfields, and Marguerite Carpenter of the Orange BPW--drafted a resolution that wherever the word men appeared in the 1844 constitution's Bill of Rights, the word person should be substituted, and that the word person should be explicitly stated to refer to both sexes. The resolution was a compromise in that by avoiding a specific declaration of equal rights for women, it did not contradict the protective legislation already on the books. The resolution was introduced to the committee by convention vice-president Marie Katzenbach with Blakeslee, Carpenter, Sachar and Emma Dillon in attendance, and passed. Philbrook's Women's Alliance supported the proposal, although some members felt it was an interim compromise. The constitution was approved by the voters on November 4, 1947. 22

Post-War Challenges

In the wake of the approval of the new constitution, the federation embarked on an ambitious legislative program. In November 1948, the board pledged to introduce an equal pay for equal work bill in the state legislature; to endeavor to have the No Night Work Law repealed; and to have the Fair Employment Practice Law amended to include the word sex. 23 The Equal Pay for Equal Work bill, which was introduced in the state legislature by assemblywoman Florence Dwyer of the Elizabeth Club, was passed in 1952 and became a model for the federal bill. 24 The New Jersey federation also encouraged the governor to appoint qualified women to governmental posts. 25 This policy was in line with the tactics of the national BPW, which set up its own Roster of Qualified Women, which it sent to the State Department, and encouraged local clubs to do the same. 26

The federation also renewed its support for internationalism in the new post-war world. During the war, a new umbrella organization, the New Jersey Women's Action Committee for a Lasting Peace, was formed with the demise of the Committee on the Cause and Cure of War. Emily Hickman, professor at New Jersey College for Women, active member of the New Brunswick club, and chair of the state federation's international relations committee, served as head of the new organization's education committee. 27 The Women's Action Committee lobbied to have women appointed to posts in international organizations. Although it suspended operations after the death of Hickman in a car accident in 1947, it resumed activity in 1951. The NJBPW also followed the national federation's policy of support for the United Nations and the peaceful resolution of international disputes. 28 In 1949, the New Jersey federation actively opposed the appointment of Judge Dorothy Kenyon to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women because of her known opposition to the ERA. 29 In 1955, Alba Thompson of New Jersey served as United Nations Observer.

Years of Expansion and Consolidation: 1950-1970

The 1950s were years of prosperity for the NJBPW. The federation's legislation committee was active on several fronts. The federation continued to lobby the governor to appoint women to high-level civil service posts. At the same time, concerned with the state's inadequate resources to meet the need for higher education, the federation passed a resolution to support a bond issue for the improvement of the state teachers' colleges. 30 The federation continued to be concerned with all types of legislation that would affect working women. In 1953-1954, it made a study of proposed revisions in the Income Tax Law, and as a result of its findings, lobbied Congress to grant additional deductions to taxpayers with young children, or old or infirm dependents. The federation also sought to have all Civil Service examinations opened to women; in 1958, it wrote in protest when it was discovered that the examination for Inspector of Migrant Labor was not open to women. 31

Throughout the decade, the federation continued to lobby for the Equal Rights Amendment. In 1956, Florence Dwyer was elected to the House of Representatives, where she would serve eight terms. In Congress, she advocated many of the causes supported by the NJBPW, such as equal pay legislation at the federal level. In 1970, with the help of Representative Martha Griffith of Michigan, she brought the Equal Rights Amendment, which had been stalled in committee since 1923, to the floor of the House.

The 1950s were also characterized by fund-raising drives and an expansion of program areas. Concerned for the retired members of the state federation, in 1951 a new committee on cooperative homes began to raise money for small-scale housing which would be owned and operated by the federation on a non-profit basis. Originally named the J. Margaret Warner Cooperative Residences, after state president Margaret Warner, in 1955, the name was changed at Warner's request to the Myra A. Blakeslee Building Fund after the former state president. Although by 1960 the fund had raised almost $4000, a special committee to study its growth came to the conclusion that the capital required for such a project was too great, and the money was subsequently returned to the local clubs. 32

A more successful fund-raising venture was the drive to raise money for a national headquarters building. Established in 1931, the campaign languished during the Depression, but was revived in later years with New Jersey leading the drive for funds, contributing 147 per cent of its state quota. During the move of the national headquarters from New York to Washington, D.C. in 1956, Helen Hurd, Dean of Students at University College, the Rutgers evening division, and president of the New Brunswick club, took a leave of absence to serve as executive director of the national federation. Hurd was also one of the founders of the Business and Professional Women's Foundation, incorporated in 1956. 33 In this year, the New Jersey federation presented a portrait of Lena Madesin Phillips to the national headquarters, in recognition of her work for the International Federation.

The state federation inaugurated two successful programs during this period. In 1944, the federation established a scholarship to the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs in Syracuse, New York for women interested in public administration. The scholarship program, which was matched by the School, earned the New Jersey federation national recognition. In 1955, a program was established whereby the federation awarded a scholarship to three public institutions in the state which were preparing women for business and the professions. After designating three different institutions each year, the federation left them to choose the winners.

Following the lead of the national federation, New Jersey embarked on several new program areas during the 1950s. As part of the new women's health area, local clubs studied ageing, mental health, children, accident prevention, and the provision of housing for retired women. The federation also promoted legislation for the mandatory licensing of nurses. 34 In 1951, the federation was awarded a certificate of merit from the Automotive Safety Foundation in recognition of "meritorious action in initiating and continuing a state-wide program stimulating public and official interest in the adoption of uniform traffic laws." 35 Another new program area was Civil Defense. In 1953, the national board issued a Declaration of Principles urging members "to remain alert and to reorganize their programs and efforts to combat communism." 36 In turn, in 1953, the Civil Defense Chairman encouraged local clubs to use the pamphlet Our Own Communists Can Cripple Us as discussion material, adding, however "let's not be witch-hunters but don't let's play into the hands of the Communits [sic]. Think of national security as a vital part of club and community work." 37

During the 1960s, the federation was involved in legislative activity at both the national and state level. In 1962, Florence Dwyer co-sponsored the Equal Pay Bill in the House of Representatives, and it was passed the following year. In 1964, following the policy of the national federation, the NJBPW supported the Civil Rights Act, which went beyond the Equal Pay Act by prohibiting discrimination in hiring and promotion and included "sex" as one of the illegal bases for discrimination. 38At the state level, the federation lobbied for the Equal Credit Act (1962), and for the appointment of a Status of Women Commission by the governor. In August 1964, Doris Hubatka, past-president of the New Jersey club was elected commission chairman. Other club women holding prominent positions during this period were Assemblywoman and later State Senator, Mildred Barry Hughes of the Elizabeth Club, and Katharine Elkus White, the first woman to be elected mayor of a New Jersey city, Red Bank, in 1963. In the 1962 congressional race, Florence Dwyer was challenged by another BPW member, Democrat Lilian Walsh Egolf of Rahway. In June 1968, the state convention passed two important resolutions: they urged the governor to establish a Women's Department within the newly created Department of Community Affairs; and they demanded that the Abortion Study Commission include at least one woman member. 39

The state federation's program expanded into several new areas during this period, many of which reflected an attempt to attract younger women. In 1962-1963, reflecting changing priorities, several new committees were created or renamed: Personal Development, Civic Participation, World Affairs and Public Relations. Personal development dealt "directly with the individual; her personal well-being, health (mental and physical), appearance, charm, opportunities and career...." 40 Civic Participation included a new focus on the problems of water and air pollution, in addition to civil defense; while as part of World Affairs, local clubs were encouraged to plan cultural activities and host members from overseas. In fact, in 1963 New Jersey won a national award for excellence in programming. As part of the new Young Career Woman Program, established in 1963, the club awarded an outstanding woman between the ages of 21 and 26, employed in business or a profession at least a year, a scholarship to attend the national convention. Local clubs were also active in founding Nike and Samothrace clubs for high school and college women respectively. These clubs, named for the elements of the BPW's emblem, were designed to encourage women to become involved in the BPW movement at an early age. In 1970, New Jersey had nine Nike clubs and one Samothrace club (at Drew University). 41

In spite of the New Jersey federation's many successes during the 1960s, signs were already appearing of a weakening membership base. As early as 1949, the national federation identified New Jersey as having one of the lowest proportions of members in the country, as compared to the overall number of women in the state. 42 In the mid-1950s, both the national and state federations became concerned about attrition among members. Although many women joined local Business and Professional Women's clubs, it was hard to retain members, particularly young women. By the 1960s, the problem was becoming more acute. In 1965, the New Jersey federation set up goals for the stabilization and equalization of its membership. "Stabilization" referred to retaining members from the previous year, while "equalization" meant bringing in new members to replace those who did not renew. In fact, in 1967, New Jersey won an award for increasing membership through starting six new clubs in Hoboken, Berkeley Heights, Maplewood, Secaucus, Hightstown and Edison. 43 It is noteworthy that most of these new clubs were in the fast-growing suburbs, while older city clubs such as Plainfield and Newark were losing members, and in Newark's case, disbanding in 1967.

Challenges of the 1970s

Declining membership became a serious problem in the 1970s. In December 1970, state president Katherine B. Eastburn deplored the loss of 600 members that year and called on clubs to be more inclusive. The problem was nationwide, however. A 1971 study commissioned to mark the 50th anniversary of the national federation found evidence of deterioration and declining membership, while noting that other organizations such as the American Association of University Women, Zonta, the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Negro Business and Professional Women showed growth. 44 The federation continued to try to increase and retain members through various schemes including a revamped award system for local clubs successful in attracting members, and a new district-based structure, allowing for more combined meetings and programs.

In spite of these difficulties, the NJBPW achieved several of its legislative objectives during the 1970s, such as the repeal of protective legislation in 1971. At the June 1970 state convention, the federation approved a resolution to support legislation implementing the majority report of the New Jersey Commission to Study Statutes Relating to Abortion. This report recommended the legalization of abortion in cases of rape, incest, an underage unmarried mother, a defective fetus, or to preserve the life and health of the mother. The landmark Supreme Court decision Roe vs. Wade in 1972 effectively guaranteed abortion rights at the federal level. The NJPBW renewed its support of reproductive freedom in the early 1990s, however, when various attempts were made to pass restrictive legislation. For example, in 1989, the federation joined a group of 31 organizations pledged to defend the right to choose, and in 1990 was listed in a pro-choice advertisement in the New York Times. 45

In 1972, New Jersey ratified the centerpiece of the BPW's legislative platform, the federal Equal Rights Amendment, after intensive lobbying by the federation and other women's organizations. After ratification, the federation raised money for the national campaign to ratify the ERA in other states, contributing $4672 by 1974. 46 In 1975, the state board declined, however, to align itself with the newly-formed N.J. Coalition for ERA, stating, "Autonomy will project attitudes that will attract segments of the voting populace that will not be reached by the predominantly feminist groups of which the coalition is comprised." 47 In 1977, the federation lobbied against Senator Dunn's effort to rescind New Jersey's ratification of the ERA. By 1982, however, only 35 states had ratified the amendment, three short of the 38 necessary for final ratification. In New Jersey, however, the effort to pass a separate state ERA (rejected by the voters in 1975) led to a rediscovery of the equal rights clause in the New Jersey constitution. In 1977, the NJBPW acted as a Friend of the Court in the case of Peper vs. the Princeton University Board of Trustees. In this case, in which a Princeton employee, Ilene Peper, sued the university over her failure to be promoted, the New Jersey Supreme Court held that the New Jersey constitution was an effective prohibitor of sex discrimination. 48

The 1980s and Beyond

In the 1980s and 1990s, the NJBPW undertook new legislative and programmatic goals, while grappling with a continuing membership crisis. In addition to the traditional equity and workplace issues, the federation lobbied for legislation related to women's health and welfare. For instance, the 1988-1989 platform supported legislation for affordable health care for all women with a special emphasis on AIDS-related disorders; welfare reform; government-subsidized shelters for the homeless and victims of domestic violence; affordable dependent care centers and services and guaranteed parental leave rights; prevention of child abuse and enforcement of child support payments; and affordable housing. Along with other organizations, the NJBPW lobbied successfully for the Domestic Violence Act of 1990; and was an invited guest at the signing of the Mammography Bill (1991), which required private insurance companies and Health Maintenance Organizations to pay for mammograms. Later the NJBPW lobbied successfully to include a check-off on New Jersey tax returns to contribute to breast cancer research. In 1992, the state federation supported the nationwide campaign for the federal Family and Medical Leave Bill. At the same time, the federation continued to lobby for equity legislation such as the Fair Pay Act of 1994. In that year, the state board passed a resolution that the ERA (which had been re-introduced in Congress in 1987) would be first and foremost of all legislative platform issues. 49

In spite of these successful campaigns, membership continued to decline. The federation introduced several initiatives to attract new members. In 1980, men were allowed to join for the first time, and in 1987, a new category of at-large members was introduced. Other strategies were the formation of membership expansion teams throughout the state, mergers, reforming or relocating old clubs, and relocating meeting places. The federation also introduced new fund-raising schemes, such as fashion shows. In 1985, the New Jersey Federation of Business and Professional Women dropped the antiquated-sounding "clubs" from its name. These strategies were somewhat successful. The Newark BPW, defunct since 1967, was reborn as the Metropolitan BPW, aimed at women who worked in the Newark area; and new clubs were started in previously rural areas which were rapidly being developed-South Somerset, Southern Ocean County and Central Jersey are a few examples. In 1987, the federation opened its first state office in Westfield.

However, by 1990 the BPW/USA's Revitalization Action Plan declared "We are at a crisis point in BPW's life. It is time to reevaluate our priorities....We must act now to rebuild our organization from the ground up." 50 The New Jersey federation totaled 1300 members in 1990. Clare E. Wherley, CPA, analyzed some of the causes of the decline in a thoughtful letter to the editor of The Voice of Working Women. She identified a need to reexamine what BPW stood for, noting that before the 1970s, BPW was the organization for working women, while by 1990, many working women's organizations representing specific occupations or special interests were available. 51 To try to streamline the organization, in August 1994, the BPW/USA Board of Directors voted to eliminate the mandatory requirements for local and state standing committees, so clubs could focus their attention on the issues of greatest importance. This suggestion had originated with the Sussex BPW, and made its way through the state federation to the national level. In the winter of 1996, the federation was considering disbanding or at least simplifying the overlaying district structure.

Another way in which the federation sought to adapt to a changing society was through expanding its educational programming, with a more direct focus on business. Beginning in the late 1970s, the state federation and districts held seminars such as "Financial Management for Women," and "Stress Management for Business and Professional Women." In 1983, with funding from the national federation, the NJBPW introduced Career Development Awards, scholarships for working women to advance their careers. At the May 1986 convention, the federation established an Educational Council to develop philosophy, guidelines and plans for implementing a training program for working women, with members and an advisory board representing business, education and government. In 1992, the Council conducted a study on what types of workshops and seminars would benefit members the most. The following year, the federation introduced workshops and seminars at state board meetings on topics such as how to choose a business partner, why sales people fail, and networking. Meanwhile, at the local level the popular Personal Development Committee (renamed Individual Development in 1969) sponsored programs on public speaking, debates, personal growth and leadership. 52 Today, although the New Jersey Business and Professional Women closed its state headquarters in 2001, it maintains a web site and virtual office and continues its educational, scholarship, publications and legislative programs in cooperation with the national federation.

NOTES:

(1) Minutes (May 30, 1919), Box 2, Folder 1.

(2) A History of the National Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs, Inc. 1919-1944 (New York, 1944), p. 12-24.

(3) Constitution, ca. 1929, Box 1, Folder 4.

(4) Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws of the National Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs (New York, 1924-25), p. 12. Box 1, Folder 1.

(5) Constitution, ca. 1929, Box 1, Folder 4. The New Jersey federation became incorporated in 1937

(6) Genevieve Ford, "History of the New Jersey Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs," TS, p. 2-4.

(7) History of the National Federation, p. 46

(8) History of the National Federation, p. 46

(9) Minutes (November 17, 1928), Box 2, Folder 5.

(10) Felice D. Gordon, After Winning: The Legacy of the New Jersey Suffragists, 1920-1947 (New Brunswick, 1986), p. 66-68

(11) Genevieve Ford, "History of the New Jersey Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs," TS, p. 2.

(12) Handbook of Federation Procedures (Washington, D.C., 1957), p. 6, Box 6, Folder 34.

(13) Minutes (March 18, 1933), Box 2, Folder 7.

(14) Minutes of 16th Annual Convention (May 18-20, 1934), Box 2, Folder 7.

(15) Report (April 15, 1935), Box 13, Folder 35.

(16) Minutes (March 18 and May 20, 1933), Box 2, Folder 7.

(17) Proceedings, 19th Annual Convention (May 15, 1937), p. 23, Box 2, Folder 9.

(18) Jean Azulery, "May Margaret Carty, 1882-1958," in Past and Promise: Lives of New Jersey Women" (Syracuse, N.Y., 1997), p. 251.

(19) Quoted in Sanjana Chopra, "The Battle for Equality: New Jersey's Equal Rights Amendment." (Unpublished Mabel Smith Douglass Honors Thesis, Rutgers University, 1999), p. 19.

(20) As quoted in Maxine Lurie, "The Twisted Path to Greater Equality: Women and the 1947 Constitution,"New Jersey History, Vol. 117, No. 1-2 (Spring/Summer 1999), p. 42.

(21) Sanjana Chopra, "The Battle for Equality: New Jersey's Equal Rights Amendment." (Unpublished Mabel Smith Douglass Honors Thesis, Rutgers University, 1999), p. 28.

(22) Felice D. Gordon, After Winning: The Legacy of the New Jersey Suffragists, 1920-1947 (New Brunswick, 1986), p. 186-187.

(23) Marguerite M. Carpenter to Legislative Chairman (November 24, 1948), Box 4, Folder 34.

(24) Katherine S. Allen, "Florence Price Dwyer, 1902-1976,"in Past and Promise, p. 274.

(25) Resolution (May 21, 1949), Box 13, Folder 45.

(26) Leila J. Rupp and Verta Taylor, Survival in the Doldrums: the American Women's Rights Movement, 1945 to the 1960s (New York, 1987), p. 66.

(27) John W. Chambers II and Larayne J. Dallas, "Emily Gregory Hickman, 1880-1947," Past and Promise, p. 32.

(28) Annual Convention, 1948, Minutes, Box 2, Folder 21.

(29) Newark Sunday News (May 22, 1949), Box 13, Folder 48.

(30) Minutes (January 20, 1951 and September 15, 1951), Box 2, Folder 23.

(31) Minutes (September 20, 1958), Box 2 Folder 36.

(32) Treasurer's Statement (November 19, 1960), Box 5, Folder 18 and Minutes (March 18, 1961), Box 2, Folder 37, and Minutes (September 9, 1961), Box 2, Folder 38.

(33) Marguerite Rawalt, A History of the National Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs, Inc., Vol. II 1944-1960 (Washington, D.C., 1969), p. 31.

(34) Report from Chairman, Committee on Health and Safety (Nov. 21, 1953), Box 4, Folder 38.

(35) Genevieve Ford, "History of the New Jersey Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs," TS, p. 3.

(36) Leila J. Rupp and Verta Taylor, Survival in the Doldrums: the American Women's Rights Movement, 1945 to the 1960s (New York, 1987), p. 139.

(37) Report (Nov. 21, 1953), Box 4, Folder 38.

(38) "The Fight for Equality: A BPW Photographic Journey."

(39) New Jersey Business Woman (June 1968) and Minutes (May 17, 1968), Box 2, Folder 44.

(40) New Jersey Business Woman (June 1967).

(41) Box 9, Folder 38.

(42) Report, Membership Chairman (1949), Box 13, Folder 39.

(43) New Jersey Business Woman (June 1967).

(44) New Jersey Business Woman (December 1970 and April 1971).

(45) Minutes (February 1990), Box 3, Folder 43.

(46) New Jersey Business Woman (August 1974).

(47) Minutes (September 20, 1975), Box 3, Folder 9.

(48) Sanjana Chopra, "The Battle for Equality: New Jersey's Equal Rights Amendment." (Unpublished Mabel Smith Douglass Honors Thesis, Rutgers University, 1999), p. 58.

(49) The Voice of Working Women (formerly New Jersey Business Woman) (August 1994).

(50) The Voice of Working Women (formerly New Jersey Business Woman) (November 1990).

(51) The Voice of Working Women (formerly New Jersey Business Woman) (November 1990).

(52) The Voice of Working Women (formerly New Jersey Business Woman) (September 1991).

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Scope and Content Note

The records of the New Jersey Business and Professional Women comprise approximately 18 cubic feet of material (15 records center cartons, 1 half records center carton, 1 manuscript box, 5 phase boxes and 3 oversize folders) spanning the period 1919 to 1998. There is only a small amount of material pre-dating 1923. The records are divided into two sub-groups, the New Jersey Business and Professional Women (NJBPW) and the Business and Professional Women of the United States (BPWUSA). The latter is mostly comprised of publications received from the national federation. Included in or with the records are scattered documents of sister organizations: the International Federation of BPW Clubs, the BPW Foundation and the Northeast Regional BPW. The collection was assembled retrospectively during the mid-1950s, which accounts somewhat for the early gaps in the records. Periodic additions to the records have been made subsequently and are expected as the NJBPW continues as an on-going organization.

Included in the records of the New Jersey Federation of Business and Professional Women are minutes of the board and committees, reports of officers and committee chairwomen, by-laws, financial statements and records, membership rosters and charters of local clubs. A set of PRESIDENT'S GENERAL FILES selectively contains, in addition to more administrative records: programs for honorarium dinners and NJBPW-sponsored events, clippings and press releases, miscellaneous correspondence and a typescript history of the organization. Both the national and state federation conventions are documented variously by programs, reports and convention proceedings, which are accompanied by photographs and memorabilia. Several oversize photographs, certificates and other documents are stored separately.

The financial records are incomplete, with correspondence only dating from 1988 to 1995, and audited financial statements for 1945-1946, and from 1956-1957 to 1992-1993. The treasurer's quarterly reports are the most complete source of financial information, although these too contain gaps. The yearly budget is found in the treasurer's reports. The financial records of the Mary Johnston scholarship program are complete from 1927 to 1970, a thorough documentation of a significant NJBPW activity.

Lists of dues paying-members are detailed in scope for the period from 1946 to 1974, and from 1990-1995, while only local committee chairwomen and officers are listed for 1927-1945 and again for 1975-1978. Other documents included in the collection are copies of revised by-laws, incorporation and charter documents of the local clubs, and diverse certificates.

While the activities and programs of the NJBPW appear chronicled in the administrative files and documented by award certificates, other than minutes and reports the collection affords little commentary about how the BPW administers it programs. Correspondence present pertains primarily to routine administration, usually centered around coordinating the activity of the local clubs. Newspaper clippings adequately fill the void for the 1929 to 1953 period.

Legislative and social issues championed by the BPW organizations appear documented in the records. The NJBPW played a role in forwarding pieces of legislation at the local and state levels, and offered input during the drafting of the New Jersey State Constitution of 1947. The federation was instrumental in gaining passage of the state equal pay for equal work bill, and labored on behalf of the Equal Rights Amendment. Throughout its existence, the BPW has endeavored to provide scholarship funding for young women. The scope of its activity in this area is reflected throughout the records. The efforts of the BPW in New Jersey may be assessed in the context of the national federation, whose records have been preserved at the BPWUSA headquarters in Washington, D.C.

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Related Collections

Related collections in Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries include the records of the Business and Professional Women of New Brunswick (MC 778), the records of the Business and Professional Women's Club of the Plainfields (MC 928), the records of the (now defunct) Business and Professional Women's Club of Newark (MC 296), and small amounts of material from the Woodbridge, Linden, and Gloucester County clubs. The papers of Helen G. Hurd, state president from 1964-1966 are in the University Archives (RMC 56).

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Restrictions

No restrictions.

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Detailed Description of the Collection/Container List