The publication is reproduced in full below:
HONORING SOROPTIMIST INTERNATIONAL CENTENNIAL
______
HON. JARED HUFFMAN
of california
in the house of representatives
Thursday, September 30, 2021
Mr. HUFFMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today with the honorable Congresswoman Jackie Speier, Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, and Congressman Mike Thompson in celebration of Soroptimist International reaching its centennial on October 1, 2021. A global volunteer movement with over 72,000 members in 121 countries, Soroptimist, later named Soroptimist International, was established to advocate for gender equality and human rights, a mission that it has stayed true to this day.
Founded in 1921 when women were still not permitted to join service organizations, Soroptimist began as an 80-member club in Oakland, California with a vision for a world where women and girls were provided the resources and support to achieve their individual and collective potential. The club's first project was Save the Redwoods, confronting logging companies, lobbying the legislature, and rallying public support to designate a portion of the forest as protected land, which remains today.
Within 5 years, the organization, renamed Soroptimist International, grew to 15 clubs throughout the United States. In 1924, the first Soroptimist club in Europe was founded in Paris and fueled the establishment of clubs throughout the continent. Several federations were established across the globe from Australia to Africa, leading projects to support refugees, secure housing for the impoverished, assist individuals with disabilities, and provide vocational training for women and girls. Uniting these federations, Soroptimist International Association was awarded consultative status in 1950 by the United Nations Economic and Social Counsel, an honor reserved for about 3,000 non-governmental organizations worldwide. UNICEF also granted the organization consultative status for service projects assisting children in 1966.
Today, Soroptimist International includes 5 federations worldwide: Africa, the Americas, Europe, Great Britain and Ireland, and the South West Pacific. Their current priorities towards achieving gender equity include strategically addressing child marriage, female genital mutilation, domestic violence, rights of older women, migration, and human trafficking.
Madam Speaker, Soroptimist International has continued to be an innovative leader in promoting human rights and gender equity worldwide. Through the unwavering dedication of its many members and its continually growing network, the organization has never lost sight of its original purpose to educate, empower, and transform the lives of women and girls across the globe. Therefore, please join me in congratulating Soroptimist International for a century of inspiring work, and in wishing them many more years of success.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 172
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