Terms of Access and Use:
The records are open to research according to the regulations of the Sophia Smith Collection without any additional restrictions.
Copyright ownership is unknown. Permission must be obtained to publish reproductions or quotations beyond "fair use." It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights.
The Inter-American Commission of Women (IACW)/Comisión Interamericano de Mujeres (CIM) was established in 1928 "to work for the extension of civil, political, economic, and social rights to the women of [the Americas]; to study their problems and propose means of solving them." The IACW was established in response to pressure applied on the Pan American Union during the Sixth International Conference of American States in Havana, Cuba. Its Secretariat is attached to the General Secretariat of the Pan American Union's successor, the Organization of American States, as such it is the first international governmental entity established to advocate for women's political and civil rights.
Doris Stevens, of the National Woman's Party in the U.S., was appointed first chairman of the Commission of twenty-one members, one from each country in North, Central, and South America. Stevens served from 1928 until 1939.
In its early years IACW collected comprehensive information on women's civil and political status in each of the countries represented by the Commission and brought two proposals to the Pan American Union for ratification: the "Convention on Equality of Nationality" and a "Treaty on Equal Civil and Political Rights." The Convention required countries in the Pan American Union to abolish laws impacting the status of women who married foreign nationals. It was signed at the Seventh International Conference of American States in 1933. The Treaty advocated for ensuring women's rights to vote and hold office. It was not ultimately ratified by the Pan American Union.
At the Eighth International Conference of American States in 1938, IACW was established as a permanent organization. President Franklin D. Roosevelt replaced Doris Stevens as U.S. representative to the Commission in 1939. The second chair was Ana Rosa S. de Martinez Guerrero of Argentina. Under its new leadership, IACW continued to advocate for women's legal and civil rights, but chose not to challenge protective labor legislation, citing women's childbearing role.
In the 1950s and 60s IACW's focus expanded to include such things as education, working conditions, and access to health care and other public services. The impact of the women's movement of the 1970s brought advocacy for "social participation and a voice in the decision-making process."
Since 1955, IACW has regularly reported to the United Nations on the status of women in the Americas and works to implement U.N. Conventions in the Western Hemisphere.
According to its Web site, the IACW today is "the principal forum for debating and formulating policy on women's rights and gender equality in the Americas." For more information see: http://www.oas.org/en/cim/.
The Inter-American Commission of Women Records consist of 2.25 linear ft. consisting primarily of bulletins, publications, and reports (many in Spanish). There is also a small amount of correspondence; clippings; biographical sketches of Doris Stevens, first chair of the IACW; photographs of the 11th Assembly; and other materials. The bulk of the materials are dated between 1933 and 1959. Included are IACW reports to the International Conference of American States (1933-48) and the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (1948-63).
This collection is organized into four series:
The records are open to research according to the regulations of the Sophia Smith Collection without any additional restrictions.
Copyright ownership is unknown. Permission must be obtained to publish reproductions or quotations beyond "fair use." It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights.
Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:
Inter-American Commission of Women Records, Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College, Northampton, Mass.
Muna Lee, a central and south America regional specialist at the U.S. Department of State, donated much of the material that makes up the Inter-American Commission on Women Records beginning in 1948. Materials related to the 1972 Inter-American Specialized Conference on the Integral Education of Women came via Elizabeth Tolman, a Smith College alumna and long-time economic officer in the U.S. Department of State.
Processed by Maida Goodwin, 2015.
Contact Information |
Smith College Special Collections Young Library 4 Tyler Drive Northampton, MA 01063 Phone: (413) 585-2970 Fax: (413) 585-2886 Email: specialcollections@smith.edu URL: https://www.smith.edu/libraries/special-collections |
SERIES I. GENERAL AND HISTORICAL MATERIALS | |||
General, | 1928-72, undated | Box 1: folder 1-3 | |
Equal Nationality Treaty, | 1934 | Box 1: folder 4 | |
Libro de Oro/Gold Book, fiftieth anniversary publication, | 1980 | Box 1: folder 5 | |
News Bulletin, with "Brief Description of the Creation of the Inter-American Commission of Women," No. | 29, Jun 1969 | Box 1: folder 6 | |
Pan American Union, | 1948-56, undated | Box 1: folder 7 | |
Stevens, Doris, | 1919-34, undated | Box 1: folder 8 | |
Women's Consultative Committee on Nationality, | 1933-35 | Box 1: folder 9 | |
SERIES II. ASSEMBLY | |||
General Assembly, | 1944 | Box 2: folder 1 | |
Seventh, | 1951 | Box 2: folder 2 | |
Ninth, | 1953 | Box 2: folder 3 | |
Tenth, | 1955 | Box 2: folder 4 | |
Eleventh, | 1956 | Box
2 | |
Resolutions | Box 2: folder 5 | ||
Photographs | Box 2: folder 6 | ||
Twelfth, 1957: documents 0-20 | Box 2: folder 7-11 | ||
Thirteenth,documents | 1959: | Box
2 | |
Dec 1958-25 May 1959 | Box 2: folder 12-14 | ||
26 May-Jul 1959 | Box 3: folder 1-8 | ||
Fifteenth, | 1970 | Box 3: folder 9 | |
Sixteenth, | 1972 | Box 3: folder 10 | |
Special Assembly, | 1961 | Box 3: folder 11 | |
Third Special Assembly, | 1963 | Box 3: folder 12 | |
SERIES III. CONFERENCES AND SEMINARS | |||
First Conference, | 1930 | Box 3: folder 13 | |
First Regional Seminar | 1951 | Box 3: folder 14 | |
Segundo Curso Regional de Adiestramiento para Mujeres Dirigentes, Santiago de Chile | 1967 April 10 to May 20 | Box 3: folder 15 | |
Inter-American Specialized Conference on the Integral Education of Women, Buenos Aires, Argentina, | 20-25 Aug 1972 | Box
3 | |
Conference binder | Box
3 | ||
Folders 1-3 | Box 3: folder 16-18 | ||
Folders 4-5 | Box 4: folder 1-2 | ||
Reference material | Box 4: folder 3 | ||
Hemispheric Conference for Women, | 1976 | Box 4: folder 4 | |
SERIES IV. REPORTS | |||
To the International Conference of American States | Box
4 | ||
Seventh, Motevideo, Uruguay, | Dec 1933 | Box
4 | |
The Nationality of Women | Box 4: folder 5 | ||
Civil and Political Rights of Women/Derechos Civiles y Politicos de la Mujer | Box
4 | ||
Minutes and antecedents | Box 4: folder 6 | ||
Chile | Box 4: folder 7 | ||
Columbia | Box 5: folder 1 | ||
Cuba | Box 5: folder 2 | ||
Ecuador | Box 5: folder 3 | ||
Honduras | Box 5: folder 4 | ||
Peru | Box 5: folder 5 | ||
Uruguay | Box 5: folder 6 | ||
A Comparison of the Political and Civil Rights of Men and Women in the United States | Box 6: folder 1 | ||
Eighth, | 1938 | Box 6: folder 2 | |
Ninth, | 1948 | Box 6: folder 3 | |
To the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, | 1948-63 | Box 6: folder 4-7 | |