On 11 July we celebrate the 104 th anniversary of Graduate Women International (GWI) and all of our achievements.
In 1919, Dean Virginia Gildersleeve, Professor Rose Sidgwick and Caroline Spurgeon came together in London with university women from Great Britian, Canada, and the United States of America to establish the International Federation of University Women (IFUW), now Graduate Women International (GWI)). They were convinced that by fostering friendship and understanding, women graduates could help prevent another catastrophe such as the World War that had just ended. It was a historic moment that marked the beginning of a movement to empower women in higher education.
Time to celebrate and honor the visionaries who founded this organization. Their legacy lives on, inspiring generations of women to pursue their dreams and achieve their goals. More than a century later, and under the new name of Graduate Women International (GWI), thousands of women graduates throughout the world share the same principles and vision that inspired those early leaders. GWI continues to advocate in favour of secondary, higher, and continuing education for women all over the world.
Dr. Elizabeth M.E. Poskitt, a former president of GWI, has preserved the history of this remarkable organization in her archives, which can be accessed HERE .