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INTERNATIONAL
DOCUMENTS
ON

THE STATUS OF WOMEN

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Women’s Bureau




.

Bulletin No. 217

UNITED

STATES

DEPARTMENT

OF

LABOR

L. B. SCHWELLENBACH, Secretary

WOMEN’S BUREAU
FRIEDA S. MILLER, Director

*

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON
THE STATUS OF WOMEN

Bulletin of the Women’s Bureau
No. 217

UNITED STATES

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 1947

For Sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C. -




- Price 25 cents




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V

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
United States Department of Labor,
Women's Bureau,

Washington, April 20, 194-7.
Sir: I have the honor to present a report that outlines the
work in official international organizations for status of women.
It traces the work of the United Nations Subcommission on Status
of Women through its first session, and the beginning of such
work in the earlier period of the League of Nations.
The countries of the world naturally look for leadership to a
nation that has progressed as far as has the United States in pro­
viding for the needs of women and in making use of the contribu­
tion women can make to their government and the life and work
of their times.
The Women’s Bureau has responded to requests by women’s
organizations that it serve in a continuing advisory capacity in
work with them toward representing to the Uiiited Nations the
viewpoints of organized women in the United States; and it has
cooperated closely writh the State Department toward furthering
the policies desired by American women in the framework of the
United Nations.
The present summary of the developments in expressing the
aspirations of women through two official world-wide organiza­
tions is greatly in demand for background use in the immediate
work programs of women’s organizations. The report was
planned and written by Mary Elizabeth Pidgeon, with the collab­
oration of Rachel Conrad Nason and Rachel Fesler Nyswander, and
the assistance of Betty Jane Roberts, all of the Women’s Bureau
staff.
Respectfully submitted.
Frieda S. Miller, Director.
Hon. L. B. Schwellenbach,
Secretary of Labor.
<*




iii




.

CONTENTS
Page

Letter of Transmittal i----------------------------------------------------------- —- 111
The United Nations and Status of Women, June 1945-June 1946-------- viii
Foreword --------- ----------------------- -—----------------------------------------1
PART I. THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS AND STATUS OF WOMEN
Provision as to Women in the League of Nations Covenant, 1920-------League Organization and Women Officials
3
Work of Women’s Organizations—Liaison Committee ----- ---------------Consideration of Status of Women by League of Nations------------------Discussion of Nationality by League’s 12th Assembly (1931)-------Action on Nationality by League’s 13th Assembly (1932)----------Request for Reports on Nationality by League’s 14th Assembly
(1933)
Delayed Request to Consider Equality in League’s 15th Assembly
(1934)
Action on Nationality and Status of Women in League’s 16th
Assembly (1935) ------------------------------------------------ ----------Reports on Status of Women to League’s 18th Assembly (1937)----League Committee of Experts on Status of Women (1937)---------------

3
4
5
5
7
7
8
8
10
11

PART II. THE UNITED NATIONS AND STATUS OF WOMEN
Chronology of United Nations Action on Status of Women,
June 1945-June 1946 _1-------------------------------------------------------------The San Francisco Conference
Participation of Women -------------------------------Provisions in the United Nations Charter Affecting Women-------Activity of Women’s Organizations in the United States- ----------------Early Conference on Implementing Charter Provisions_______ __
Continuing Activities of Conference Group
The First General Assembly of the United Nations
Participation of Women------------------------------------Debate on Women in the Assembly, February 13, 1946.—-------------Creation of Subcommission on Status of Women
24
Organization of Commissions Under Economic and Social Council.—
Communications from Women’s Organizations 25
PART III. THE UNITED NATIONS SUBCOMMISSION ON THE
STATUS OF WOMEN
Membership ------------------- ------------------------- ------------------------------Recommendations from United States Women’s Organizations-----------Summary of Work of the Subcommission---------------------------------------Provisions for Consultation with ECOSOC
--------------------------------

14
15
16
19
20
21
21
24
25

27
28
29
30

APPENDIX A. INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS CONCERNING
STATUS OF WOMEN
I. Extracts from Documents, Hague Conference for Codification of
International Law, April 1930
1. Extracts from Convention Adopted on Conflict of Nationality
Laws, April 1930
2. Resolution No. VI, Recommending Study of Equal Nation­
ality. Adopted April 1930




v

35
37

II.

III.

Page

League of Nations Documents, 1920-39
1. Resolutions of League of Nations Assembly Relating to Status
of Women __ _.__ ______
38
Cooperation of Women in the Organization of Peace—12th
Assembly (1931) _
38
Nationality of Women—12th Assembly (1931)
38
Nationality of Women—13th Assembly (1932) _
39
Collaboration of Women in the Work of the League—13th
Assembly (1932)
40
Nationality of Women—16th Assembly (1935)
40
Political, Civil and Economic Status of Women—16th
Assembly (1935) _______________________ ____ _
41
Status of Women—Creating a Committee of Experts [For
Resolution of 18th Assembly (1937) see p. 49]
2. Countries Requesting League Assembly to Consider Status of
Women, 1931-37 _________________________
_ 42
3. Status of Women—League of Nations Assembly, 1937
43
Report Submitted by the First Committee to the Assembly,
1937. Rapporteur, Mila. Hesselgren (Sweden)
43
Draft Resolution [Creating a Committee of Experts on Legal
Status of Women, 1937]________________ __________
49
4. Committee for the Study of the Legal Status of Women.
1938-39
50
Minutes of Twelfth Meeting, 9 April 1938
50
Scheme of Work, 12 April 1938_____________ _____ _
54
Aide Memoire for the Scientific Institutes, 12 April 1938 __ 57
Report on Progress of the Inquiry, 10 January 1939
__
58
Decisions Taken by the Committee at Its Third Session
19-22 July 1939 ’
60
United Nations Documents, 1945-46
1. Conference on International Organization, San Francisco
April-June 1945 ______________ ____________________
64
Provisions of United Nations Charter Applying to Status
of Women, June 1945_________________ _____
64
Provisions of United Nations Charter Indicating Useful
Procedures, June 1945
65
The Brazilian Declaration Recommending Establishment of
a Commission of Women, June 1945
67
2. First General Assembly, London, January-February 1946
68
Resolution of British Women’s Organizations, 25 January
An Open Letter to the Women of the World, 5 February
Declaration on the Participation of Women in the Work of
the United Nations, 11 February 1946___________
Debate on Women in First General Assembly, 13 February
3.

First Session Economic and Social Council, London, February

4.

Resolution Establishing Human Rights Commission and
Subcommission on Status of Women, London 16 and 18
February 1946 _______________________
Subcommission on Status of Women, New York, April-May

5.

Report of Subcommission to Commission on Human Rights
13-14 May 1946___________________________
’
Second Session, Economic and Social Council, New York
May-June 1946 ’
’




vi

68

69
70
71
80
80
83
83
90

Page

Extract from Report of Commission on Human Rights,
28 May 1946___________ _________________________
Address of Chairman of Subcommission on Status of Women,
28 May 1946
Resolution Creating Commission on Status of Women,
21 June 1946 -_________________________________
Extract from Report of Committee on Arrangements for
Consultation with Non-Governmental Organizations, 21
June 1946 ___------------- ------------------------------ ----------

90
91
94
95

APPENDIX B. WOMAN PERSONNEL IN LEAGUE OF NATIONS
AND UNITED NATIONS, and Participants in Activi­
ties Related to Status of Women
I.

Women Officials in League of Nations
1. Women Sent by Their Countries to League of Nations
Assembly as Delegates, Substitute Delegates, Experts
(1920-39, 1946)
2. Women Members of League of Nations Commissions
(1920-37)
3. Women Officials in League of Nations Secretariat (1920-29)
4. Members of First Committee of League Assembly Who Par­
ticipated in Discussion of Status of Women,1937-----------5. For members of Committee of Experts on Legal Status of
Women, see Text, p. 11.
II. Women Officials in United Nations
1. United Nations Conference, San Francisco, April-June 1945 Women Sent by Their Countries as Delegates, Assistant
Delegates, Advisers, Technical Experts 105
Women in United States Delegation to United Nations
Conference, San Francisco, 1945__
Women Representing National Organizations, United States
Delegation, San Francisco, 1945
Women Officers of Secretariat of United Nations Confer­
ence, San Francisco, 1945
2. First General Assembly, London, January 1946----------------Women Delegates and Advisers in First General Assembly,
London, 1946 ___________ _______—-----------------------3. United Nations Commissions, New York, 1946___
Women Official Members of United Nations Commissions,
New York, 1946 -_________________________________
(For members of Subcommission on Status of Women, see
Text, p. 27.)
4. Women in United Nations Secretariat, New York, 1946____
APPENDIX C. SUFFRAGE FOR WOMEN IN COUNTRIES OF THE
WORLD, 1946




vii

99
101
103
104

105

106
106
107
109
109
109
109
109
112

the united nations and status of women

June 1945—June 1946
FROM THE CHARTER OF THE UNITED NATIONS
26 June 1945
Article 55

The United Nations shall promote: * * *
c. Universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and
fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, lan­
guage, or religion.
Article 68

The Economic and Social Council shall set up commissions in eco­
nomic and social fields and for the promotion of human rights, and such
other commissions as may be required for the performance of its func­
tions.
FROM RESOLUTION OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL
CREATING SUBCOMMISSION ON STATUS OF WOMEN
16 February 1946
Section B

1. The Economic and Social Council, considering that the Com­
mission on Human Rights will require special advice on problems relat­
ing to the status of women, Establishes a Subcommission on the Status
of Women.
2. The subcommission shall submit proposals, recommendations,
and reports to the Commission on Human Rights regarding the status
of women.
3. The subcommission may submit proposals to the Council,
through the Commission on Human Rights, regarding its terms of ref­
erence.
FROM RESOLUTION OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL
CREATING COMMISSION ON STATUS OF WOMEN
21 June 1946

The Economic and Social Council, * * * decides to confer upon
the Subcommission the status of a full commission to be known as the
Commission on the Status of Women.
1. Functions

The function of the Commission shall be to prepare recommenda­
tions and reports to the Economic and Social Council on promoting
women’s rights in political, economic, social and educational fields.
The Commission shall also make recommendations to the Council on
urgent problems requiring immediate attention in the field of women’s
rights.
The Commission may submit proposals to the Council regarding its
terms of reference.




viii

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS
OF WOMEN
From League of Nations Covenant to United Nations
Commission on Status of Women, 1919—1946
FOREWORD

The provisions in the Charter of the United Nations that re­
late to women’s participation, when compared with similar pro­
visions in the Covenant of the League of Nations, may prove a
significant index to progress in this field. Two other measures
for comparison of the newer international organization with its
predecessor may be promptness in creating organs to deal with
women’s status, and service of women in responsible posts.
It is notable that in the Charter of the United Nations the
broad references to achievement of “fundamental freedoms for
all without distinction as to * * * sex * * *” underlie
the provision that the organization should “place no restrictions
on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity
and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary
organs.”
This is a far more sweeping mandate than the single state­
ment in the Covenant of the League of Nations that women shall
be eligible for “all positions under or in connection with the
League.” Still it is important that the League of Nations, the
first continuing body of government representatives available for
focusing world public opinion on the needs of peoples, did from
the time of its organization specifically recognize women as par­
ticipants in its work.
Growth also is reflected in the prompt creation in the United
Nations of an appropriate agency to consider the status of women.
This subject was accorded a formal place in the debates of the
First General Assembly; and the Subcommission on the Status of
Women was established during the first sessions of the Economic
and Social Council, to which the Charter had assigned the respon­
sibility of creating commissions for the promotion of human
rights. Following the first meetings of this Subcommission, it
was at once made a permanent full commission. All this activity
occurred within the first year of the United Nations’ existence.
In the League of Nations, on the other hand, the subject of
the status of women was not brought to the fore in the Assembly
until the 11th year (1930), and not until the 18th year (1937)
was an organ created for the express purpose of dealing with




1

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

it—the committee of experts to study the legal status of women
throughout the world. The work of this committee led naturally
to the demand for a continuation of such developments, in the
structure and work of the United Nations.
The third index of progress may be the service of women in
responsible places in these international agencies. In the United
Nations six countries sent women as full delegates to the organ­
ization conference in San Francisco, and five sent them as full
delegates to the first General Assembly, held in London. But in
the League of Nations it was not until the 10th year (1929) that
any woman was a full delegate to the annual assembly. During
its entire existence only 8 countries ever sent a woman in this
capacity, and only 10 women ever were appointed full delegates,
though it must be noted that from the beginning some women
served competently in the League Assembly as substitute delegates
and technical advisers, and, all told, 29 countries placed women
in these posts.




2

PART I.

THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS AND
STATUS OF WOMEN

PROVISION AS TO WOMEN IN THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS
COVENANT, 1920

When the Covenant, or constitution, of the League of Na­
tions was first drafted in 1919, it did not provide for women’s
eligibility to positions connected with the League. Disturbed by
this and anxious to assure women’s participation in the League’s
work, a committee representing two large international women’s
organizations—the International Council of Women and the Inter­
national Alliance of Women for Suffrage and Equal Citizenship—
sought an interview with President Woodrow Wilson in Paris and
with the commission drafting the Covenant. As a result, the
Covenant of the League of Nations, which went into effect early
in 1920, contained the following wording in Article VII:
All positions under or in connection with the League, includ­
ing the Secretariat, shall be open equally to men and women.
LEAGUE ORGANIZATION AND WOMEN OFFICIALS

The primary operating arms of the League of Nations were
its Council, virtually its major executive body, which met five
times a year; its Assembly, which corresponded to an international
parliament and met once a year; its Secretariat; and various Com­
missions, some temporary, some permanent, set up by the Council
as a result of certain resolutions passed by the Assembly at its
annual meetings.
In a few cases a woman was appointed by her government
as an official delegate for her country to the annual Assembly.
Such were perhaps the most important political posts women held
under the League. At no time was a woman on the powerful
Council.
A considerable number of women were appointed by their
countries as substitute delegates to the Assembly. The post was
a very influential one, for although such an official had no sep­
arate vote in the Assembly, she could represent and vote for her
country in one of the Assembly’s six committees, on each of which
every member nation had a right to be represented. Many women
received appointments to the Secretariat during the life of the
League, and to a number of the expert commissions set up by the
League, in some of which women’s work was an outstanding con­
tribution, (For list of appointees, see Appendix, p. 99 ff.)




3

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

WORK OF WOMEN’S ORGANIZATIONS—LIAISON COMMITTEE

Following their efforts to see that women’s place was assured
in the League Covenant, women’s organizations were active in
urging the appointment of qualified women to League positions
and the inclusion of women in the official government delegations
to the annual Assembly. Close touch was kept with various
branches of the League’s work through an informal Joint Standing
Committee of Women’s International Organizations, which was
active in Geneva from 1925 on. By 1930 it was constituted as
the Liaison Committee of Women’s International Organizations,
known more briefly as the Liaison Committee and representing
11 big women’s organizations, as follows:
International Council of Women
International Alliance of Women for Suffrage and Equal Citi­
zenship
World’s Women’s Christian Temperance Union
World’s Young Women’s Christian Association
International Federation of University Women
Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom
World Union of Women for International Concord
St. Joan’s Social and Political Alliance
International Federation of Business and Professional Women
Equal Rights International
International Federation of Women Magistrates and Lawyers
The Liaison Committee’s interest soon expanded beyond its
original objective of pressing for the inclusion of women on the
various bodies set up under the League, and for women to be ap­
pointed as their governments’ delegates to the Assembly meet­
ings. Such questions as equal pay for equal work, marriage
laws and child marriage, nationality, the employment of women
at night, slavery, forced and indentured labor, opium traffic, refu­
gees, and disarmament, were of major concern to the Committee
because of the interest the component national organizations had
in these matters in their own countries.
The Liaison Committee therefore sent recommendations on
specific points that came before the League in these fields. Both
in this way, and by their competent service in various official
capacities as mentioned above, women had a constructive part in
building the League’s program. The Liaison Committee’s support
for the study of the status of women will be mentioned in the suc­
ceeding pages as action by the League on this topic is outlined;
but with no organ directed primarily toward developing the status




4

THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS

of women, it was not until the League had been in existence for
10 years that positive consideration was given to this subject.
CONSIDERATION OF STATUS OF WOMEN
BY LEAGUE OF NATIONS

The first definite action on status of women in the League
of Nations Assembly was the discussion centered on the effort
to revise the provisions on the nationality of women included in
the Convention (treaty) proposed by the International Confer­
ence for Codification of International Law, which had met at The
Hague in April 1930. The Convention concerned conflicting
nationality laws and included provisions on nationality of wives
and of children. The Hague Conference also had passed a Reso­
lution (No. VI) recommending that the various states study the
question of whether they could in their own laws effect equality
of the sexes in matters of nationality. (See Appendix, p. 35 ff.)
DISCUSSION OF NATIONALITY BY LEAGUE’S 12TH ASSEMBLY (1931)

The League’s Council in .session in January 1931 (after the
Hague Conference) adopted a resolution, presented by Guatemala,
Peru, and Venezuela, to place on the agenda for the 12th Assem­
bly (fall of 1931) the question of the continued study of the
nationality of women. The Council at the same time requested
the Secretary-General to submit a report to the Assembly after
consulting organizations especially concerned with the nationality
of women. It was suggested further that the Secretary-General
might request such organizations to set up a committee consist­
ing of two representatives from each.
In response to this January action of the Council, the Secre­
tary-General in February 1931 invited nine international women’s
organizations “to enter into communication with one another with
a view to the establishment of a committee.” Eight responded
and set up a committee, described in the Assembly minutes as the
“Committee of Representatives of Women’s Organizations,”
though known unofficially as the “Women’s Consultative Com­
mittee on Nationality.” This Committee existed throughout the
League’s separate consideration of the nationality of women.1 It
is not to be confused with the larger, informal Liaison Committee
1 The name “Consultative Committee" did not appear in the official list of League com­
mittees published in the League Year-Book; later (1935) the Secretariat stated, “the title
assumed by this Committee does not indicate that it is a technical advisory committee of the
League."




5

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

mentioned earlier, which continued effective work in Geneva; some
organizations were represented on both committees.
In July 1931 the Committee of Representatives of Women’s
Organizations made a report urging reconsideration of the Hague
Nationality Convention and the submission of a new Convention
to governments for ratification. Representatives of the following
organizations signed this report:
International Council of Women
Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom
Inter-American Commission of Women
Equal Rights International
World Union of Women for International Concord
All-Asian Conference of Women
International Alliance of Women for Suffrage and Equal
Citizenship (with reservations)
International Federation of University Women (with reser­
vations)
The World’s Young Women’s Christian Association had pre­
ferred not to be represented on the Committee, as it had never
adopted official policy on this question.
The report of the Committee of Representatives of Women’s
Organizations was brought to the attention of the 12th Assembly
of the League in the fall of 1931 and discussed in the First Com­
mittee.2 The Assembly passed a resolution, its first on this sub­
ject, thanking the women’s committee for its report and request­
ing the Council to ask governments to submit their observations,
including their views regarding the Hague Nationality Conven­
tion of April 20, 1930, so that this question could be given further
consideration in the 1932 Assembly session. On instructions from
the Council, therefore, the Secretary-General requested such state­
ments from governments of League members, and also from non­
member states that had been invited to the Hague Conference.
At the same time the Assembly also passed a resolution asking
the Council to examine ways in which the women could cooperate
more fully in the League’s work. (For texts of these two resolu­
tions, see Appendix, p. 38 f.)
The women’s organizations continued their activities, for at
the same time the Assembly decided that it would consider any
further observations which the above-mentioned Committee of
2 The First Committee of the League Assembly was that on Legal and Constitutional Ques­
tions, to which the subject of Status of Women was assigned. Under League procedure, the
Assembly, after action of its Committees, made proposals to the League Council. In turn, the
Council directed the Secretary-General to send communications to governments or organizations.




6

THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS

Representatives of Women’s Organizations (“Consultative Com­
mittee on Nationality”) might desire to present in addition to its
1931 report. The larger Liaison Committee (which, as stated,
included representation of some of the same organizations as the
“Consultative Committee”), was also giving closest attention to
developments in the League on this matter.
ACTION ON NATIONALITY BY LEAGUE’S I3TII ASSEMBLY (1932)

The 13th Assembly had before it the replies of 33 govern­
ments, observations from various women’s organizations, and in­
ternational petitions and communications.3 The majority of these
replies expressed one of two opinions on the Hague Convention
on Nationality of Women: (1) They did not favor reconsidering
it, or (2) they thought its provisions the maximum then ob­
tainable.
Accordingly, the Assembly decided against a conference for
redrafting the Hague provisions. The First Committee discussed
this matter at length and called attention to the fact that “the
women’s organizations have other means of action besides direct
appeal to the community of nations,” and “might direct a large
part of their efforts towards the reform of the municipal legisla­
tion of the various countries.”
Further, a pointed resolution was passed (proposed in the
First Committee, on the sponsorship of the Canadian Delegation,
with additions by the Austrian and French Delegations), express­
ing the hope that states having signed the Hague Nationality
Convention would enact laws necessary to give it effect. The reso­
lution also requested the League’s Council to follow the develop­
ments of public opinion to determine when further action would
be justified.
The Assembly also prepared another resolution expressing
appreciation of the work done by women in support of the League
and suggesting measures that could be taken by the women to
give effect to the provisions of Article VII in the League Cove­
nant. (See p. 3; for texts of these two resolutions, see Appen­
dix, p. 39 f.)
REQUEST FOR REPORTS ON NATIONALITY BY LEAGUE’S
14TH ASSEMBLY (1933)

Replying to the League’s request that governments report
upon the effect they had given to the Hague Convention, the
3 The First Committee, to which these reports were referred, appointed as Rapporteur on
this subject, M. Rene Cassin of France, who later (1946) was a member of the Subcommission
on Status of women in the United Nations. (See p. 28.)




7

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

Chilean Government, on July 22, 1933, asked that the question of
women’s nationality be placed on the supplementary agenda for
the 14th Session of the Assembly (September-October 1933). On
August 30th the Secretary-General communicated this letter to
the governments. The question was placed on the agenda, and
the Assembly adopted a resolution, again as in 1932, requesting
governments to report the effect they had given to Resolution
No. VI of the Hague Conference recommending study of the pos­
sibility of securing in their own laws equal nationality for the
sexes. (See p. 5.)
DELAYED REQUEST TO CONSIDER EQUALITY IN LEAGUE’S
15TH ASSEMBLY (1934)

When the 15th Assembly met in 1934, a request from 10
Latin-American countries was received that for the first time
asked the League to consider the equality of women in all its
aspects. The request followed lines that had been proposed for
the 7th International Conference of American States in Monte­
video, Uruguay, December 1933, though the topic had not been
on the official agenda of this conference.4
The text of this Latin-American letter was presented to the
delegations of the various countries and to the General Commit­
tee; but since it had come only a week before the session con­
vened, the Assembly deemed it too late to include the question
of equality on the agenda, but agreed to refer it to the agenda
of the next Assembly (1935).5
Meanwhile, the Liaison Committee of Women set up a tem­
porary subcommittee to work more intensively on this subject.
ACTION ON NATIONALITY AND STATUS OF WOMEN IN LEAGUE’S
16TH ASSEMBLY (1935)

Nationality of Women

At the 16th Assembly of the League, final consideration was
given to the separate question of nationality of women. Replies
had been received from 31 governments on the extent to which
they could introduce into their law the principle of equality of
4 The Montevideo Conference adopted both a Convention on the Nationality of Women
and a Resolution (XIX) on the Civil and Political Rights of Women. Four countries in at­
tendance signed, independently of the Conference itself, a Convention on Equality of Women
(Cuba, Ecuador, Uruguay, Paraguay).
B The representative from Denmark, Mme. Forchammer, who had an unbroken record of
membership on her country's delegation (either as expert or substitute delegate) in every
Assembly since the formation of the League in 1920, addressed the 15th Assembly urging close
attention of the governments to this matter.




8

THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS

nationality between the sexes. Extensive reports submitted by
various international organizations of women were also circu­
lated.68 *The topic was on the agenda at the request of 15 govern­
ments.
On September 27, 1935, the Assembly adopted a Resolution
on the Nationality of Women, in which it renewed its 1932 recom­
mendations that governments ratify the Hague Convention, and
that the League’s Council continue to follow this important prob­
lem to determine when further international action would be justi­
fied; and asked further that the attention of governments be
called to the fact that the Montevideo Convention on nationality
of women (December 26, 1933) was open for ratification to all
states.
In this resolution, which history now shows to be the closing
chapter in the League’s separate consideration of equality of
nationality between the sexes, the Assembly again took occasion
to express formal thanks to the women’s organizations for their
assistance. (For text of Resolution, see Appendix, p. 40 f.)
Civil and Political Status of Women

The question of study of status of women in all its aspects
was given its first consideration in this 16th session of the League
Assembly (1935). It had been formally placed on the Agenda at
the request of 10 governments. In discussing this subject, the
Assembly’s First Committee distinguished between “the question
of conditions of employment, whether of men or women,” deem­
ing this to be “a matter which properly falls within the sphere
of the International Labor Organization,” and the somewhat dif­
ferent “question of the political and civil status of women.”
The latter was decided by the League to be within its juris­
diction. Accordingly, on September 27, the same day that final
action was taken on the nationality of women, a separate Resolu­
tion was passed on women’s civil and political status. (See Ap­
pendix, p. 41 f.) This matter was referred to the governments
“for their observations, including observations as to the action
which in their view the League might take in the matter,” and
for information as to the position of women under their existing
law. The women’s international organizations also were asked
6 In circulating the reports from the various women's organizations, prior to the meeting
of the 16th Assembly, the Secretary-General stated that he did not consider that he could
circulate reports presented by organizations solely national in scope; neither could he circulate
long reports from certain international organizations that practically were duplicates of the
report made by the Committee of Representatives of Women’s Organizations (“Women’s Con­
sultative Committee on Nationality”).
744732°—47—2




9

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

to present statements to the Assembly. No date was fixed for
further consideration of the question by the Assembly, and it was
not until 1937 that reports were sufficiently in hand for presen­
tation.7
REPORTS ON STATUS OF WOMEN TO LEAGUE’S 18TH ASSEMRLY (1937)

The question of civil and political status of women was on the
agenda of the 18th Assembly (1937) at the request of 15 coun­
tries. (For list, see Appendix, p. 42.) It again was referred to
the First Committee, in which it was extensively discussed by
delegates from many countries. The Liaison Committee of Wom­
en again, as in 1934, set up a temporary subcommittee to work on
this subject.
During the preceding 2 years, 38 countries from all parts of
the world had sent information in regard to the legal status of
women.8 These countries included 24 in Europe, 4 in Asia, 2 in
Africa, 7 in America (including the United States and Canada),
and the Commonwealth of Australia. The material was reviewed
and summarized under the seven headings on which inquiry had
been made as to the rights of women:
To have own nationality
To vote in parliamentary elections and be eligible to Parlia­
ment
To vote and be eligible for local government posts
For married women to choose own domicile
To guardianship of their children
To work
Regarding property, income, and earnings
The rapporteur for this subject in the First Committee, Mile.
Hesselgren of Sweden, who for 10 years had been a member of
7 The first collection of data on the status of women throughout the world were collected
in 1902, through a list of 28 questions sent to responsible women in various countries by Mrs.
Carrie Chapman Catt, President of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. At
the same time she called the first international conference of women, which met in Washing­
ton in February, and the replies to the questions were published in the official report of this
conference. This meeting paved the way for a permanent organization, which was estab­
lished two years later (1904) as the International Woman Suffrage Alliance.
8 The United States report used in the 1937 League Report referred to here was prepared
in the Women’s Bureau and subsequently issued as its Bulletin 157, The Legal Status of
Women in the United States of America, by Sara Louise Buchanan. It was preceded by sum­
maries of laws in this country issued by the National League of Women Voters. Begun by
Mrs. Catherine Waugh McCulloch, Chairman of the League’s Committee on Uniform Laws
Concerning Women, it was completed by an attorney, Miss Elizabeth Perry, and published in
1924 by Miss Esther Dunshee, then Chairman of the Committee on Legal Status of Women.
A further revision, prior to the Women’s Bureau study, was made in 1930 by Mrs. Savilla
Millis Simons under the direction of Dean S. P. Breckinridge, then Chairman of the League
of Women Voters' Committee on Legal Status of Women.




10

THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS

her country’s delegation in the League Assembly, stated in sum­
mary :
“I need not say that quite apart from juridical niceties,
conditions vary greatly in different countries, and therefore
the data given must be of a very rough nature. A more con­
cise survey would ask for preparation and analysis by legal
experts. These remarks apply to this matter as a whole.
“I am, however, left with the impression of a very great
variety and of a growing process of evolution. Many coun­
tries are reporting recent or planned changes in their legis­
lation. I also venture to add that the progress made towards
complete emancipation of women is more substantial than
people generally are aware of.” (For the complete report,
see Appendix, p. 43 ff.)
LEAGUE COMMITTEE OF EXPERTS ON STATUS OF WOMEN
(1937)

The First Committee recommended, and the Assembly passed,
a resolution for the establishment by the League of a small com­
mittee of experts to determine the outlines of further study of the
legal status of women to be conducted through competent scien­
tific institutions. (For text of resolution, see Appendix, p. 49 f.)
The League Council appointed to the Committee for the
Study of the Legal Status of Women the following, four of whom
were among those who had been recommended by the Liaison
Committee of Women:
Mr. H. C. Gutteridge, K. C. (United Kingdom) (chosen as
Chairman), Professor of Comparative Law at the Univer­
sity of Cambridge.
Mme. Paul Bastid (France), professor in the Faculty of Law
of the University of Lyons.
M. de Ruelte (Belgium), Legal Adviser of the Belgian Min­
istry of Foreign Affairs, Member of the Permanent Court
of Arbitration.
Mme. Anka Godjevac (Yugoslavia), Doctor of Law, Technical
I
Adviser of the Yugoslav Delegation at the Codification
Conference, The Hague (1930).
Mile. Kirsten Hesselgren (Sweden), Member of the Second
Chamber of the Riksdag, Rapporteur on the Status of
Women to the First Committee of the Assembly (1937).
M. Paul Sebestyen (Hungary), Counselor of Division, Head
of the Treaties Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.




11

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

Miss Dorothy Kenyon (United States of America), Doctor
of Law, member of the New York Bar, and legal adviser
to a number of national organizations.
The Fourth (finance) Committee of the Assembly voted the
sum of 25,000 Swiss francs for the use of the Committee of Ex­
perts on Status of Women, specifying that 20,000 francs were to
be used for two meetings of the Committee. The first of these
meetings was held in April 1938, and at that time representatives
of international organizations of women were heard. (For list
of organizations appearing, see Appendix, p. 50 f.) In accordance
with the recommendation made in the Resolution that created it,
the Committee allocated various branches of the study to three
competent legal bodies. It asked that a study of women’s status
at civil law be made by the International Institute for the Unifica­
tion of Private Law in Rome; at public law, by the International
Institute of Public Law in Paris; and at criminal law, by the In­
ternational Bureau for the Unification of Penal Law, The Hague.
The Committee of Experts held a second meeting in January
1939 to hear initial reports from these institutes. At a third
meeting in July 1939, no report was made, although a report on
the legal status of women had been prepared by the International
Institute for Unification of Private Law in Rome for considera­
tion by the Committee. World War II interrupted the entire
work, but an initial survey of Hindu law, which differs from other
systems, had been made for the Committee by a jurist specializing
in Indian law, Sir N. Sircar. (See recommendation, p. 91, for
continuance under the United Nations of the type of work done
by the Committee of Experts on Status of Women.)




12




CHRONOLOGY OF UNITED NATIONS ACTION
ON STATUS OF WOMEN
June 1945—June 1946
June 26
February 5

1943
United Nations Charter adopted (San Francisco)
1946
Open Letter to the Women of the World, from wom­
en delegates and advisers to First General Assembly
(London)

February 13

Discussion of women’s participation in work of
United Nations in First General Assembly (London)

February 16, 18

Creation of Subcommission on Status of Women by
Economic and Social Council (London)

April 29

First meeting of Subcommission (New York)

May 13

Report by Subcommission (New York)

May 14

Subcommission Report made to Human Rights Com­
mission (New York)

May 28

Subcommission Report given by Human Rights Com­
mission to Economic and Social Council (New
York)

June 21

Creation by Economic and Social Council of full
COMMISSION ON STATUS OF WOMEN




14

PART II.

THE UNITED NATIONS AND
STATUS OF WOMEN

THE SAN FRANCISCO CONFERENCE

The United Nations Conference on International Organiza­
tion met in San Francisco April 25, 1945. “The Conference had
one purpose, and one purpose only: to draft the Charter of an in­
ternational organization through which the nations of the world
might work together in their common hope for peace,” as stated
by the chairman of the delegation for the United States. The
Preamble of the Charter contained provisions for equal rights and
fundamental freedoms for all, without distinction as to race, sex,
language, or religion. These were accepted by the official dele­
gates, men and women alike, as of basic importance to future
progress.
Participation of Women

Of the 50 nations at San Francisco, 26 sent some women, 24
sent none. There were all told 268 official delegates, and of these
6 were women, who had been appointed by the United States,
Brazil, Canada, China, the Dominican Republic, and Uruguay.
Four of these women were among the official signers of the
Charter for their countries. Some of these nations and seven
others sent women also as assistant delegates, advisers, counselors,
technical experts, and the like. Another 13 sent women as tech­
nical assistants, as interpreters, and in secretarial capacities, the
last including two women Secretaries-General of their countries’
delegations. (For list, see Appendix, p. 105.)
The United States delegate, Dean Virginia C. Gildersleeve,
was among the signers of the Charter. Miss Gildersleeve had been
head of Barnard College for a number of years and also had
served as president of the American Association of University
Women and of the International Federation of University Women.
Each delegate was immediately assigned to one or more of the
Conference Committees dealing with particular aspects of the
Charter, a first draft of which had been prepared in advance by
a meeting of the leading Allies at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington.
Dean Gildersleeve represented the United States on Committee 1
of Commission I, on the Preamble, Purposes and Principles; and on
Committee 3 of Commission II, which dealt with Economic and
Social Cooperation, including matters affecting Human Rights.
One of the technical advisers of Committee 3 was Dr. Esther




15

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

Caukin Brunauer of the Department of State, later ap­
pointed the representative of the United States to the Preparatory
Commission of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The United States delegation
included as technical experts and in other capacities a number of
other women, some of whom were special advisers added to the
State Department staff for the Conference (see Appendix, p. 106.)
To amplify its contacts with citizen organizations capable
of offering significant comment on the proposals under discussion,
the U. S. Department of State invited 42 national organizations
to send representatives to act as consultants to the American dele­
gation. Among these were five national women’s organizations—
the American Association of University Women, the General Fed­
eration of Women’s Clubs, the National Federation of Business
and Professional Women’s Clubs, the National League of Women
Voters, and the Women’s Action Committee for Victory and Last­
ing Peace (now The Women’s Action Committee for Lasting
Peace). Of the additional organizations, two sent women as con­
sultants, and nine included women as associates to their chief
consultants. (For list of women consultants and associates, see
Appendix, p. 106 f.) The consultants held frequent meetings in San
Francisco during the Conference, sometimes with delegates or
their advisers. In regard to the national organizations repre­
sented, the Secretary of State says in his Report to the President:
“Included among them were leading national organiza­
tions in the fields of labor, law, agriculture, business, and
education together with principal women’s associations,
church groups, veterans’ associations and civic organizations
generally. * * * Their presence in San Francisco meant
that a very large body of American opinion which had been
applying itself to the problems of international organization
played a direct and material part in drafting the constitution
of the United Nations.”
Provisions in the United Nations Charter Affecting Women

Provisions in the Charter on which interest in women con­
centrated were those which (1) gave the assurance of equal op­
portunity to participate in United Nations work, (2) established
procedure for consultation with international non-governmental
organizations (including women’s organizations on an equal basis),
and (3) made possible the establishment of an effective agency!
within the United Nations, on the status of women. Statements
on the Conference discussion and action on these items are quoted




16

THE UNITED NATIONS

below from the Secretary of State’s Report to the President on
the results of the San Francisco Conference. (For pertinent
Charter provisions, see Appendix, p. 64 ff.)
Equal Participation. “Some consideration was given at
Dumbarton Oaks to the possibility of providing that positions
in the Secretariat be open equally to men and women. It was,
however, decided that such a provision, if considered desir­
able, might be inserted by the Conference at San Francisco.
The question of the desirability of this turned out to be the
primary issue confronting the Committee of the Conference
considering Chapter III of the Charter. While there was no
objection to the insertion of an appropriate clause, there was
difficulty in agreeing on the exact text. Some delegations felt
that such a provision should apply only to the Secretariat. It
was argued, however, that a broader provision including other
organs and agencies of the Organization would be more de­
sirable. The principal question arose over the wording of an
amendment introduced by the Uruguayan Delegation to the
effect that ‘Representation and participation in the organs
of the Organization shall be open both to men and women
under the same conditions.’ This was open to the objection
that it irfiplied that members of the Organization might be
obligated to apply the principle in appointing their represent­
atives on various organs of the Organization. It was argued
that the Organization could not place restrictions upon mem­
bers in the appointment of their own representatives. Conse­
quently, after considerable discussion, it was agreed that it
would be more suitable if the Charter merely provided that
the Organization should ‘place no restrictions on the eligi­
bility of men and women to participate in any capacity and
under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary
organs.’ This is the phraseology now found in Article 8.”
The United States delegation supported this proposal. The
principal organs of the United Nations are designated in Article
7 of the Charter as the General Assembly, the Economic and Social
Council, the Security Council, the Trusteeship Council, the Inter­
national Court of Justice, and the Secretariat.
Equality in Consultation. “The close and fruitful coop­
eration between the United States Delegation and its con­
sultants, representing private American organizations, pointed
to the desirability of some orderly channel through which
national and international organizations of a non-govern­
mental character, having interests in international problems




17

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

falling within the competence of the Economic and Social Coun­
cil, could bring their views to the attention of the Organiza­
tion. In an unprecedented example of cooperation and una­
nimity, a recommendation was addressed to the United States
Delegation by consultants representing major organizations
in the fields of agriculture, business, education and labor in
the United States, suggesting that there be added to the
Charter a paragraph providing for consultation and coopera­
tion between non-governmental organizations, national and
international, and the Economic and Social Council.
“Article 71 is the answer of the Conference to this pro­
posal :
“ ‘The Economic and Social Council may make suitable
arrangements for consultation with non-governmental organ­
izations which are concerned with matters within its com­
petence. Such arrangements may be made with interna­
tional organizations and, where appropriate, with national
organizations after consultation with the member of the
United Nations concerned.’
“This paragraph stands on its own and needs no inter­
pretation. It opens the way to close and orderly cooperation
between the Economic and Social Council and the non-govern­
mental organizations most vitally concerned in its work.”
A Commission on the Status of Women. “The Brazilian
Delegation issued a declaration recommending the establish­
ment of a Commission of Women to study the status and op­
portunity of women and, particularly, any discriminations
and limitations placed upon them on account of their sex.®
Although the United States Delegation did not favor the
establishment of such a commission composed exclusively of
women, it did express its full agreement with any move de­
signed to eliminate such discriminations and limitations as
may still exist. In this connection the Delegation requested
that the following statement be incorporated in the records
of the Committee before which the matter was discussed:
“ ‘The position of the United States on the subject of
equal opportunity for women is so well established and has
been so often demonstrated in action that it does not need
to be elaborated here. We expect women to play a construc­
tive role in the development of the international community
which the United Nations are today striving to organize. We
0 For text of Brazilian declaration, see Appendix, p. 67.




18

THE UNITED NATIONS

are confident, also, that they will share in the benefits which
will flow to the people of all lands from the cooperative ef­
forts of their governments to solve economic and social, edu­
cational and cultural, and related human problems. Where
women as a group suffer from discriminations, we believe
that the commission on human rights contemplated in the
draft Charter of the United Nations will be effective in help­
ing to bring about the eventual disappearance of such disabil­
ities. Moreover, the Delegation of the United States hopes
that the excellent work of the Committee of Jurists appointed
by the League of Nations to study the legal status of women
throughout the world may be continued in an appropriate
form, either as an advisory body to the Economic and Social
Council or as a part of the commission on human rights
which this Council is intended to establish.’ ”
Further, measures might be initiated by the Commission on
Human Rights that would include the interests of women, as the
Report to the President stated:
“* * * the commission on human rights will have the
opportunity to work out an international bill of rights which
can be submitted to member nations with a view to incorpora­
tion in their fundamental law, just as there is a Bill of Rights
in the American Constitution. It can furthermore be ex­
pected to take up, in the early stages of its existence, such
problems as freedom of information, of press, the radio and
the screen and to prepare draft conventions on these and
other subjects. These are freedoms which cannot be attained
by declarations and resolutions alone. Hard work extend­
ing over many years, careful studies, and long-range plan­
ning will be necessary to attain these freedoms throughout
the world and to make them secure. The commission on
human rights might also undertake to promote equal rights
for women, be it in the fields of politics or economics or with
respect to their legal status.”
ACTIVITY OF WOMEN’S ORGANIZATIONS
IN THE UNITED STATES

After completion of the United Nations Charter in San
Francisco, women’s organizations that had been represented by
consultants there (see Appendix, p. 106 f) urged wider attention to
the needs of women in other countries and to the possibilities of
work through the United Nations to improve the general status
of women. They took the initiative in calling a conference of




19

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

about 50 interested organization leaders in Washington in the
fall of 1945.
Early Conference on Implementing Charter Provisions

This conference demonstrated immediately an energetic de­
termination to achieve practical implementation of the pronounce­
ments in the Preamble of the Charter for “equal rights of men
and women.” The conference first reviewed the Charter provi­
sions applicable to its task. (Se» text of these in Appendix, p. 64.)
It then considered at length what type of agency in the United
Nations would be most effective to implement the Charter provi­
sions for freedom and equal participation.
It must be remembered that this conference took place prior
to the first session of the United Nations Assembly, that the con­
ception of a Subcommission on Status of Women had not been
developed, and that the organs provided for in the Charter had
not yet been fully formed. The only one of these organs that
would have specifically within its purview women’s particular in­
terests as such was the Economic and Social Council.
The Conference emphasized the belief that attention to wom­
en’s interests must be carefully coordinated with the work of
all the various committees and activities of the United Nations
in order to prevent isolating the problems of women from the
general problems of society. However, caution was expressed
against assuming continuous effort on women’s interests by gen­
eral agencies that also have many other areas of work to cover.
Further it was observed that at San Francisco some countries
having the greatest problems with respect to women seemed to
have little consciousness of them. The experience of women who
had worked in organizations connected with the League of Na­
tions indicated that the participation of women as technical ex­
perts and staff workers in United Nations agencies would not in
itself guarantee attention to the special problems of women.
Finally, this conference urged the removal of discriminations
against women “wherever they exist” and called for the “coopera­
tion and use of women in the United Nations to the fullest possible
extent.” It concluded that an international body would be needed
with the special function of scrutinizing the work of international
technical committees and suggesting to them full attention to
women’s needs.
The organizations most closely concerned with these contin­
uing efforts were the American Association of University Women,
the American Civil Liberties Union, the General Federation of




20

THE UNITED NATIONS

Women’s Clubs, the National Consumers’ League, the National
Council of Catholic Women, the National Council of Jewish Wom­
en, the National Council of Negro Women, the National Council of
Women, the National Federation of Business and Professional
Women’s Clubs, the National League of Women Voters, the Na­
tional Women’s Trade Union League, and the National Board of
the Young Women’s Christian Association. These are organiza­
tions vitally concerned to improve the status of women in the
United States and throughout the world, that have worked toward
this objective for many years; most of them also have international
affiliates active in this area. Some of them have had long expe­
rience in combined conference and committee work along various
lines of joint interest. For these particular consultations, they
sought to bring together members who had international back­
ground and whose thinking in this field would have national sig­
nificance. Valuable assistance was also given by more than 20
other women’s, labor union, and professional organizations who
participated in one or more of the sessions.
Continuing Activities of Conference Croup

With their work well under way before the first session of
the United Nations General Assembly, the representatives of
these organizations conferred further at intervals during the fol­
lowing winter and spring, during the developing organization and
initial work of the Economic and Social Council, the Human Rights
Commission, and finally the Subcommission on Status of Women.
In these subsequent discussions, the representatives of women’s
organizations expanded their recommendations. From time to
time they made proposals looking toward adapting their earlier
suggestions on policies and procedures to pertinent proposals
actually being considered in the General Assembly and the Eco­
nomic and Social Council’s Commission on Human Rights.
THE FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE UNITED NATIONS
Participation of Women

The first General Assembly of the United Nations met in
London in January of 1946. Five of the 51 United Nations sent
women as delegates, and 6 other countries sent women as alternate
or assistant delegates, or as advisers.
Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt was a member of the United States
Delegation, and among the advisers to the Delegation were Miss
Frieda Miller, Director of the Women’s Bureau in the United States




21

on* -ucttb to Tut ion or thi nu
n>oM tu ioku anAUTfcs ul tivism at
Tht riK-T AMUnU.l or Thl ItITID KATIOiS
ai

This First Assembly of the United Katlone marks
^
Nooad etteapt of the poop1m of tbo world to liw
peeoeebly la a democratic world ooaaunlty. This am chance
for pesos see eon through the Joint efforts of bob and
•oan work lag for ooaaon Idaala of huatc fraadoa at a time
•baa Mad for uni tad effort broke down barrlars of raoe,
oroad and sex.
la Tlaa of the variety of tanks which woaan
parforaad no notably and valiantly during tha war, aa
ora gratlflad that aavwntaan wonaa dalagataa sad adTlaars,
rapraaantativaa of alwraa noabar stataa, ara taking part
ot tha baglaalng of this now phaao of international effort.
da hope their participation la tha work of thw United
EatIona Organlaation nay grow and aay increaea la iaaight
oad skill. To this and w# osll on thw goTeraaents of
tha world to aaoouraga wonaa ararywhara to taka a aora
active part la national and international affairs, and
oe woaan who ara oonacioua of their opportunitiee to
pool forward and ahare In tha aork of peace and reconstruc­
tion as they did In war and resistance.
da recognise that woaan in various parts of
tha aorld ara at different stages of participation in
the life of their ooaaunities, that aoaa of than ara
prevented by lae froa aaauaing full rights of cltisecsbip,
and that they therefore aay aaa their laaedlata problems
eoaewhat differently.
Finding ourselves in agreement on these points
aa wish aa a group to edviae tha woaan of all our countries
of our strong belief that an important opportunity and
responsibility confronts tha woaan of the United nations:
1) To recognise tha progress soaen have made during
tha ear and participate actively in tha effort to inprove
the standard of life in their own countries and in the
pressing aork of reconstruction ao that there sill be
qualified woaan reedy to accept responsibility when nee
opportunities arise.
2) To train their children, boys and glrla sllke,
to understand aorld problems and the need for international
cooperation as wall as tna probleas of their own countries.
3) Not to permit theaselvee to be aisled by antldanocratlc aovsaents, now or in the future.
A) To recognize that the goal of full pertlcipetion
lr. tha life and responsibilities of their countries and
of tne world conavrity is a conn.cn objective toward which
tna woaan of tha world should assist ora another.




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INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

Department of Labor, and Miss Dorothy Fosdick of the State De­
partment Division of International Organization Affairs. As at
San Francisco, the delegates served on various committees; Mrs.
Roosevelt was a member of the Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural
Committee, which dealt with the problems of refugees and of gen­
eral relief. (For full list of women delegates and advisers, see
Appendix, p. 109.)
Debate on Women in the Assembly, February 13, 1946

At the request of the French delegation, the question of par­
ticipation of women in United Nations conferences was placed
on the Assembly agenda. The General Committee considered this,
but decided that while the contribution of women to delegations
was of great value, it would in principle be inadvisable for the
General Assembly to make any definite recommendations to na­
tions as to their appointments. However, the Committee recom­
mended that the General Assembly discuss the participation of
women in the United Nations, and a debate on this subject took
place on February 13.
The floor was first taken by M. Paul Boncour, the leading
member of the French delegation. In view of the subject under
discussion, he yielded first place to Mrs. Roosevelt. She spoke
briefly and presented an “Open Letter to the Women of the
World,” which had been drawn up and signed by the women dele­
gates and advisers at the Assembly. This letter noted the par­
ticipation of women as delegates and advisers in this Assembly
and called on governments of the world to encourage women to
take a more active part in national and international affairs.
Speeches on the position of women and the importance of their
being members of their countries’ delegations were made by Miss
Bernardino (Dominican Republic), Mrs. Dalen (Norway), Mrs.
Verwey (Netherlands), M. Paul Boncour (France), Mr. Fraser
(New Zealand), Mr. Fusco (Uruguay), and Mr. Noel-Baker
(United Kingdom). The full text of these speeches and the text
of the “Open Letter” and the list of its signers appear in the Ap­
pendix, page 69 and following.
Creation of Subcommission on Status of Women

During the discussion in the Assembly, Mr. Fraser (New Zea­
land) stated the intention of the Economic and Social Council
(see paragraph next-below) to establish a Subcommission on the
Status of Women within its Commission on Human Rights. The
resolution taking this action was passed in the Economic and




24

THE UNITED NATIONS

Social Council on February 16. The full text of the resolution by
which the Economic and Social Council established the Commis­
sion on Human Rights and the Subcommission on the Status of
Women appears in the Appendix, page 80 and following.
Organization of Commissions Under Economic and Social Council

The Economic and Social Council referred to (called for brev­
ity the ECOSOC) was holding its first meetings in London dur­
ing part of the General Assembly sessions. Under the Charter
provision enabling it to establish various commissions “in eco­
nomic and social fields and for the promotion of human rights”
(Charter, art. 68), the ECOSOC created at this time six commis­
sions—the Economic and Employment Commission, the Tem­
porary Social Commission, the Statistical Commission, the Com­
mission on Human Rights, the Temporary Transport and Com­
munications Commission, and the Commission on Narcotic Drugs.
To expedite organization of these commissions, and the Sub­
commission on the Status of Women as well, it was decided that
each of them should consist temporarily of a nuclear group of nine
members to be named, in the capacity of individuals, by govern­
ments. Under this plan it was possible for each government to
be represented on only three of the commissions then set up. The
United States asked for membership on the Commission on Hu­
man Rights, to which Mrs. Roosevelt was appointed, on the Statis­
tical Commission, and on the Economic and Employment Com­
mission.10
Communications From Women's Organizations

Although consultation by the Economic and Social Council
with non-governmental organizations is provided for in Article 71
of the Charter, the full machinery for this purpose had not yet
been worked out (see p. 66). Hence, numerous communications
from national and international organizations were addressed di­
rectly to the President of the General Assembly or to other offi­
cers of the United Nations. These included a resolution from
British women’s organizations urging, under appropriate Charter
provisions, a draft convention to remove discriminations against
10 The method of appointment of these initial commission members was as follows: The
ECOSOC invited each member to make one nomination for each of two or three commissions.
Members were free to nominate nationals of other countries, and in some cases did so. The
ECOSOC subcommittee handling this matter then agreed on a selected list, which was approved
by the full Council. The Commission on Narcotic Drugs was an exception to the “nuclear"
plan; because of its particular functions it was clear which countries would most suitably
compose its permanent membership.
744732°—47—3




25

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

women. (For text, see Appendix, p. 68.) Later, when the report
of the plan for the Subcommission on Status of Women reached
America, the representatives of women’s organizations that had
been most actively interested sent to the President of the Economic
and Social Council a statement expressing pleasure at this plan
and urging that the Subcommission consider the economic and
social opportunities of women in their broadest application, as
well as the legal status of women.

\




26

PART III.

THE UNITED NATIONS SUBCOMMISSION
ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

The Subcommission on the Status of Women held its first
meetings April 29-May 13, 1946, at Hunter College, New York
City, where temporary United Nations headquarters had been
established.11 The Human Rights Commission, through which it
■\yas to report to the Economic and Social Council, also met at this
time, as did also several other commissions of the ECOSOC,
including the Temporary Social Commission. (For a list of
women members of the various nuclear commissions of the
ECOSOC, see Appendix, p. 109.)
MEMBERSHIP

The United States was not a member of the Subcommission
on the Status of Women, because of the limited number of com­
missions on which any country could be represented, and because
the United States had asked for membership on other commis­
sions (see p. 25). The members of the Subcommission on Status
of Women who sat at this first session, and those who were
initially appointed but were unable to attend, were as follows:
China—Mrs. Way Sing New (replacing first appointee, Miss
Wu Yi-Fang).
Chile—(Miss Gabriela Mistral appointed, but resigned).
Denmark—Mrs. Bodil Begtrup, chairman.11
12
Dominican Republic—Miss Minerva Bernardino, vice chair­
man.12
France—Mme. Marie Helene Lefaucheux (replacing first ap­
pointee, Mme. Vienot).
India—Mrs. Hansa-Mehta (replacing first appointee, Rani
Amrit Kaur).
Lebanon—Miss Angela Jurdak, rapporteur.12
Poland—Miss Fryderyka Kalinowska.
USSR—(No delegate appointed).
Members ex officio from Human Rights Commission (with no
vote on Subcommission on Status of Women) :
Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt (U. S. A.). (Also chairman of
the Human Rights Commission. See Appendix, p. 109.)
11 These turned out to he its only meetings, since it was superseded by the full Commis­
sion on Status of Women (see pp. 30, 94-95).
12 As elected by the Subcommission at its first meeting April 29, 1946. Its secretary was
Mrs. Janine Bernheim, Assistant Secretary Miss Catherine Rolfe., Mrs. Begtrup was a sub­
stitute delegate from her country to the League of Nations Assembly ’in 1938.




27

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

M. Dusan Brkic (Yugoslavia).
M. Rene Cassin (France). (Formerly a member of League of
Nations Committee considering women’s status. See p. 7.)
RECOMMENDATIONS FROM UNITED STATES WOMEN’S
ORGANIZATIONS

All members of the United Nations, whether or not they
were members of the nuclear groups, were invited to make sug­
gestions on the agenda and plans for the commissions and the
subcommission. Hence the women’s organizations in the United
States that had met after the San Francisco Conference (see p. 19)
reviewed their earlier recommendations and defined the function,
program, and procedure they believed desirable for the Commis­
sion on Status of Women.
There still was concern that the work for the status of women
and an interest in women’s needs should permeate all United
Nations activities rather than become concentrated too exclu­
sively in any single organ of the United Nations. A report of
this conference group on March 29, 1946, states this concern as
follows:
“The fundamental objective of the Subcommission should
be conceived of as increasing the effectiveness of the com­
missions and specialized agencies which are concerned with
such fields as employment, labor standards, education,
health, social welfare, etc. The Subcommission can play a
unique role in appraising programs in these fields from the
point of view of recommending approaches, including the
incorporation of standards and general principles, which
would help remove the legal and customary handicaps im­
posed upon women. This would constitute a significant con­
tribution toward helping achieve success in each of these
fields. This concept places a premium on cooperation and
coordination, and minimizes duplication.”
At a later meeting, held just prior to the session of the Sub­
commission, the group further defined the basic objectives and
procedures they thought applicable, as follows:
“The objective of the Subcommission on the Status of
Women is to remove discriminations against women wher­
ever they exist, and to equip women, through suffrage and
through participation in every phase of national and inter­
national life, to maintain their own status and carry effec­
tively their, responsibilities as individuals and citizens.




28

U. N. SUBCOMMISSION ON STATUS OF WOMEN

“For this purpose the Subcommission would have two
major functions:
(1) An area of primary responsibility for accumulating
information and promoting standards in relation
to the status of women as reflected in laws and their
enforcement, in customs and administrative rulings.
(2) An area in which its function should be that of
review and appraisal of the work of other agencies,
to see that the work of these agencies does not per­
petuate discriminations, if necessary working out
with them new procedures and standards.
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
“Much important work of the Subcommission will de­
velop through its relations with other agencies, inside and
outside the United Nations. Procedures to ensure creative
cooperation will be of the utmost importance.”
As points of immediate importance this group also urged
such program items as assistance to women who had not yet
secured, or had only recently achieved the franchise, and the con­
tinuation and expansion of the survey begun by the League of
Nations Committee on the Legal Status of Women. The policies
outlined in the foregoing were submitted to the Subcommission
through official channels. The organizations also urged that the
United States seek membership in future on the Subcommission.
SUMMARY OF WORK OF THE SUBCOMMISSION

A preliminary agenda and suggested procedures for the Sub­
commission had been developed in the Secretariat after conference
with appropriate personnel in various governments. The Sub­
commission’s sessions were conducted in English, although none
of the members came from English-speaking countries. Its activ­
ities naturally were influenced by the mandate of its superiors,
the Human Rights Commission and the Economic and Social
Council, but from the outset the Subcommission assumed a broad
field for discussion and recommendation based on comprehensive
provisions in the United Nations Charter (Arts. 62, 66, 68; see
Appendix, p. 65 f). It began its work by considering its function,
or “terms of reference,” and its permanent organization and mem­
bership. This included its size, composition, representation by
geographic region, terms of office, and whether members should
be appointed in their individual capacities or as government repre­
sentatives, decisions on all of which are embodied in its Report
to the Commission on Human Rights.




29

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

The Subcommission presented its Report to the Commission
on Human Rights May 14, 1946. It first outlined policies, pro­
posing “that world public opinion be stimulated in favor of rais­
ing the status of women as an instrument to further human
rights and peace.” In practice, the Report said, priority had to
be given political rights, since without them little progress could
be made. These were stated as “equal participation in govern­
ments and possibility to exercise all the rights and assume all the
duties of a citizen,” and defined in detail. Beyond this the Sub­
commission also listed improvements in civil, educational, social,
and economic fields, which it was important to develop simul­
taneously.
For the Subcommission’s program of immediate activity, the
Report proposed a reliable survey of laws pertaining to the status
of women, and of their application; work for equal opportunity
for full education, including training in specialized fields; calling
of a United Nations Women’s Conference to develop the program;
furthering of the political rights referred to in the policies out­
lined. (For full text of Report, see Appendix, p. 83 ff.)
When the Commission on Human Rights, through its chair­
man, Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt, made its report to the Economic
and Social Council, it not only submitted the full Report of the
Subcommission on Status of Women together with its own recom­
mendations to the Council concerning the Subcommission, but
arranged for the Chairman of the Subcommission, Mrs. Bodil
Begtrup, to address the full Economic and Social Council. Mrs.
Begtrup presented in person the major points in the Subcom­
mission’s Report and at the same time cited the wish of her col­
leagues to recommend that the Subcommission be made a full
commission under the Economic and Social Council. Before the
close of its session, the Council acceded to this request and created
a full Commission on the Status of Women. Excerpts from the
Report of the Human Rights Commission, the Address of the
Chairman of the Subcommission before the Economic and Social
Council, and the Resolution of the Economic and Social Council
creating a full Commission on the Status of Women, will be found
in the Appendix, page 90 and following.
PROVISIONS FOR CONSULTATION WITH ECOSOC

Article 71 of the Charter provided that the Economic and
Social Council could make suitable arrangements for consultation
with non-governmental organizations (see p. 66). Accordingly,




30

U. N. SUBCOMMISSION ON STATUS OF WOMEN

the ECOSOC at the close of its first sessions in London, on Feb­
ruary 16, 1946, set up a committee to consider suitable procedures
and make recommendations to the next sessions of the ECOSOC
in the early summer. This Committee on Arrangements for Con­
sultation with Non-Governmental Organizations (called for brev­
ity the NGO Committee) corresponded directly with national and
international organizations that had indicated an interest in pre­
senting their views to and in having observers at sessions of
United Nations organs.
The ECOSOC adopted the recommendations of this Commit­
tee at the final meeting of its second session, June 21, 1946. The
principles thus established provide that to be eligible for consulta­
tion an organization should be concerned with matters falling
within the competence of ECOSOC, should have aims and purposes
conforming with the spirit of the Charter, should be of recognized
standing, should have an established headquarters and authority
to speak for membership, should be international in structure
with international policies determined by its voting members. It
should represent a substantial proportion of the organized persons
within the particular field of interest to be represented. Organi­
zations solely national in scope normally should speak through
their own governments, or through international bodies to which
such organizations belong.
In establishing procedure, provision was made for a standing
Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations—again called
for brevity the Council NGO Committee—to review applications
for consultative status. So far as any individual commission is
concerned, consultative status for organizations having special
competence is provided for either directly or through the commis­
sion’s own committee established for the purpose.
The NGO Committee Report further urged that since the
peoples of the United Nations have a basic interest in all United
Nations work, the Secretariat be so organized as to render all
appropriate assistance to non-governmental organizations and
offer to them all appropriate facilities. (For excerpts from the
Report of the NGO Committee, see Appendix, p. 95 ff.)




31




*

APPENDIXES
A.

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS CONCERNING STATUS OF WOMEN
I.
II.
III.

B.

WOMAN PERSONNEL IN LEAGUE OF NATIONS AND UNITED
NATIONS
I.
II.

C.

The Hague Conference (1930)
The League of Nations (1920—39)
The United Nations (1945 and 1946)

League of Nations
United Nations

SUFFRAGE FOR WOMEN IN COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD, 1946




33




APPENDIX A.
I.

International Documents Concerning
Status of Women

EXTRACTS FROM DOCUMENTS, HAGUE CONFERENCE
FOR CODIFICATION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW,
THE HAGUE, APRIL 1930

1. Extracts from Convention Adopted on Certain Questions
Relating to the Conflict of Nationality Laws, and
Ratification of Same, April 1930 1
Chapter I—General Principles
Chapter II—Expatriation Permits
Chapter III—Nationality of Married Women

Article 8
If the national law of the wife causes her to lose her nation­
ality on marriage with a foreigner, this consequence shall be con­
ditional on her acquiring the nationality of the husband.
Article 9
If the national law of the wife causes her to lose her nation­
ality upon a change in the nationality of her husband occurring
during marriage, this consequence shall be conditional on her
acquiring her husband’s new nationality.
Article 10
Naturalization of the husband during marriage shall not
involve a change in the nationality of the wife except with her
consent.
Article 11
The wife who, under the law of her country, lost her nation­
ality on marriage shall not recover it after the dissolution of the
marriage except on her own application and in accordance with
the law of that country. If she does recover it, she shall lose the
nationality which she acquired by reason of the marriage.
Chapter IV—Nationality of Children

Article 12
Rules of law which confer nationality by reason of birth on
the territory of a state shall not apply automatically to children
born to persons enjoying diplomatic immunities in the country
where the birth occurs.
1 Source:
1930.

Report on Conference for Codification of International Law (let) The Hague,




35

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

The law of each state shall permit children of consuls de
carriers, or of officials of foreign states charged with official mis­
sions by their governments, to become divested, by repudiation
or otherwise, of the nationality of the state in which they were
born in any case in which on birth they acquired dual nationality,
provided that they retain the nationality of their parents.
Article 13
Naturalization of the parents shall confer on such of their
children as, according to its law, are minors, the nationality of
the state by which the naturalization is granted. In such case the
law of that state may specify the conditions governing the acqui­
sition of its nationality by the minor children as a result of the
naturalization of the parents.
In cases where minor children do not acquire the nationality
of their parent as the result of the naturalization of the latter,
they shall retain their existing nationality.
Article H
A child whose parents are both unknown shall have the
nationality of the country of birth. If the child’s parentage is
established, its nationality shall be determined by the rules appli­
cable in cases where the parentage is known.
A foundling is, until the country is proved, presumed to have
been born on the territory of the state in which it was found.
Article 15
Where the nationality of a state is not acquired automatically
by reason of birth on its territory, a child born on the territory
of the state of parents having no nationality, or of unknown na­
tionality may obtain the nationality of the said state. The law
of the state shall determine the conditions governing the acqui­
sition of its nationality in such cases.
Article 16
If the law of the state whose nationality an illegitimate child
possesses recognizes that that nationality may be lost as a conse­
quence of a change in the civil status of the child (legitimation,
recognition), such loss shall be conditional on the acquisition by
the child of the nationality of another state under the law of that
state governing the effect of the change in civil status upon
nationality.
/

Chapter V—Adoption
Chapter VI—General and Final Provisions




36

APPENDIX A—HAGUE CONFERENCE DOCUMENTS

Signed by:
Germany
Austria
Belgium *
Great Britain and
Northern Ireland
Canada
Australia
Union of South Africa
Irish Free State
India *
Chile
China
Colombia *

Cuba *
Denmark
Free City of Danzig
Egypt
Spain
Estonia
France
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Italy
Japan *
Latvia

LuxemburgMexico
Netherlands *
Peru
Poland
Portugal
Salvador
Sweden
Switzerland *
Czechoslovakia
Uruguay
Yugoslavia

* Certain reservations stated.

Ten ratifications or accessions are required for effectiveness.
(Arts. 25 and 26 of the Convention.) By April 1937, there were
ten ratifications or accessions, though one of these did not accept
Arts. 8, 9, 10, and another did not accept Art. 16. They were as
follows:

Norway, March 1931 (Treaty Inf. Bull., April 1931, p. 5).
Monaco, April 1931 (Treaty Inf. Bull., June 1931, p. 6).
Brazil (except Art. 16), October 1931 (Treaty Inf. Bull., November 1931).
Sweden, July 1933 (Treaty Inf. Bull., August 1933, p. 4).
Great Britain and Canada, April 1934 (League of Nations Journal, May
1934).
Poland, June 1934 (Treaty Inf. Bull., July 1934, p. 6).
China, February 1934 (League of Nations Journal, March 1935, p. 442).
Great Britain for India, October 1935 (Treaty Inf. Bull., November
1935, p. 7).
Netherlands (except Arts. 8, 9, 10) April 1937 (Great Britain, Treaty
Series No. 33. Cmd. 5553, 1937, pp. 33-35).

2. Resolution No. VI, Recommending Study of Equal Nationality.
Adopted at the Hague Conference for Codification of International
Law, April 1930 *1

The Conference recommends to the states the study of the
question whether it would not be possible:
1. To introduce into their law the principle of the equality of
the sexes in matters of nationality, taking particularly
into consideration the interests of the children;
2. And especially to decide that, in principle, the nationality
of the wife shall henceforth not be affected without her
consent either by the mere fact of marriage or by any
change in the nationality of her husband.
NOTE.—As the purpose of this Conference was to codify existing law, adoption of a pro­
posed Equal Rights treaty was not officially discussed.
1 Source: The Hague Conference, Official No. A.15.1932.V.




37

II.

LEAGUE OF NATIONS DOCUMENTS, 1920-39

1. Resolutions of League of Nations Assembly Relating to Status
of Women
COOPERATION OF WOMEN IN THE ORGANIZATION OF PEACERESOLUTION PASSED BY 12TH ASSEMBLY (1931)i

The Assembly,
Convinced of the great value of the contribution of women to
the work of peace and the good understanding between the na­
tions, which is the principal aim of the League of Nations,
Requests the Council to examine the possibility of women
cooperating more fully in the work of the League.
1 Source: League of Nations, The League Year-Book, 1932, p. 369.

NATIONALITY OF WOMEN—RESOLUTION PASSED BY
12TH ASSEMBLY (1931)i

The Assembly,
Having examined with the greatest interest the report of the
Secretary-General on the question of the nationality of women,
presented in accordance with the resolution of the Council of
January 24th, 1931, and the report and proposals of the Commit­
tee of Representatives of Women’s International Organizations
which are annexed thereto;
Notes the desire of the said Committee that steps should be
taken to bring about the reconsideration of the Hague Nationality
Convention, bearing in mind the principle of equality between
men and women;
Thanks the Committee of Representatives of Women’s Inter­
national Organizations for its report; and
Requests the Council, in harmony with the recommendation
No. VI of the Conference for the Codification of International
Law held at The Hague, March-April 1930, to transmit to all gov­
ernments the report of the Secretary-General on the question of
the nationality of women, including the Report of the Committee
of Representatives of Women’s International Organizations, and
the letter of the International Union of Leagues of Catholic
Women of August 19, 1931, together with the Minutes of the First
Committee of the Assembly on this subject, and to request govern­
ments to submit their observations on this subject (including their
views regarding the Hague Nationality Convention) for recon­
sideration of the matter by the 13th Assembly, to which any1
1 Source: League of Nations, The League Year-Book, 1932, p. 377,




38

APPENDIX A—LEAGUE OF NATIONS DOCUMENTS

observations which the above-mentioned Committee thinks fit
to present will be communicated.
NATIONALITY OF WOMEN—RESOLUTION PASSED BY 13TH ASSEMBLY
(1932)1

The Assembly, * * *
Noting that, in their observations, a large number of govern­
ments express the opinion that Articles 8 to 11 of the Hague Con­
vention represent the degree of progress which can at present be
obtained by way of general international agreement in regard to
the question of the nationality of women;
Considering that any amendment outside the normal pro­
cedure for revision would prove impracticable and, therefore, that
it is not possible even to eliminate from the text the words that
seem to have created a misconception as to a discrimination of
sexes in regard to nationality;
Being satisfied, therefore, that the coming into force of Arti­
cles 8 to 11 would in no way prejudice further concerted inter­
national action, when such action becomes practicable;
Recognizing that their coming into force would not, in the
meantime, place any restriction upon the freedom of action of any
state that may desire to give further effect in its nationality laws
to the principle of the equality of the sexes;
Considering, finally, the question of the nationality of women
to be in process of evolution and connected with the change of
women’s position in social, economic and political life;
Expresses the hope that the states which have already signed
the Hague Nationality Convention will introduce such legislation
as may be necessary to give effect thereto, and will deposit their
ratifications at an early date;
Draws the attention of the states that have not yet passed the
necessary legislative measures to give effect to the Convention to
the possibility of enacting their internal legislative measures in
a form more appropriate to meet the wishes of the women’s
organizations;
Instructs the Secretary-General from time to time to ask the
governments to give him information as to the effect which they
have found it possible to give Recommendation No. VI of the
Codification Conference;
Requests the Council, on the basis of the information so
obtained, to follow the development of public opinion on this
important question, in order to determine when such development1
1 Source: League of Nations, The League Year-Book, 1933, pp. 238-239.




39

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

has reached a point at which further concerted international
action would be justified.
COLLABORATION OF WOMEN IN THE WORK OF THE LEAGUE__
RESOLUTION PASSED BY 13TH ASSEMBLY (1932)i

The Assembly,
Expresses its warm appreciation of the work done by women
in support of the League of Nations, and welcomes wholeheartedly
the efforts made to increase their collaboration;
Notes that the Women’s Organizations consulted are unani­
mous in declaring that equal status between men and women is
a prerequisite of effective collaboration of women in the work of
the League, and that their collaboration can be most effectively
exercised through the competent official organs of the League and
of the governments;
Reminds all the States-Members of the League of Article 7
of the Covenant, which has in view the possibility:
(a) For the governments of the States-Members to appoint
competent women to Assembly delegations to conferences
and on governmental committees of the League;
(b) For the Council to appoint competent women on tech­
nical League committees, as assessors and experts;
(c) For the Secretary-General to include competent women
in the higher posts of the Secretariat.1
1 Source: League of Nations, Official No. A. S3. 1935. V; The League Year-Book, 1933,
p. 248.

NATIONALITY OF WOMEN—RESOLUTION PASSED BY 16TH ASSEMBLY
(1935)i

The Assembly,
Considering that the collaboration of women is particularly
desirable in the study of matters which concern them; conscious
of the importance of the subject:
(1) Remarks with interest the achievement accomplished by
the American states in drawing up a Convention in ac­
cordance with Recommendation VI of the Conference of
The Hague of 1930;
(2) Draws the attention of the members of the League of
Nations to the fact that the Montevideo Convention is
open to the accession of all states;
(3) Thanks the women’s international associations for the
assistance which they have rendered and will render to
the League of Nations in this field;
1 Source: League of Nations, Official No. A. 53. 1935. V.




40

APPENDIX A—LEAGUE OP NATIONS DOCUMENTS

(4) Renews its recommendations that the states which have
signed the Hague Convention of 1930 will deposit their
ratifications at an early date;
(5) Requests the Council to continue to follow the develop­
ment of this important problem, both in national and in
the international field, in order to determine when such
development has reached a point at which further con­
certed international action would be justified.
POLITICAL, CIVIL, AND ECONOMIC STATUS OF WOMEN—RESOLUTION
PASSED BY 16TH ASSEMBLY (1935)1

The Assembly,
Noting that the question of the status of women was placed on
the agenda of the present Session for examination, at the instance
of a number of delegations, with particular reference to the Equal
Rights Treaty signed at Montevideo on December 26, 1933, by
representatives of the Governments of Cuba, Ecuador, Paraguay
and Uruguay;
Considering that the terms of the Equal Rights Treaty should
be examined in relation to the existing political, civil and economic
status of women under the laws of the countries of the world;
Recognizing that the question of conditions of employment,
whether of men or women, is a matter which properly falls within
the sphere of the International Labor Organization:
(1) Decides that the question of the political and civil status
of women shall be referred by the Secretary-General to the gov­
ernments for their observations, including observations as to the
action which in their view the League might take in this matter,
and that the governments shall be requested to supply to the
Secretary-General, together with their observations, information
as to the existing political and civil status of women under their
respective national laws;
(2) Recommends that the women’s international organiza­
tions should continue their study of the whole question of the
political and civil status of women;
(3) Requests that the observations and information com­
municated by the governments and the statements of the said
international organizations shall be sent to the Secretary-General
for consideration by the Assembly of the League of Nations at a
subsequent Session;1
1 Source: League of Nations, Official No. A. 60. 1935. V; Industrial and Labor Infor­
mation, Oct. 21, 1935.
744732°—47—4




41

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

(4) Expresses the hope that the International Labor Organ­
ization will, in accordance with its normal procedure, undertake
an examination of those aspects of the problem within its compe­
tence—namely, the question of equality under labor legislation—
and that it will, in the first place, examine the question of legis­
lation which affects discriminations, some of which may be detri­
mental to women’s right to work.
Note.—For ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION CREATING COMMITTEE OF EX­
PERTS ON STATUS OF WOMEN, 1937, see pages 49-30.

2.

Countries Requesting Consideration by Assembly of League of
Nations of Matters Relating to Status of Women, 1931—37

1931— Request to Council to put nationality of women on
Assembly Agenda: Guatemala, Peru, Venezuela_
1932— Governments that had replied to questionnaire as to
whether to revise Hague Convention on National­
ity of Women
33
1933— Request to put nationality of women on Assembly
Agenda: Chile______________________________
1934— Request to put status of women on Assembly Agenda
(came only about a week before the session, too
late for inclusion) : Argentina, Bolivia, Cuba,
Dominican Republic, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico,
Panama, Peru, Uruguay
10
1935— a. Request to put nationality of women on Assembly
Agenda: Argentina, Chile, China, Colombia,
Czechoslovakia, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Lat­
via, Mexico, New Zealand, Panama, Siam, Tur­
key, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Yugo­
slavia ____ .„______ ______________
b. Request to put status of women on Assembly
Agenda. Placed on Agenda in response to 1934
request which came too late.
1937—Request to put status of women on Assembly
Agenda: Albania, Bolivia, Bulgaria, China, Co­
lombia, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Ecuador, Finland,
Haiti, Latvia, New Zealand, Turkey, Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics, Yugoslavia_________




42

3

1

15

15

APPENDIX A—LEAGUE OF NATIONS DOCUMENTS

3.

Status of Women. League of Nations Assembly, 1937

REPORT SUBMITTED BY THE FIRST COMMITTEE TO THE ASSEMBLY
OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS, 19371

Rapporteur: Mile. Hesselgren (Sweden)
1. It was in 1935 that the question of the status of women in
all its aspects first appeared on the agenda of the Assembly. Its
insertion on the agenda was the result of a joint request made
at the Assembly’s previous session by ten delegations—namely,
those of Argentina, Bolivia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti,
Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Peru, and Uruguay. The Assembly
had already been called upon to consider the nationality of women
in 1931, 1932, and 1933, and this subject was also on the agenda
in 1935.
2. In 1935, the question of nationality and the more general
question of status formed the object of separate discussion in the
Assembly, and two separate resolutions were adopted. As regards
nationality, the Assembly, on September 27, 1935, called the atten­
tion of the members of the League to the fact that the Montevideo
Convention of December 26, 1933, on the nationality of women
(which forbids any differentiation between the sexes in regard
to nationality) was open to accession by all states and repeated
the request which it had made on October 12, 1932, that the Coun­
cil would follow the development of the problem. As regards the
status of women, the Assembly on the same date adopted a reso­
lution which distinguished between “the question of conditions of
employment whether of men or women” which was stated to be
“a matter which properly falls within the sphere of the Inter­
national Labor Organization” and “the question of the political
and civil status of women.” The latter question was referred to
the governments “for their observations, including observations
as to the action which, in their view, the League might take in the
matter.” The governments were at the same time asked to furnish
information as to the position under their existing law. The
women’s international organizations were also asked to present
statements to the Assembly.
3. A large number of governments and associations re­
sponded during the years 1936 and 1937 to the Assembly’s request
for information. The documents A.14, 14 (a), 14 (b), and 14 (c).
1937.V. and A.33. 1936.V contain replies from the following
governments: Union of South Africa, Australia, Belgium, Brazil,
United Kingdom, Bulgaria,. China, Colombia, Czechoslovakia, Den1 Source: League of Nations, Official No. A. 54. 19S7. V,




43

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

mark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Iceland, India, Latvia,
Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland (Danzig),
Rumania, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Yugoslavia.
A statement from the Government of the United States of
America was received too late for distribution to the First Com­
mittee, but was studied by the rapporteur and will be published
as soon as possible. On the other hand, the documents A.14 and
A.14 (d). 1937. V contain information and statements of their
desiderata drawn up by the following women’s international
organizations: International Alliance of Women for Suffrage and
Equal Citizenship, World’s Young Women’s Christian Associa­
tion, St. Joan’s Social and Political Alliance, International Coun­
cil of Women, Equal Rights International, Union internationale
des Ligues feminines catholiques, Women’s Consultative Commit­
tee on Nationality 2 and the International Federation of Business
and Professional Women.
The members of the First Committee have not failed to give
most serious consideration to the views expressed, not merely by
the governments, but also by the organizations.
4. In the present year, the question of the status of women
has been put on the Assembly’s agenda by a joint request from
fifteen governments—namely: Albania, Bolivia, Bulgaria, China,
Colombia, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Ecuador, Finland, Haiti, Latvia,
New Zealand, Turkey, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and
Yugoslavia.
5. The figures given in the last two paragraphs appear to
show a growing interest on the part of governments in the demand
of women for equality of status. This impression is reinforced by
the debates in the First Committee. These debates have shown
that the question of equality is not merely one in regard to which
women in general are anxious that the maximum progress should
be made, but one in regard to which the governments, while
obliged to take account of the practical possibilities of legislation
and of international action, appreciate and feel sympathy with
this demand.
6. The documentation supplied by the governments and the
associations regarding the present position of women under the
law of different countries could not, of course, be studied in
detail by the First Committee, but a general survey of the situation
2 This Committee is composed of representatives of the International Council of Women,
the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, the Inter-American Commission of
Women, the Equal Rights International, and the All-Asian Conference of Women.




44

APPENDIX A—LEAGUE OF NATIONS DOCUMENTS

which it discloses was given to the Committee by the rapporteur
in the following terms:
“According to the wish expressed at the last meeting, I
have tried to get a sort of general survey of the present situ­
ation as it is recorded in this material, adopting a purely
practical standpoint and without going into details. I have
tried to find in how many countries a woman has full personal
rights or, as far as married women are concerned, equality
of rights with her husband, in certain specified matters.
“In so short a time and with data not always complete
or entirely corresponding to each other, I cannot guarantee
that my figures are absolutely exact, but I think I can say
that they may give you a fair idea of the situation. From a
juridical point of view, they need, of course, qualifying in
many respects.
“They concern thirty-eight countries all over the world,
of which twenty-four are in Europe, four in Asia, two in
Africa, seven in America including the United States of Amer­
ica and Canada, and finally, there is the Commonwealth of
Australia.
“The facts are, as I said, taken from the governments’
replies supplemented by the information given by the
women’s organizations. Where the information has shown
divergency, I have always depended on that furnished by
governments.
“The points investigated, seven in number, are as fol­
lows:
“I. Equality of right to their own nationality is allowed
to women by ten countries and refused by twenty; eight have
not given any information.
“II. The right to vote in parliamentary elections and
eligibility for election to Parliament on equal footing is en­
joyed by women in twenty-four countries and refused in
fourteen (nine in Europe).
“III. An equal right to vote and eligibility in local gov­
ernment on an equal footing is accorded to women in twentynine countries, refused in seven countries (four in Europe);
two have given no information.
“IV. An equal right for married women to choose their
domicile is given only in four countries, twenty-four refuse
it; ten give no information.




45

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OP WOMEN

“V. In seven countries, married women have an equal
right to the guardianship of their children; in twenty, they
are refused it. Eleven countries give no information.
“VI. The question of women’s right to work was very
difficult to answer from the data supplied. However, it seems
that fourteen countries give a woman, married or unmarried,
practically the right to engage in every kind of work, while
restrictions of different kinds are imposed in sixteen coun­
tries; no information is given from eight countries.
“VII. Equality of rights as regards property, income
and earnings is given women in twenty-four countries and
refused in ten; no information from four countries.
“I need not say that, quite apart from juridical niceties,
conditions vary greatly in different countries, and therefore
the data given must be of a very rough nature. A more concise
survey would ask for preparation and analysis by legal
experts. These remarks apply to this matter as a whole.
“I am, however, left with the impression of a very great
variety and of a growing process of evolution. Many coun­
tries are reporting recent or planned changes in their legis­
lation. I also venture to add that the progress made towards
complete emancipation of women is more substantial than
people generally are aware of.”
7. The draft resolution which the First Committee submits
to the Assembly for adoption provides for a comprehensive and
scientific inquiry into “the legal status enjoyed by women in the
various countries of the world as the result of the provisions of
national law and the application of those provisions.” This in­
quiry would be under the control of a committee of experts of both
sexes appointed by the Council. It will be evident from the work
which the committee has to do that the First Committee has pri­
marily in mind a committee of legal experts. It has refrained from
using this expression in the draft resolution, in order that the
Council, if it thinks fit, may put on the committee persons whose
qualifications are not primarily legal but who possess special
qualifications of another kind for the work in question. The com­
mittee will settle the scope of the inquiry and the distribution of
the work among the scientific institutions by which it is to be
accomplished, and it will review the work accomplished before its
publication by the League, with a view in particular to ensuring
that there is included a synthetic survey of the whole situation.
It is not, of course, intended that the committee shall be bound
to draw up this survey itself.




46

APPENDIX A—LEAGUE OF NATIONS DOCUMENTS

8. It is proposed that the inquiry itself should be entrusted
to suitable international scientific institutions. In this connection,
the resolution mentions the International Institute for the Uni­
fication of Private Law, which is an institute placed at the disposal
of the League and which, by its purpose and constitution, is
especially qualified to deal with questions of private law and
related questions. Other aspects of the inquiry would be entrusted
to such institutions as the committee of experts considered most
suitable for the purpose: a number of delegations considered, for
example, that recourse might be had to the International Institute
of Public Law and the International Bureau for the Unification
of Penal Law for questions falling within their field.
9. The reasons for such a proposal can be briefly stated as
follows:
The replies of the governments and the debate in the First
Committee, in which no fewer than 23 delegations took part,
have shown that the status of women is not a question which at
present one can hope to see settled for all countries by the adop­
tion of a simple and all-embracing formula. Although some
speakers were inclined to consider that it would ultimately become
possible to secure general acceptance for an international con­
vention on the subject, no delegation proposed that the League
should at present attempt to have such a convention negotiated
under its auspices, and certain delegations declared that, in the
opinion of their governments, the status of women was so essen­
tially a matter of domestic jurisdiction that it ought not to be
considered to fall within the field of action of the League. Other
delegations feel that, at the present stage, legislative progress may
be coordinated as the result of League action. If the First Com­
mittee’s proposal is accepted the League, on the completion of the
proposed inquiry, will be put in possession of an entirely objective
picture of the actual legal position of women. The publication
of such a comprehensive survey should be of assistance to govern­
ments and to all organizations and persons interested in the prob­
lem. On its completion, the Assembly will be absolutely free to
consider taking further steps in the matter.
10. The First Committee very much hopes that the compre­
hensive study can be completed in 3 years. The progress of the
work will be notified to the Assembly in the Secretary-General’s
annual reports, and if the committee of experts finds it impossible
to complete the work in the time proposed, it will of course call the
Assembly’s attention to the position. The proposed resolution
contemplates that, so far as necessary, the committee of experts




47

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

will maintain contact with the institutions which are carrying out
the study. This contact will of course be maintained in the normal
way through the Secretariat and, in the opinion of the First Com­
mittee, it need not necessarily involve meetings of the committee
of experts, although such meetings may prove to be desirable.
11. Two aspects of the status of women are excluded from
the scope of the contemplated comprehensive survey. In the first
place, that survey cannot obviously extend to matters which the
Assembly has already formally recognized to belong to the com­
petence of the International Labor Organization and in regard to
which the Organization is already prosecuting an inquiry which
the Assembly has requested it to undertake. Any difficulty in this
connection will be removed by collaboration between the commit­
tee of experts and the competent authorities of the Labor Organi­
zation. Moreover, there may no doubt be matters in regard to
which the experience of the Labor Organization would enable it
to assist the committee in a consultative capacity, and the First
Committee has no doubt that the Organization will be glad to give
such help. Secondly, the Committee considers that the Assembly
should maintain the decisions which it has already taken with
regard to the nationality of women. This implies that questions
of nationality are in principle excluded from the contemplated
survey. It is not, however, intended that the survey should not
contain such general information regarding the nationality of
women as may be necessary to complete the picture which it is
intended to give.
12. On the other hand, questions regarding the status of
women which are regulated by international conventions will, of
course, fall within the scope of the survey.
13. The draft resolution empowers the committee of experts
to invite the cooperation of the women’s international organiza­
tions in such manner as it finds desirable. The resolution makes
no reference to proposals which the organizations may desire to
submit to the committee. It is understood that, in the normal
course, the Secretariat would bring to the attention of the com­
mittee any proposals from the organizations which were relevant
to the committee’s task.
14. The committee of experts will have full and entire re­
sponsibility for the form and content of the publications which are
circulated to the Assembly and published by the League as the
result of the contemplated inquiry. It will therefore rest with the
committee to decide whether and in what shape the results of par-




48

APPENDIX A—LEAGUE OP NATIONS DOCUMENTS

ticular inquiries, or communications which the committee may
have received from organizations, are to be printed.
15. The proposal now submitted by the First Committee to
the Assembly is the result of the general feeling of the Committee
that the question of the status of women cannot usefully be further
discussed by the League until after a study such as is now contem­
plated has been completed.
16. The First Committee submits to the Assembly the follow­
ing draft resolution:
DRAFT RESOLUTION [CREATING COMMITTEE OF EXPERTS ON LEGAL
STATUS OF WOMEN, ADOPTED BY LEAGUE OF NATIONS ASSEMBLY,
1937]1

“The Assembly,
“(1) Having regard to the information concerning the ques­
tion of the legal status of women, more particularly their political
and civil status, which has been collected by the Secretary-General
in accordance with the resolution of the Assembly adopted on Sep­
tember 27th, 1935;
“(2) In view of the fact that, in general, the trend is for
law to develop in the direction of equality between the sexes;
“(3) Considering it to be desirable that a comprehensive
study should be prepared and published giving full information on
the legal status enjoyed by women in the various countries of the
world as the result of the provisions of national law and the appli­
cation of these provisions;
“(4) Considering that, by its resolution of September 27,
1935, the Assembly recognized 'that the question of conditions of
employment, whether of men or women, is a matter which prop­
erly falls within the sphere of the International Labor Organiza­
tion,’ and expressed the hope that the Organization ‘will, in ac­
cordance with its normal procedure, undertake an examination of
those aspects of the problem within its competence—namely, the
question of equality under labor legislation—and that it will, in
the first place,'examine the question of legislation which effects
discriminations, some of which may be detrimental to women’s
right to work;’
“(5) Considering that the International Labor Organization
is engaged in the study contemplated by the Assembly’s resolu­
tion and that the comprehensive study now in view should not
cover matters which have been recognized by the Assembly to
fall within the scope of the International Labor Organization;
1 Source; League of Nations, Official No. A. 64. 1937. V.




49

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

“(6) Considering, furthermore, that this comprehensive
study should also not extend to questions of the nationality of
women, in regard to which the Assembly maintains the decisions
which it has already taken;
“(7) Considering it desirable that the study of the other
elements of the question should be entrusted to the competent
scientific institutes, which should be given instructions enabling
them to coordinate their work;
“(8) Considering that, for private law, the League of Na­
tions possesses in the International Institute for the Unification
of Private Law an organ well qualified to carry out such a study
of comparative law; and that for other aspects of the question
it would be desirable to have recourse to other competent scientific
institutes;
“(9) Considering that a small committee of experts, com­
prising members of both sexes, should be set up for the purpose
of determining the exact scope of the contemplated comprehensive
study and of distributing the work among the various scientific
institutes, and that this committee should, so far as necessary,
maintain contact with the institutes during the progress of the
study and examine and settle the final form and content of the
resulting documents, with a view to the preparation of a synthetic
survey; which should accompany the documents when they are
published by the League;
“(10) Considering that this committee should have power to
consult women’s international organizations and invite their coop­
eration in any form which it thinks advisable:
“(11) Asks the Council to appoint a committee of experts of
both sexes for the purposes above mentioned and expresses the
hope that the committee will receive the cooperation necessary
for the successful execution of the present resolution.”
4.

Committee for the Study of the Legal Status of Women,
1938-39
.
MINUTES OF THE TWELFTH MEETING, 9 APRIL 1938 t

Chairman: Professor Gutteridge
The women’s organizations were represented as follows:
International Federation of Business and Professional Women

Mrs. Corbett AshbyInternational Council of Women

Mme. Renee Girod1
1 Source: League of Nations, Official No. C. S. F./lst Session/P. V. 12 (1).




50

APPENDIX A—LEAGUE OF NATIONS DOCUMENTS
International Alliance of Women for Suffrage and Equal Citizenship

Mile. Emilie Gourd
International Cooperative Women’s Guild

Mrs. Corbett Ashby (observer only)
Equal Rights International

Miss Dorothy E. Evans
St. Joan’s Social and Political Alliance

Mrs. Corbett Ashby
Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom

Mme. Gertrud Baer
World’s Young Women’s Christian Association

Mrs. Beresford Fox

International Union of Catholic Women’s Leagues

Mile. J. C. H. H. de Vinck
Open Door International

Mrs. Winifred LeSueur
Women’s Party International Committee

Miss Alice Paul

World Union of Women for International Concord

Mile. Margaret Nobs
International Federation of University Women

Mile. Anne Weigle
Women’s Consultative Committee

Miss Alice Paul, Miss Dorothy E. Evans

SPEECH by the Chairman (Professor Gutteridge)
The Chairman, on behalf of the Committee, welcomed the
representatives of the women’s organizations and expressed his
appreciation of the opportunity of establishing contact and hold­
ing a useful exchange of views.
* * * * *
The Committee had received its terms of reference from the
Assembly, and it was important to remember that it had no power
to go beyond those terms of reference. The immediate object,
as he understood it, was as follows: the first step towards abol­
ishing divergencies in the laws of the different countries concern­
ing the legal status of women was to institute preparatory studies
—a purely technical matter in itself, but an essential preliminary
to further progress. The Committee were like engineers going
ahead of an army to remove obstacles in its path but knowing
nothing of its actual plan or method of advance.
The Committee’s task, in point of fact, was to fill in gaps in
the data concerning the legal situation of women in different
countries, and to ascertain where the highest level had been reach­
ed and where it was still low. The Committee would work on purely
objective lines. Even if it wanted to, it was not free to express
an opinion on the findings it might have to submit; it must not
say whether this or that legislation was good or bad, desirable or




51

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

undesirable, or whether or to what extent such legislation should
be abolished.
That certainly did not mean that the Committee viewed its
task as a purely automatic one. First, the necessary documenta­
tion must be collected. Then a synthetic study of the documenta­
tion must be made, in order to obtain as complete a picture as
possible of the present situation under the laws of the different
countries. The Committee would deal with the problem accord­
ing to subjects, and its work would be so arranged that anyone
interested in any specific aspect of the status of women could ob­
tain the information from the study when published. That pre­
pared the way for further progress where found necessary, though
the Committee was not asked to express an opinion as to whether
action must be taken or what form it should take.
The women’s organizations would see from the texts already
framed by the Committee that the Scheme of Work2 it had drawn
up was essentially technical in character.
* * * * He
The Chairman then referred, in order of importance, to the
principal questions on the list.
,
The most important, in his view, was to decide how far the
Committee could enlist the help of the women’s organizations.
The Committee was anxious that they should work together as
far as possible, but a somewhat technical question arose: it was
not easy to say exactly what form that collaboration should take.
He felt that the women’s organizations could render the Commit­
tee very valuable service, especially by ascertaining whether the
existing legislation was invariably applied. There were cases,
for instance, in which rules of law existed but for one reason or
another remained a dead letter. In other words, the Committee
wanted the women’s organizations to bring to its notice not cases
in which the law seemed to them inadequate, but cases in which
the judge called upon to apply the law did not seem to have taken
the attitude that the women’s organizations might have expected.
For practical purposes, any objective data supplied by the women’s
organizations should be sent not to the Committee, or to individual
members, or to the scientific institutes, but to the Secretariat,
which would forward the information to the proper quarter.
He could not promise that such information would invariably
be utilized, but he could give an assurance that it would be very
carefully examined and that the Committee would go thoroughly
2 See C. S. F./13 (p, 54),




52

APPENDIX A—LEAGUE OF NATIONS DOCUMENTS

into the question of the use to be made of it and the action to be
taken upon it.
The women’s organizations could help the Committee to col­
lect documentation more particularly on countries distant from
Europe—details of collaboration would have to be decided later.
The Committee felt that the women’s organizations were partic­
ularly well qualified to obtain documentary material relating to
such countries.
*****
Another important point was the “geographical” scope of the
proposed inquiry. Interpreted in their widest sense, the Commit­
tee’s terms of reference appeared to embrace the whole world.
The Committee had discussed the question at length and had real­
ized the difficulty of framing a program on so vast a scale. Even
as it stood, the program of work was a vast one. For a country
such as France it covered no less than a third of the Code Napoleon,
and if that example were followed for every other country, it
would cover a third of the civil legislation of the world. Nothing
of the kind had ever before been attempted on such a scale. The
Committee had been trying to ascertain from the information at
its disposal, the time that would be required for an inquiry into
the legislation in civilized countries. The nearest estimate, reached
with the help of the experts of the three scientific institutes,
was at least two years; the institutes expected to have their ma­
terial ready in that time, provided that the study was limited to
the legislation in civilized countries.
As to native customs, the Chairman, as Secretary of the Brit­
ish Society of Comparative Legislation, knew from experience how
difficult such studies were and how carefully the documentation
on the subject had to be studied, since the data were not always
reliable. An inquiry covering the whole world would take years
and years. Under the Assembly resolution, the Committee would
be held responsible for the accuracy of the study, and it was de­
termined not to allow anything to be published that was not
strictly in accordance with the facts.
In those circumstances, although no definite decision had yet
been taken, the Committee felt that the first step was to study the
laws of civilized countries—a tremendous undertaking in itself.
That would be the first stage. When that study was completed
and the results published, the question could then be reopened and
it could then be decided to what extent the work could be carried
further, and in what direction. The Committee was strongly of




53

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

opinion that to undertake any inquiry beyond those limits might
ruin the present undertaking.
There were special difficulties in regard to Moslem and Hindu
law. The question of Moslem law was under consideration. The
Committee was trying to ascertain whether it would be possible
to obtain the necessary documentation. There was a mass of lit­
erature from the pens of European and Eastern jurists, and
Koranic law could be studied up to a certain point. The difficulty
lay in the fact that Koranic law was not uniformly applied in all
Moslem countries, owing to the existence of many different sects.
One special difficulty in the case of India arose from the exis­
tence of castes. The Committee had left the question open and
proposed to deal with it at a later session.
In conclusion, the Chairman pointed out that the women’s
organizations had already afforded the Committee their collabora­
tion in the form of the copious documentation which now appeared
in print. That material had of course been communicated to the
scientific institutes already referred to.
Any further information to be supplied to the Committee or,
more correctly, to be sent to the Secretariat, should be transmitted
by one of the international organizations otherwise the Secretariat
and the Committee might be placed in an embarrassing position.
National organizations wishing to communicate with the Secre­
tariat were therefore asked to do so through one of the interna­
tional organizations.
SCHEME OF WORK, 12 APRIL 1938*

It -will be necessary not merely to describe the position of
women as such but also to deal with differentiations made between
women themselves on the ground of marriage, age, education,
number of children, etc.
In some cases moreover a law which prima facie affects both
sexes equally is in reality of a nature to operate adversely to
women.
Section I.

a.

Public Law

The franchise:
1. national,
2. regional or local,
3. other cases.
1 Source: League of Nations, Official No. C. S. F./13.




54

APPENDIX A—LEAGUE OF NATIONS DOCUMENTS

b.

c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.

Eligibility:
1. in the national sphere,
2. in the regional or local spheres,
3. in other cases.
Educational facilities for women (e. g., admission to schools,
universities, etc.).
Admission to public functions2 and participation in public
services.
Right to exercise a profession or other independent occupa­
tion.2
Position of women as regards personal freedom and safety,
liberty of speech and of assembly.
Fiscal laws affecting women as such.
Certain benefits peculiar to women (allowances, pensions,
etc.) .2
Section II.

A.

Private Law

Capacity

a. Capacity in general of women:
1. Majority, emancipation and deprivation of capacity.
2. Marriage; its operation in modifying or suspending ca­
pacity.
3. Authorization for the performance of legal acts by women
under incapacity.
b. Rules of capacity applicable to the following particular
cases:
1. Right to enter into contract.
2. Right to represent the household.
3. Right of a married woman to carry on business or in­
dustry.
4. Right to acquire, hold, manage and dispose of property.
5. Right to institute or defend legal proceedings.
6. Right to give evidence and to attest documents.
7. Testamentary capacity, including donations mortis causa.
B.

Family Law

a. Marriage:
1. Betrothal, promise of marriage and their consequences.
2. Requirements for a valid marriage.
2 This matter falls within the competence of the International Labor Organization as one
of those in regard to which a proper relationship must be maintained between the work of the
Committee and the work of the International Labor Office.




00

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

3. Nonexistent, void and voidable marriages and their ef­
fects. Putative marriages.
4. Judicial and other forms of separation.
5. Dissolution of marriage by divorce.
b. Personal relations of the spouses (during the marriage
and after its dissolution):
1. The personal rights and duties of the spouses compared.
2. Name and legal rank of the married women.
3. Obligation of either spouse to maintain the other.
4. Possibility for a married woman _ to obtain a separate
passport.
5. Separate residence or domicile of the married women.
c. Pecuniary and proprietary relationships between the
spouses (during the marriage and after its dissolution by
divorce or judicial separation):
1. Matrimonial regimes.
2. The right of a woman to dispose of her earnings.
3. Contracts between the spouses and contracts entered into
by the wife in the name of the husband.
4. Liability in tort of one spouse towards the other.
5. Liability of one spouse to third parties for the acts of the
other.
6. Actions for debt between the spouses; the ranking of the
married woman in the event of levy of execution on, or
insolvency of, the husband.
d. Relations between parents and children (during the mar­
riage and after its dissolution):
1. Authority over the children.
2. Custody and guardianship.
3. Obligations as to maintenance.
4. Right of the parents to the services, or to the earnings
or other income of the children or to their property.
5. Right of daughters to a dowry.
e. Law of adoption as it effects ujomen.
f. Effects of the prolonged absence of the husband.
g.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Irregular unions:
Ascertainment of the mother or the father.
Legal position of the woman.
Legal position of the children.
Authority over the children.
Right of illegitimate children to maintenance.




56

APPENDIX A—LEAGUE OF NATIONS DOCUMENTS

C.

Law of Succession and Donatio Mortis Causa

1. Rules of the law of succession which apply exclusively to
women.
2. Right of a married woman to be nominated as executor,
administrator or trustee.
3. Succession in the case of illegitimacy.
D.

Legal Position of the Widow
Section III.

Criminal Law

a. Criminal responsibility of women:
1. in regard to offences in general;
2. in regard to sexual offences.
b. Detention pending trial, penalties and measures of secur­
ity applicable to women. Method of execution of such penalties
and measures.
c. The application to some women of rules relating to the
suspension of sentences, release on probation or parole and the
after care of prisoners.
d. Protection afforded to women by the criminal law.
e. Prostitution and traffic in women.
f. The law of vagrancy as it affects women.
g. Special provisions of criminal procedure relating to
women.
h. Participation of women in police activities, in the admin­
istration of justice in the criminal courts and in prison adminis­
tration.
EXCERPTS FROM AIDE-MEMOIRE FOR THE SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTES,
12 APRIL, 1938 1

2. The object of the proposed survey is to furnish an ob­
jective picture of the legal status of women at the present time.
For this reason it is important that nothing should appear in the
survey which savors of criticism or of direct or indirect propa­
ganda.
*
*
*
*
*
5. The mandate conferred on the Committee by the Assem­
bly speaks not only of the law as such but also of its application.
The Committee is at present not prepared to take a final decision
as to the matters which may properly be considered to fall under
this heading. This is a question which can only be dealt with
satisfactorily when more experience has been gained in the course
of the work. It will be discussed again at the Committee’s next
meeting .
1 Source: League of Nations, Official No. C. S. F./12 (2).
744732°—47—5




r_

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

*
$
*
=i=
*
8. It is the intention of the Committee that, at least for the
present, the survey should not extend beyond the study of laws
of the Western type, using that term in its widest sense.2 The
consultation which has taken place with the three Institutes men­
tioned by the First Committee of the Assembly has shown that
these bodies have no adequate means at their disposal for study­
ing other systems of law, with possibly the exception of such rules
of Mohammedan law as may be enforced in Europe. The Com­
mittee is exploring the possibility of organizing the study at a
future date of the systems of law which at present have been
reserved.
*
*
4s
*
*
12. The survey is intended both to give a general picture to
the reader and also to serve as a work of reference for lawyers,
legislators and other specialists. It is, therefore, important on
the one hand that it should not include too much minute detail and
on the other hand that the references and the sources from which
fuller information can be obtained should be clearly and fully indi­
cated. It will not be advisable as a rule to set out the text of a
law or legal decision in full. A summary will be sufficient pro­
vided that the essential points appear clearly from it.
2 There are countries particularly in the Near and Far East in which the law relating to
women is in part of the Western and in part of the Oriental type. For the time being, for
the reason given, the latter law cannot be dealt with.

REPORT ON THE PROGRESS OF THE INQUIRY,
ADOPTED 10 JANUARY 1939 1

At the close of its second session, the Committee feels it con­
venient that it should report to the Council on the progress of its
work.
Origin and Method of the Inquiry-

In September 1937, the Assembly decided that the League
should publish a comprehensive survey of “the legal status en­
joyed by women in the various countries of the world as the result
of the provisions of national law and the application of those
provisions” (resolution of September 30, 1937). The compilation
of the survey was to be carried out by “the competent scientific
institutes.” The Assembly itself requested the International In­
stitute for the Unification of Private Law at Rome to undertake
the part of the survey which related to civil law. For public law
and criminal law, it was suggested that recourse should be had to
1 Source: League of Nations, Official No. C. 59. M. 21. 1939. V.; C. S. F. 25 (1),




58

APPENDIX A—LEAGUE OF NATIONS DOCUMENTS

the International Institute of Public Law at Paris and the Inter­
national Bureau for the Unification of Penal Law. It was con­
templated that other appropriate scientific bodies might also take
part in the work.
The Assembly’s resolution directed that the task of determin­
ing the scope of the survey, arranging for its compilation and
approving the results for publication should be entrusted to a
small expert committee set up by the Council. The present Com­
mittee was appointed for the purpose by the Council on January
28, 1938.
The Assembly contemplated that the Committee would ob­
tain the cooperation of the women’s international organizations.
It was owing to the efforts of these organizations that the League
was led to discuss the status of women, and they had already
placed a mass of information on the subject before the Assembly.
Scope of the Survey

The Assembly has refrained from fixing any limits for the
survey and has left it to the Committee to make it as “compre­
hensive” as possible.2 This fundamental question of the scope of
the survey can only receive a complete solution as experience of
the progress of the work shows what is actually practicable. It
need hardly be said that the Assembly cannot have contemplated
an encyclopaedic statement of all the points of difference between
the legal status of men and women throughout the world. A work
of such a character, which would involve a detailed analysis of
the civil, constitutional and administrative, and criminal law of
every country, would take a very long time to produce and fill
a very large number of volumes.
The amount of detail which can be included in the survey and
the extent to which the “application” of the law can be dealt
with are not suitable matters for discussion in the present report,
but two important questions of “scope” should be mentioned.
In the first place, the Committee does not feel able to take
responsibility for planning or directing the compilation for primi­
2 The Assembly’s resolution excluded detailed treatment of questions of nationality and
“the question of conditions of employment,” which by its resolution of September 27, 1935,
the Assembly had recognized to fall within the sphere of the International Labor Office [which]
has already published on the latter subject a very complete and interesting study entitled “Le
Statut Legal des Travailleuses” (Etudes et Documents, Serie I (Travail des femmes et dea
enfants), No. 4). The English edition of this book will appear shortly under the title: “The
Law and Women’s Work: A Contribution to the Study of the Status of Women.” The Com­
mittee has had the assistance of a representative of the Labor Office in discussing the delimi­
tation of its sphere from that of the Office.




59

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

tive races of a survey such as is contemplated by the Assembly’s
resolution.
This decision does not, of course, in any way prejudge the
question whether such a study should be made by the League.
In the second place, the institutes mentioned above have in­
formed the Committee that they are not equipped to deal with
Mohammedan law in its various forms, Hindu law and other tra­
ditional legal systems of India, or generally with law which is
not of the Western type. The Committee is endeavoring to find
a method of overcoming this difficulty.
There is, of course, no question of omitting Oriental countries
as such.
Work of the Scientific Institutes

The Committee is glad to report that the three institutes above
mentioned have very willingly undertaken to deal with the
branches of law of the Western type for which they are respec­
tively equipped. At its second session, it has been able to examine
the work already done with the representatives of the institutes
and reach agreement with them on many important questions both
of method and of principle.
Cooperation with the Women’s International Organizations

A most satisfactory feature of the Committee’s work is the
help which it is receiving from the women’s international organ­
izations. It has to thank them not merely for the efficient ar­
rangements which they are making to supply information which
supplements or acts as a check upon that directly available to
the scientific institutes, but also for their readiness to understand
and make allowance for the difficulties which technical and practi­
cal considerations sometimes place in the way of meeting their
wishes as to the contents of the survey. The Committee has held
two meetings with the representatives of the organizations, at
which it has explained the measures it is taking and discussed
the suggestions made by the organizations and the way in which
they could best assist it in its work.
DECISIONS TAKEN BY THE COMMITTEE AT ITS THIRD SESSION,
19-22 JULY 1939 1

I.

Oriental Law

1. The Committee approved the measures taken by the
Chairman in regard to the study of the status of women in India.
1 Source: League of Nations, Official No. C. S. F./34 (1).




60

APPENDIX A—LEAGUE OF NATIONS DOCUMENTS

Public and criminal law, as well as private law, should be dealt
with by the Indian researchers without prejudice to appropriate
references being also made in the surveys produced by the Insti­
tutes of Paris. It was agreed that the study of Indian law must
appear in the same book as that of Western law.
2. As the result of the information obtained by the Chair­
man from the Indian Office, it was agreed that Burma could not
be included in the contemplated publication.
3. The same decision was taken in regard to the Nether­
lands Indies as the result of Mr. van Kleffens’ letter.
4. The Committee asked the Chairman to invite the Institute
of Comparative Law of Lyons, which had been approached by
Mme. Bastid, to undertake the preparation of two synthetic
studies, such as was contemplated for India, one dealing with
French Indo-China and the other with Near Eastern countries
(Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and possibly Iran).
5. It was recognized that, as it was not materially possible
to cover the whole field of law of the Oriental type, the Committee
must confine itself to providing, by the side of the survey of West­
ern law, a survey of those forms of Oriental law which it had
found satisfactory means of investigating.
6. It was agreed that the surveys of Western law made by
the scientific institutes should include the law of Eastern coun­
tries (China, Iran, Japan, Thailand) insofar as that law was of
the Western type.
II. The Committee’s Future Program of Work

1. Noting that the First Committee had expressed the hope
that the Survey could be published in 3 years from September
1937, and that the Women’s Organizations were disappointed at
the length of time which was proving necessary for producing it,
the Committee considered that every effort must be made to pro­
duce the book before the Assembly of 1941.
2. The Committee, therefore, decided to ask the scientific
institutes to arrange the work so that:
(a) The whole mss. of their respective studies would be in
the hands of the Secretariat not later than December, 1940;
(b) The work would be done in sections; each section, as
completed, would be forwarded to the Secretariat so that the
latter could send copies to the members of the Committee and have
the text translated into English;
(c) The work should go to press at the beginning of 1941.




61

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

3. The Committee noted that its task was to determine the
scope and organize the preparation and publication of the Survey,
but not to edit it in detail or be responsible for the information
contained in it. It hoped that after the present session it would
not be necessary for it to meet for the sole purpose of examining
particular sections of the work of the Institutes. At the same
time it recognized that special measures were desirable to avoid
errors in regard to the law of the United States of America, owing.
to its complexity and the absence in Europe of adequate source
material.
III.

The Form in Which the Survey Should Be Published

The format, typography and arrangement of the specimen
submitted by the Secretariat were approved, with one modification.
IV.

Date of the Information Given in the Survey

The committee decided that the authors of each section of the
survey should indicate the date for which the information given
in that section was up-to-date.
V.

Private Law

The study submitted by the Institute of Private Law was ap­
proved, subject to certain suggestions.
VI.

Criminal Law [see p. 57]

The study on point (h) was approved, subject to certain sug­
gestions.
The Committee approved a proposal of M. Donnedieu de
Vabres that the Bureau should submit the completed sections of
its study to its correspondents in order that the information might
be checked and brought up to date. It noted that sections dealing
with points (a), (b) and (c) were expected to be ready for com­
munication to it in October next, and that questionnaires dealing
with points (d), (e), (f) and (g) would be sent to the correspond­
ents in the near future.
The different sections would be sent to the Secretariat at the
same time as to the correspondents in order to be translated and
to be communicated to the members of the committee.
VII.

Public Law

1. The Scheme of Work2 (document C. S. F. 13) [see p.
54 ff] was modified as follows:
2 As regards point (d) the Committee explained to the Representative of the Institute the
changes which, in its opinion, would be desirable in the study already made by the Institute.




62

APPENDIX A—LEAGUE OF NATIONS DOCUMENTS

(a) The franchise and (b) Eligibility.
The extent to which point 2 is dealt with in each case will
depend on the available information. Point 3 is omitted in each
case.
(f) The questions here mentioned arise only in a few coun­
tries which have adopted legislation of an exceptional character.
(g) and (h). These points were struck out.
(c) Seeing that the admission of women to educational
establishments does not appear to give rise to any claims as re­
gards primary and secondary institutions, and that the question
of discrimination mainly’ arises in connection with certain estab­
lishments for higher education, the Committee decided that the
Institute of Public Law would not deal with point (c), but that
the attempt should be made to induce the International Bureau
of Education to take up the matter and supply a survey which, if
necessary, would be published separately from the main work on
the Status of Women. The Secretariat would take appropriate
steps to this end.
(e) The words “or other independent occupations” were
suppressed.
2. As regards points (a), (b), and (e), it was agreed that,
apart from its other sources of information, the Institute might
consult the Women’s International Organizations if this could be
arranged with the help of Miss Hesselgren who would ascertain
whether the application could be addressed to the Liaison Com­
mittee.
3. On M. Laferriere’s suggestion, it was decided that the
study of public law should, in general, represent the law as on
January 1, 1939, but, if the information was available, might be
brought up to date to a later date.




63

III.

UNITED NATIONS DOCUMENTS, 1945-46

1. Conference on International Organization, San Francisco,
April—June, 1945

The United Nations Charter had two aspects: One, the pre­
vention of war, the motive behind the Security Council; the other
concerned with human welfare, economic and social questions, rep­
resented by the Economic and Social Council. It is largely in con­
nection with this second aspect that the status of women appears
in the Charter.
PROVISIONS OF UNITED NATIONS CHARTER APPLYING TO STATUS
OF WOMEN, JUNE 1945

Preamble

* * * to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in
the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights
of men and women and of nations large and small, * * *.
Purposes and Principles (Purposes)

Article 1—3. To achieve international cooperation in
solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural,
or humanitarian character, and in promoting and encourag­
ing respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms
for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or re­
ligion, * * *.
Organs

Article 8. The United Nations shall place no restrictions
on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any ca­
pacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and
subsidiary organs.
The General Assembly (Functions)

Article 13—1. The General Assembly shall initiate stud­
ies and make recommendations for the purpose of:
*******
b. promoting international cooperation in the economic,
social, cultural, educational, and health fields, and assisting in
the realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms
for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or re­
ligion.
International Economic and Social Cooperation

Article 55. With a view to the creation of conditions of
stability and well-being which are necessary for peaceful and




64

APPENDIX A—UNITED NATIONS DOCUMENTS

friendly relations among nations based on respect for the
principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples,
the United Nations shall promote:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
c. universal respect for, and observance of, human
rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction
as to race, sex, language, or religion.
Article 56. All members pledge themselves to take joint
and separate action in cooperation with the Organization for
the achievement of the purposes set forth in Article 55.
The Economic and Social Council (Functions and Powers)

Article 62—2. It may make recommendations for the
purpose of promoting respect for, and observance of, human
rights and fundamental freedoms for all.
The Economic and Social Council (Procedure)

Article 68. The Economic and Social Council shall set up
commissions in economic and social fields and for the promo­
tion of human rights, and such other commissions as may be
required for the performance of its functions.
International Trusteeship System [for territories]

Article 76—c. to encourage respect for human rights and
for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to
race, sex, language, or religion, and to encourage recognition
of the interdependence of the peoples of the world.
PROVISIONS OF UNITED NATIONS CHARTER INDICATING PROCEDURES
USEFUL FOR SUBCOMMISSION ON STATUS OF WOMEN, JUNE 1945

International Economic and Social Cooperation

Article 57
1. The various specialized agencies, established by inter­
governmental agreement and having wide international responsi­
bilities, as defined in their basic instruments, in economic, social,
cultural, educational, health, and related fields, shall be brought
into relationship with the United Nations in accordance with the
provisions of Article 63.
2. Such agencies thus brought into relationship with the
United Nations are hereinafter referred to as specialized agencies.
Article 58
The Organization shall make recommendations for the coor­
dination of the policies and activities of the specialized agencies.




65

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

The Economic and Social Council

Article 62
1. The Economic and Social Council may make or initiate
studies and reports with respect to international economic, social,
cultural, educational, health, and related matters and may make
recommendations with respect to any such matters to the General
Assembly, to the Members of the United Nations, and to the spe­
cialized agencies concerned.
2. It may make recommendations for the purpose of promot­
ing respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental
freedoms for all.
3. It may prepare draft conventions for submission to the
General Assembly, with respect to matters falling within its com­
petence.
4. It may call, in accordance with the rules prescribed by
the United Nations, international conferences on matters falling
within its competence.
Article 63
1. The Economic and Social Council may enter into agree­
ments with any of the agencies referred to in Article 57, defining
the terms on which the agency concerned shall be brought into re­
lationship with the United Nations. Such agreements shall be
subject to approval by the General Assembly.
2. It may coordinate the activities of the specialized agencies
through consultation with and recommendations to such agencies
and through recommendations to the General Assembly and to the
Members of the United Nations.
Article 66
1. The Economic and Social Council shall perform such func­
tions as fall within its competence in connection with the carrying
out of the recommendations of the General Assembly.
2. It may, with the approval of the General Assembly, per­
form services at the request of Members of the United Nations
and at the request of specialized agencies.
Article 71
The Economic and Social Council may make suitable arrange­
ments for consultation with non-governmental organizations which
are concerned with matters within its competence. Such arrange­
ments may be made with international organizations and, where
appropriate, with national organizations after consultation with
the Member of the United Nations concerned.




66

APPENDIX A—UNITED NATIONS DOCUMENTS

The Secretariat

Article 101
2. Appropriate staffs shall be permanently assigned to the
Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council, and, as re­
quired, to other organs of the United Nations. These staffs shall
form a part of the Secretariat.
THE BRAZILIAN DECLARATION RECOMMENDING ESTABLISHMENT OI
A COMMISSION OF WOMEN IN THE UNITED NATIONS, JUNE 1945 1

“The Brazilian Delegation wish to make the following Declar­
ation to be brought before Commission II, Committee 3.
“Whereas the status of women in different countries has to
be radically improved and their rights have to be extended to at­
tain the objectives of the Economic and Social Council to promote
human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinc­
tion of sex;
_
“and whereas the part that women have played in the war
makes the consideration of their status and rights an urgent prob­
lem requiring solution:
_
“The Delegation of Brazil recommends that the Economic and
Social Council should set up a special commission of women to
study conditions and prepare reports on the political, civil and
economic status and opportunity of women with special reference
to discrimination and limitations placed upon them on account of
their sex.”
The Delegation of Mexico proposed that the Declaration in­
clude the following sentence: “This Commission shall cooperate
with similar official commissions in different parts of the world.
This proposed amendment to the Brazilian Declaration was
accepted by the Delegate of Brazil.
The Brazilian Declaration, as. amended by the Mexican Dele­
gate was supported by representatives of thirty-five other dele­
gations who associate themselves with the Declaration. The Dele­
gate of Brazil responded and expressed appreciation of the support
given the Declaration.i
i Source: Journal of United Nations Conference on International Organization, No. 38,
June 7, 1945, p. 134: Minutes of Meeting of Committee II/3, June 6,




67

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

2. first General Assembly, London, January—February, 1946
RESOLUTION OF BRITISH WOMEN’S ORGANIZATIONS TO FIRST GEN­
ERAL ASSEMBLY OF UNITED NATIONS, 25 JANUARY 1946 1

The British Federation of Business and Professional Women
had set up an Ad Hoc United Nations Committee to consider the
problem of a special Commission of Women in the United Nations.
Representatives ot all the leading British women’s organizations
were invited to a Round Table Conference, which was presided
over by Miss Caroline Haslett, and at which the following resolu­
tion was passed:
Resolution
Passed at a Conference of British Women’s Organizations and
Sent to the United Nations Assembly
The British women’s organizations represented at a confer­
ence convened by the British Federation of Business and Profes­
sional Women held in London on January 25, 1946:
Recognizing the need to provide machinery whereby the
principle of the equal rights of men and women reaffirmed in
the Charter of the United Nations, and subscribed to by 51
nations may be implemented.
Welcome the provision made under Article 68 of the Char­
ter whereby the Economic and Social Council is empowered
to set up Commissions in economic and social fields and for
the provision of human rights.
Urge that under such a Commission on Human Rights a
Committee composed of men and women be set up forthwith
to draft a Convention to remove the discriminations against
women as to their civil and economic status and opportuni­
ties wherever they exist and so to implement:—Article 1 (sec­
tion 3) ; Article 8; Article 13 (section lb) ; Article 55 (section
c) ; Article 76 (section c) of the Charter of the United Na­
tions.
Suggesting that in this work the Committee might take
note of the work accomplished by the Committee on the Legal
Status of Women appointed by the League of Nations in
1938.
Sent by The British Federation of Business and Professional
Women, 20, Regent Street, London, S. W. 1. January 25, 1946.
The resolution was sent in the name of the meeting to the
Executive Secretary of U. N. O., to the Prime Minister, and all
1 Source: Women at Work, Spring 1946, p. 19.
iness and Professional Women, London, S. W. 1.)




68

(Publication of British Federation of Bn*,

APPENDIX A—UNITED NATIONS DOCUMENTS

members of the British Delegation, to Mrs. Roosevelt and all the
women delegates to U. N. 0.
The resolution was also circulated to all organizations at­
tending the Conference for formal ratification by their govern­
ing bodies, with the request that when they had ratified it they
should notify U. N. 0. and the British Delegation of their formal
support. It stood in the name of the British Federation of Busi­
ness and Professional Women, the National Council of Women,
the National Federation of Women’s Institutes, and some thirty
of the leading women’s organizations in Great Britain.
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE WOMEN OF THE WORLD FROM
THE WOMEN DELEGATES AND ADVISERS AT

FIRST ASSEMRLV OF UNITED NATIONS, 5 FEBRUARY 1946 1

This First Assembly of the United Nations marks the second
attempt of the peoples of the world to live peaceably in a demo­
cratic world community. This new chance for peace was won
through the joint efforts of men and women working for common
ideals of human freedom at a time when need for united effort
broke down barriers of race, creed and sex.
In view of the variety of tasks which women performed so
notably and valiantly during the war, we are gratified that seven­
teen women delegates and advisers, representatives of eleven mem­
ber states, are taking part at the beginning of this new phase of
international effort. We hope their participation in the work of
the United Nations Organization may grow and may increase in
insight and skill. To this end we call on the governments of the
world to encourage women everywhere to take a more active part
in national and international affairs, and on women who are con­
scious of their opportunities to come forward and share in the
work of peace and reconstruction as they did in war and resistance.
We recognize that women in various parts of the world are
at different stages of participation in the life of their communities,
that some of them are prevented by law from assuming full rights
of citizenship, and that they therefore may see their immediate
problems somewhat differently.
Finding ourselves in agreement on these points we wish as a
group to advise the women of all our countries of our strong be­
lief that an important opportunity and responsibility confronts
the women of the United Nations:
1. To recognize the progress women have made during the
war and participate actively in the effort to improve the standard
of life in their own countries and in the pressing work of recon­
1 See footnote 1, p.. 71,




69

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

struction so that there will be qualified women ready to accept
responsibility when newT opportunities arise.
2. To train their children, boys and girls alike, to under­
stand world problems and the need for international cooperation
as well as the problems of their own countries.
3. Not to permit themselves to be misled by antidemocratic
movements, now or in th6 future.
4. To recognize that the goal of full participation in the life
and responsibilities of their countries and of the world community
is a common objective toward which the women of the world
should assist one another. •
Following is the list of women delegates and advisers sign­
ing the Open Letter:
Mrs. Bodil Begtrup, Denmark
Miss Minerva Bernardino, Dominican Republic
Mrs. Frieda Dalen, Norway
Miss Dorothy Fosdick, United States of America
Mrs. Olga Hillova, Czechoslovakia
Mme. M. H. Lefaucheux, France
Miss Jean McKenzie, New Zealand
Miss L. McPhee, New Zealand
Miss K. M. Midwinter, United Kingdom
Miss Frieda S. Miller, United States of America
Miss C. I. Rolfe, United Kingdom
Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt', United States of America
Mrs. Gertrude Sekaninova, Czechoslovakia
Mrs. Evdokia Uralova, Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic
Mrs. H. Verwey, Netherlands
Miss Ellen Wilkinson, United Kingdom
Miss Rena Zafiriov, Greece
DECLARATION ON THE PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN IN THE WORK OF
THE UNITED NATIONS. REPORT OF THE GENERAL COMMITTEE TO
FIRST GENERAL ASSEMRLY, 11 FEBRUARY 1946 1

The General Committee, at its meeting held on 11 February
1946, considered the request for inclusion on the agenda of the
proposal on the participation of women in United Nations Con­
ferences, submitted by the Delegation of France (A/BUR/27).
The Committee decided that it would on principle be inad­
visable that the General Assembly should undertake to make any
definite recommendation to delegations as to their composition.
1 Source:

United Nations, Official No. A/46.




70

APPENDIX A—UNITED NATIONS DOCUMENTS

The great value of the contribution which had been made by
women representatives on delegations, both in the present General
Assembly and in past conferences, was however, fully recognized.
The General Committee therefore recommends that the item
be placed on the agenda of the General Assembly so that a declara­
tion on the subject may be made.
[The subject was discussed in the General Assembly as follows.]
DEBATE ON WOMEN IN FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF UNITED
NATIONS, 13 FEBRUARY 1946 1

Report of the General Committee: Declaration on the partici­
pation of women in the work of the United Nations (A/46).
The PRESIDENT: The second item on our agenda is the
consideration of the report of the General Committee containing
a declaration on the participation of women in the work of the
United Nations.
I call on the delegate for the United States.
Mrs. ROOSEVELT (United States of America) : I am sorry
to have been slow, but I thought the delegate for France was go­
ing to speak first.
I have only a short statement to make and I will take up very
little of your time. As you know, a number of women have been
present in the various delegations either as delegates or alternates
or advisers. We met together and we wrote a statement which we
addressed to “the women of our various countries.” We are very
happy to have the opportunity (I am speaking for my colleagues),
we are very happy to have the opportunity to present to the dele­
gates here this statement and to ask your cooperation when you
go home, in relation to your governments and to the various ways
in which this statement may be given publicity, because we feel
that the women of all our countries should have an opportunity
to receive this letter.
[Mrs. Roosevelt then read aloud the statement—“An Open
Letter to the women of the world from the women delegates and
advisers at the First Assembly of the United Nations.” See p. 69.]
Every woman here represented signed that letter, and we
only ask for the cooperation of every delegate here.
In closing I want to thank the Assembly for giving me the
opportunity of presenting this letter here and to say that I have
been grateful for the opportunity to be here with you to see the
work which has been accomplished, and that in the end I hope
l Source: United Nations, Journal of the General Assembly, First Year, No. 30, 13 Febru­
ary 1946, p. 527 ff.




71

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

none of us will go home without remembering that we have a
great responsibility to carry to our peoples the feeling that this
can be an instrument, if we give to it as much work as we have
given in the past to winning the war, this can be an instrument
to win the peace.
The PRESIDENT: I call upon Miss Bernardino, delegate for
the Dominican Republic.
Miss BERNARDINO (Dominican Republic) : As a delegate
of my country, the Dominican Republic, to the first Assembly of
the United Nations, and especially as Chairman of the InterAmerican Commission of Women, an official organization com­
posed of twenty-one members appointed by the Governments of
the Americas to study and report on the status of women, I would
like to give the strongest support to the letter read by the delegate
for the United States, my distinguished colleague, Mrs. Franklin
„ ' RooseTClt> an(* to the' declaration of the French delegation that
a more important place should be given to the participation of
women in the different delegations of the United Nations at the
next Conference.”
I wonder, if in the history of the world, women have ever been
con ronted with graver responsibilities, have ever enjoyed greater
opportunities than those which are theirs today.
.
^
mean exclusively women who have official, high rankPotions > n°r necessarily those who are gifted through talent
an i aining with superb gifts of leadership which enable them
o c ear e way and set the example for others to follow: nor do
l mean only those delegated by their governments to attend inter­
national parleys. Rather, I refer to the wife, the mother in the
home; the teacher in the school: the church-worker: the mission­
ary; the social service worker, who goes from door to door heloing o set weary feet back on the beaten path; the nurse, who at
this moment m hospitals throughout the world is taxing her
strength to aid the restoration of sick and wounded to health and

In short, women everywhere who have turned their minds
and hearts to the problems of humanity, and to the even more
ormidable undertaking of reeducating, readjusting, and enlightenmg the recalcitrant peoples of the conquered countries.
wHh . 6 W0Iu Whj?h is ours mmt he earried on Quickly, definitely,
w4 T
' d]fernment
judgment. It must have the
efit of every effort of experience on the part of women, but.
we cannot forget, that women in many parts of the world are still
andicapped by the lack of right to play any role in the discus-




72

APPENDIX A—UNITED NATIONS DOCUMENTS

sions of peace and international affairs. We still find women in
some parts of the world who have graduated from law schools but
are prevented from practicing their profession because of strict
prohibitions in their countries’ laws.
The fact that in the preamble to the Charter of the United
Nations there is an affirmation of the faith in the principle of
equal rights of men and women and the fact that article 8 of the
Charter “established that the United Nations shall place no re­
strictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in
any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and
subsidiary organs” is a powerful reason for the women to demand
the fulfillment of those principles.
That is why the creation of a committee under the Commis­
sion on Human Rights to study and work for the status of women,
is so important, as it will contribute to the abolition of any exist­
ing discrimination by reason of sex, which retards the prosperity
and the intellectual, social and political development of the nations
of the world.
In the name of the women of my country, who for many years
have been enjoying the same rights and privileges that men enjoy,
and in the name of the women of Latin America, and especially
those from countries that still walk in obscurity, without the in­
herent rights to which the dignity of their sex, and their responsi­
bilities as mothers of the race should entitle them, I salute all the
delegations here present for the full support they have given to
our appeal.
I hope that in future assemblies, as my outstanding colleague
from France, Madame Lefaucheaux, proposed, we will have more
women delegates to cooperate with men to the end that all peoples
may enjoy the essential human freedoms proclaimed in 1941 by
that great world leader of all time, President Franklin D. Roose­
velt.
The PRESIDENT (Interpretation) : I call upon Mrs. Dalen,
the delegate for Norway.
Mrs. DALEN (Norway) : I shall be very brief; but I feel
that I must say how very grateful I am to the French delegation
for moving this declaration. On behalf of the Norwegian delega­
tion I heartily support it. During the war women in all countries
participated and worked in the armed forces, in factories and in
the resistance movement in a way never before thought of. Dur­
ing the war women’s experience, insight and strength were highly
appreciated and thought of. When the nation was in danger the
women were called upon and they came, did their jobs, sacrificed
744732°—47—6




-q

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

and suffered. Now, when the war is over and the United Nations
are trying to build a new world, trying to lay the foundations of
peace and freedom for humanity, the world cannot afford to do
so without the rich resources that women’s experience and ca­
pacity for work, women’s insight and equipment mean for the
various nations of the world. All human beings have to cooperate
in dignity and unity and fidelity. Then we shall succeed in build­
ing up a happy, peaceful and harmonious world.
The PRESIDENT (Interpretation) : I now call upon Mrs.
Verwey, the delegate for the Netherlands.
Mrs. VERWEY (Netherlands) : Might I, to begin with, ex­
press my gratitude to those male members of this Assembly who
have so warmly supported this motion? We know that we, who
represent here the women of our countries, have many friends in
this Assembly, and that they will always help us to express our
views and those of other women not represented here. But I should
like to add that I have missed something, and that is an opposing
voice to this motion. No one has so far said that he does not want
the women of his country to speak and to act here. I am afraid
that they abstained not because they agree with the purpose of
this motion, but because they think that this does not concern
them. They might be of opinion that women in their countries are
just faithful wives and mothers, that they do not want to be mem­
bers of delegations, and that they are not qualified for it and take
no interest in it. To them I want to say a few words.
There is no one in this Assembly who supposes that a recom­
mendation like this would result in a future Assembly with as
many women as there are men. There are very strong reasons
why, in public life, women will always be in a minority. There
are biological, sociological and psychological reasons; biological
reasons because, after all. the first essential woman’s right is the
right to be a mother; and the opportunity to enjoy that right to the
full. And this means that we would never agree to a world in
which social conditions resulted in a situation in which married
women should be permanently obliged to work in the factories
and on the farms and to neglect their families; but this does not
mean that we should forever compel all women to confine them­
selves to the home. There are women whom nature and man
have denied the right to have children and some women think
that they can manage to do some good public work apart from
their domestic life, and it is very essential that they should have
all the opportunities they want.




74

APPENDIX A—UNITED NATIONS DOCUMENTS

There may be social reasons against feminine participation
as well. In most societies women seem to be marked out for spe­
cial jobs, for the school and the office, rather than for the meet­
ing room. But we should be not too eager to draw our conclusions
from facts like that.
A hundred years ago, before Miss Florence Nightingale
started her campaign, there was no question of women training
to be nurses. Ten years ago there were many doubts, even I
think in this country, about women's services. Some views about
jobs fit for women are inclined to be changed rather rapidly.
Then, in the third place, some people might quote psychologi­
cal reasons. They might point out that this is still a man-built
world and that women feel strangers as soon as they venture into
it. This is true in a way. I must say that men have built this
world quite impressively and that we feel duly impressed at first.
After a certain time, however, some of us feel inclined to say: Is
that all? All this pomp and all these intricate sentences can be
translated into quite simple relations and words; and from that
moment we feel quite capable of playing our part.
What I should like to emphasize is this: There may seem to
be very strong reasons why no woman of your country can partici­
pate in an international function. But are you sure? Is there
no woman somewhere hidden away in a corner, no teacher, no
woman professor, no woman doctor, no one who would be a credit
to your delegation and who would be extremely glad to have this
opportunity to meet men and women in an international sphere? It
is on their behalf and on behalf of the women they represent that
we make this recommendation.
The PRESIDENT (Interpretation): I call upon Mr. PaulBoncour, delegate for France.
Mr. PAUL-BONCOUR (France) (Interpretation) : The Gen­
eral Assembly I feel sure will understand why I did not take the
floor when our chairman called upon me to do so. I preferred to
leave the honor to a woman whose presence among us means so
much; not only because of the great name which is hers and which
will be universally and, I hope, manifestly respected, but because
of her presence and personal participation in our work, a partici­
pation which was so active, so important, and which has con­
tributed so much to these debates.
The French delegation in bringing here the statement which
I am about to read does not think only of the gesture of gallantry,
but of the gesture of justice. The events in this terrible war have
brought the role of women to the forefront and to the limelight




75

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

everywhere. In my country rules, which have been voted at my
instigation last year, were at last applied. Apart from the women
in the auxiliary services and many women in the active services
there were women who had a part in the resistance movement
which we prepared.
There were also so many who without taking an active part
in the fight exerted such a great importance in keeping the home
front going, and there were many women with men who helped
to alleviate our economic difficulties. In my country nearly 80
percent of the agricultural workers were women during the war.
This shows the prominent role which was played by women
during this war, and this role was fully recognized by the Charter
in many of its dispositions. The presence of so many women
among us testifies to it and their participation in our work showed
that the Charter has been right.
That is why the French delegation at the instigation of Mme.
Lefaucheux, my colleague, who is unfortunately absent today, has
proposed this as an encouraging gesture without wishing to inter­
fere, of course, in the internal work of any country, but as friendly
advice to the delegations when they return to each of their respec­
tive countries. They might help more the spirit of the Charter
by associating, even more than has been done so far, the women
with these debates. This is the statement which I wish to make
to this effect. The statement regarding the participation of wom­
en in the conferences of the United Nations.
With regard to the participation of women in the conferences
of the United Nations, the French delegation wishes to make the
following statement:
“Considering that it is necessary to recognize the role played
by women during the war and their participation in the resistance
organizations in the armed forces, and in order to associate more
directly all the women of the world with the works of the organ­
ization of the United Nations and to the maintenance of peace and
social progress;
“Considering that it is necessary to apply the text and the
spirit of article 55, paragraph (c) of the Charter; precisely that
the aim of the Economic and Social Council is in particular to
promote universal and effective respect of the rights of men and
of fundamental freedom for all without distinction of race, sex,
language, or religion;
“The French delegation thinks that a much larger place should
be accorded to women in the different delegations of the United
Nations to its next conference.”




76

APPENDIX A—UNITED NATIONS DOCUMENTS

The PRESIDENT (Interpretation): I call upon Mr. Fraser,
the delegate for New Zealand.
Mr. FRASER (New Zealand): I join with the expression
of regret from all those who have spoken at the absence of Mme.
Lefaucheux who brought forward the resolution which has been
moved in a general way by Mrs. Roosevelt and supported by Miss
Bernardino, et cetera, and by M. Paul-Boncour. There is no need
to stress the necessity for pushing on the practical work of the
parts of our Charter which have emphasized the equality of women.
The intellectual battle has been won, after very considerable time.
The political battle in practically every country has also been
won and I would suggest that if there are any countries where
the women are not politically active, and none spring to my mind
at the moment (are politically equal I should say and I hope politi­
cally active also) then the sooner these countries bring their
women politically up to what is the normal standard in all demo­
cratic countries the better for the world and for the United Na­
tions. But there is something more than the intellectual battle
and something more than winning a political victory in the various
countries and that is the economic status and the social status of
women. Here I know that it is easier to state the problems than
to solve them, but the question of solving them is an obligation
upon the United Nations, and during the course of this Assembly
meeting and the meetings of the committees the women delegates
have been very busy endeavoring to see what was the best way
that the questions of economic and social equality in respect to
women could be pushed ahead.
At San Francisco I supported them also in regard to a com­
mittee or commission composed of women exclusively, not in an
exclusive way but to let women do the preliminary work. That
was agreed to. I do not think that is material at all, but when
some delegates said they did not think a committee of women could
do the job, well, I simply had to say they could and that was all.
From my experience I could prove that a committee of women is
very practical when you get practical women; there are impracti­
cal women just as there are impractical men.
I want to say, however, that my experience at this Assembly
with the women delegates on the Committee (I think all of them
were on the Committee that I was chairman of) has shown me
that to talk about their equality would be patronizing. It is just
there, a self-evident fact, equality, at least to most of us. I can
say that in their grip of the problems, in their intuition, in their
application to the work in their clarity of thought and diction—
744732°—47—7




77

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

well I believe in equality they are equal to any there. So there is
no question any more about the equality or the capacity of women
who are sent to these international assemblies and if they are not
up to the normal standard they ought not to be sent any more than
men ought to be, and that is the sound attitude to take in regard
to sex equality.
Now the parties have been made and I have been particularly
interested in knowing what progress has been made because other­
wise a resolution would have to be introduced (in fact it was
framed) into our Committee but the matter was taken up very
very speedily by the Economic and Social Council and I would
just like to recount briefly what has been done so that when dele­
gates go away they will understand what has been done by the
Economic and Social Council. I just pause to say that I endeav­
ored to get Sir Ramaswami Mudaliar, the Chairman of the Com­
mittee, to attend this meeting, but it is not possible for him to
come, and, therefore, he cannot explain, but the explanation I have
been able to gather is as follows:
“The Economic and Social Council has been keenly aware of
the importance of establishing a subcommission on the status of
women.
“The Committee of the Economic and Social Council on the
Organization of the Council has instructed its drafting subcom­
mittee to submit a draft providing for the establishment by the
Economic and Social Council of a subcommission of the Commis­
sion on Human Rights to deal with the question of the status of
women. This drafting subcommittee is now preparing a draft on
this subject incorporating the recommendations made by the Com­
mittee of the Council.
“It is proposed that the subcommission on the status of wom­
en be established by the Council at its present session, and that it
initially consist only of a nucleus of a few members. This initially
constituted subcommission would, among other things, be called
upon to make recommendations to the Council concerning the
definitive composition of the subcommission and its terms of
reference.”
Now I have only to read that to show that the Economic and
Social Council is dealing with this problem in a very practical
way and what I believe will be a very effective way, and there
are problems that cut across custom, problems that in some in­
stances may even impinge upon religion. There are many diffi­
cult problems and we do want patience and we do want tolerance.
While never lowering our flag in regard to equality we still have




78

APPENDIX A—UNITED NATIONS DOCUMENTS

to take into consideration the circumstances in the various coun­
tries and get the support and the sympathy of the various govern­
ments and organizations of the various countries so that the
women of the world will march forward to progress and a better
society hand in hand and side by side with the men and that they
will help to bring in (as the women delegates and M. Paul-Boncour
so elegantly stated) a world of peace and human brotherhood and
a world of social justice and equality. (Applause.)
The PRESIDENT (Interpretation) : I call upon the delegate
for Uruguay.
Mr. FUSCO (Uruguay) (Interpretation): I must begin by
saying that I was so moved by the appeal made by Mrs. Roosevelt
that I was prompted to speak in a language which I do not know
perfectly. I want to say, first of all, that of all the women who
could be found to interpret the wishes and aspirations of women
no better than Mrs. Roosevelt could have been found. Of all
women during the war, Mrs. Roosevelt was a most delightful rep­
resentative of womanhood in its deepest and nicest sense. She
was, among all women, the woman who gave us proof, of her
tenderness to her great man in upholding the aspirations of
mankind.
I must add that in Uruguay we will be the most faithful in­
terpreters of Mrs. Roosevelt’s wishes, but we do not need any
practical measures to reach that result because my country, many
years ago, did what Mrs. Roosevelt has asked for all women in
the world. In Uruguay women enjoy the same equal rights as
men. In our Parliament, in our Chamber of Deputies, in our
Senate, there are many women who take part in our debates; and
even at San Francisco, where the Charter was born, there was a
woman among the members of the Uruguay delegation.
I had occasion recently to travel in the war-shattered area of
Europe, and I had the good fortune, if one can call it good for­
tune, to see how equal women had been to men in this struggle.
I was able to witness their effort in the fight for freedom and in
the hope of a better world and happiness for mankind. While in
Europe I was able to see that women had fought, suffered and
died just as men fought, suffered and died.
Here, too, in this Assembly I have been able to observe their
participation in our debates and T have been able to witness that
women were equal to, and sometimes surpassed, the efforts of
men, because they add to the work their sentiments and their
emotion.




79

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN
♦

It will, therefore, be our pride to have been, in Uruguay, one
of the first countries to give these equal rights which are now, I
hope, going to be extended throughout the world.
The PRESIDENT (Interpretation) : I now call upon the
delegate for the United Kingdom.
Mr. NOEL-BAKER (United Kingdom) : I am reluctant that
the voice of the United Kingdom should not be heard in this de­
bate, if only for the reason that it was in our country 40 years
ago that the first struggle for the political rights of women took
place. I have not chosen to express my adherence to the proposed
declaration or to the cause of the rights of women. I have chosen
only to draw the attention of the Secretary-General, very respect­
fully, to two practical points: first, that there ought to be repre­
sentation of women in responsible posts in the Secretariat itself:
and secondly, that the services of the information section of the
Secretariat ought to keep close contact with the great women’s
organizations throughout the world. (Applause.) I think, in those
ways, the views of Mrs. Roosevelt, and her colleagues, so eloquently
expressed, could well be served. (Applause.)
The PRESIDENT (Interpretation) : The general discussion
is closed. There is no formal proposal to submit to the vote, but
I think I can safely tell Mrs. Roosevelt and those who supported
her intervention, that the manner in which it was received by the
General Assembly leads us to hope that it will be taken into very
serious consideration.
3.

First Session Economic and Social Council, London,
February 1946

RESOLUTION OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL ESTABLISHING
HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION AND SUBCOMMISSION ON STATUS
OF WOMEN, LONDON, 16 AND 18 FEBRUARY 1946 1

Resolution of the Economic and Social Council of 16 Febru­
ary 1946 (document E 20 of 15 February 1946), on the establish­
ment of a Commission on Human Rights and a Subcommission
on the Status of Women, supplemented by the action taken by the
Council on 18 February 1946, completing paragraphs 6 and 7 of
Section A and paragraphs 4 and 5 of Section B concerning the
initial composition of these bodies.
Section A.
1. The Economic and Social Council, being charged under
the Charter with the responsibility of promoting universal respect
1 Source: United Nations, Journal of the Economic and Social Council, First Year. No 12
10 April 1946, p. 123 ff.




80

APPENDIX A—UNITED NATIONS DOCUMENTS

for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms
for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion, and
requiring advice and assistance to enable it to discharge this re­
sponsibility, ESTABLISHES A COMMISSION ON HUMAN
RIGHTS.
2. The work of the Commission shall be directed towards
submitting proposals, recommendations and reports to the Council
regarding:
(a) An international bill of rights;
(b) International declarations or conventions on civil liber­
ties, the status of women, freedom of information and
similar matters;
(c) The protection of minorities;
(d) The prevention of discrimination on grounds of race,
sex, language or religion.
3. The Commission shall make studies and recommendations
and provide information and other services at the request of the
Economic and Social Council.
4. The Commission may propose to the Council any changes
in its terms of reference.
5. The Commission may make recommendations to the Coun­
cil concerning any subcommission which it considers should be
established.
6. Initially, the Commission shall consist of a nucleus of
nine members appointed in their individual capacity for a term
of office expiring on 31 March 1947. They are eligible for reap­
pointment. In addition to exercising the functions enumerated in
paragraphs 2, 3 and 4, the Commission thus constituted shall
make recommendation on the definitive composition of the Com­
mission to the second session of the Council.
7. The Council hereby appoints the following persons as
initial members of the Commission:
Mr. Paal Berg (Norway)
Professor Rene Cassin (France) [elected vice chairman]
Mr. Fernand Dehousse (Belgium)
Mr. Victor Paul Haya de la Torre (Peru)
Mr. K. C. Neogi (India), [rapporteur]
Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt (United States of America)
[elected chairman]
Dr. John C. H. Wu2 (China)
and, in addition, persons whose names will be transmitted to the
2 In accordance with the procedure laid down by the Economic and Social Council, Dr. C*
L. Hsia has since been nominated in place of Dr. John C. H. Wu.




81

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

Secretary-General not later than 31 March 1946 by the members
of the Council for the USSR3 and Yugoslavia.4
Section B.
1. The Economic and Social Council, considering that the
Commission on Human Rights will require special advice on prob­
lems relating to the status of women, ESTABLISHES A SUB­
COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN.
2. The subcommission shall submit proposals, recommenda­
tions, and reports to the Commission on Human Rights regarding
the status of women.
3. The subcommission may submit proposals to the Council,
through the Commission on Human Rights, regarding its terms
of reference.
4. Initially, the subcommission shall consist of a nucleus of
nine members appointed in their individual capacity for a term
of office expiring on 31 March 1947. They are eligible for reap­
pointment. In addition to exercising the functions enumerated
in paragraphs 2 and 3, the subcommission thus constituted shall
make recommendation on the definitive composition of the sub­
commission to the second session of the Council through the Com­
mission on Human Rights.
5. The Council hereby appoints the following persons as
initial members of this subcommission:
Mrs. Bodil Begtrup (Denmark)
Miss Minerva Bernardino (Dominican Republic)
Miss Angela Jurdak (Lebanon)
Rani Amrit Kaur 5 6(India)
Miss Mistral5 (Chile)
Mrs. Vienot3 (France)
Miss Wu Yi-Fang3 (China)
and, in addition, the names of one national each from Poland 5
and the USSR5 to be transmitted to the Secretary-General, not
later than 31 March 1946, by the member of the Council for the
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and three members5 ap3 [Mr. Alexander Borisov was the Russian representative from 13 May on.]
4 Dr. Jerko Radmilovic has since been nominated by the Member of the Council for Yugo­
slavia. [In his place Mr. Dusan Brklc later was nominated and seated.]
5 [Later, Mrs. Hnnsa-Mehta of India was appointed in place of Rani Amrit Kaur; Miss
Gabriela Mistral of Chile resigned ; Miss Fryderyka Kalinowska was appointed from Poland ;
no appointment was made for the USSR ; the following were appointed ex officio from the
Commission on Human Rights: Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt (U. S. A.), Mr. Dusan Bride
(Yugoslavia), R. Rend Cassin (France). For list of members, first session, see p. 27.]
6 In accordance with the procedure laid down by the Economic and Social Council, Madame
M. H. Lefaucheux has since been nominated in place of Madame Vienot. Similarly, Mrs. Way
Sing New has been nominated in place of Miss Wu Yi-Fang.




82

APPENDIX a—united nations documents
pointed by the Commission on Human Rights to serve as ex officio
members of this subcommission.
.
4.

Subcommission on Status of Women, New York,
April—May 1946

REPORT OF THE SUBCOMMISSION ON STATUS OF WOMEN TO
COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS, 13-14 MAY 1946 1

The Subcommission on the Status of Women, established by
the Economic and Social Council under Council Resolutions of
16 and 18 February 1946 to submit proposals, recommendations
and reports to the Commission on Human Rights regarding the
status of women and to submit proposals to the Council through
the Commission on Human Rights regarding its terms of refer­
ence and definitive composition met at Gillet Hall, Hunter College,
New York City, during the period 29 April to 13 May 1946 under
the chairmanship of Mrs. Bodil Begtrup. Discussions centered
on the fundamental principles to be adopted, the scope and pro­
gram of work to be undertaken, and the composition of the full
Subcommission.
.
.
There was a general feeling among the members of gratitude
towards the Economic and Social Council for taking up the ques­
tion of the status of women, and for setting up this Subcommission
to study the problems involved, and in this way, implementing the
principle stated in the preamble of the Charter “the equal rights
of men and women.”
It was recognized that the Subcommission was set up to
advise the Commission on Human Rights on problems relating to
the status of women. In consequence, the Subcommission must
work in harmony with that Commission. There was general
agreement that the Subcommission should study the status of
women in all its aspects and make the broadest possible recom­
mendations to the Commission on Human Rights on the scope of
the work to be undertaken by the Subcommission when fullv
constituted. The ideals at which to aim, and guiding principles on
which to work, were defined by the members as a preliminary to
their detailed discussions. Members considered that the work of the
Subcommission should last until women had reached the point
where they were on equal footing with men in all fields of human
enterprise. In practice priority had to be given to political rights
since little progress could be made without them. Nevertheless,
1 Source: United Nations, E/HR/18, 13 May 1946; Journal of the Economic and Social
Council, First Year, No. 14, 24 May 1946, p. 169 ff.




INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

improvements in civil, educational, social and economic fields
were especially important and therefore, these problems should
be attacked simultaneously.
The question whether the Trusteeship Council, when it came
into being, should be invited to consult the Subcommission regard­
ing the status of women in the non-self-governing territories
placed under its charge was discussed, having in mind Article
76 (c) of the Charter. It was generally agreed that this was a
matter that could well be left for later sessions of the full Sub­
commission.
During the discussion on the question of definitive composi­
tion of the Subcommission, the advantages and disadvantages of
a small membership were carefully weighed. A smaller body
could be more efficient, although a large one would give more
universal representation of women’s activities. It was decided
to recommend a minimum figure of fifteen, to include three ex
officio members from the Commission on Human Rights. The
additional members were to be selected from regions insufficiently
represented in the nuclear Subcommission, and particularly from
countries where women had reached different stages in status.
There was a difference of opinion on the question of representa­
tion. Some members considered that representation should be on
a governmental basis since without the support of governments
the work of the Subcommission could not be effective. Others were
of the opinion that members should be elected in their individual
capacity in the same way as the nuclear Subcommission had been
appointed by the Economic and Social Council. The members
reached the conclusion that since, in practice, the Economic and
Social Council would not appoint individuals who were persona
non grata with their governments the selection should be made
according to individual capacity, by the Council. With regard to
term of office, the members felt that continuity was necessary
during the first years of the application of their program. After
1950 a system of rotation should be put into effect which might
follow the lines laid down by the Economic and Social Council for
the other commissions.
In the course of the discussions the members of the Subcom­
mission expressed their belief that democracy is now the only
social order in which women can enjoy full rights as human
beings, and that women, a great number of whom have made so
many sacrifices in the cause of democracy and liberty and who
have proved in action that they are able to face all duties and




84

APPENDIX A—UNITED NATIONS DOCUMENTS

tasks, affirm their resolution to work in the service of world peace
with all their heart, mind and will.
. Accordingly, the Subcommission recommends that the full
Subcommission should be guided by the following ideals in its
future work:
Freedom and equality are essential to human develop­
ment and whereas woman is as much a human being as man
and, therefore entitled to share them with him;
Well-being and progress of society depend on the extent
to which both men and women are able to develop their full
personality and are cognizant of their responsibilities to
themselves and to each other;
Woman has thus a definite role to play in the building of
a free, healthy, prosperous and moral society and tha± she
can fulfill this obligation only as a free and responsible
member;
In order to achieve this goal, the purpose of the Subcommission is
to raise the status of women to equality with men in all fields of
human enterprise.
I.

Policy

Therefore the Subcommission recommends that its aims shall
be as follows:
A.

Political

Equal participation in governments and possibility to exer­
cise all the rights and assume all the duties of a citizen which com­
prise :
1. Universal suffrage.
2. Equal right to vote.
3. Equal right to be elected.
4. Equal right to hold public office.
B.

Civil

1. Marriage. Freedom of choice, dignity of the wife, monog­
amy, equal right to breach of marriage.
2. Guardianship. Equal right to have guardianship of her
own and other children.
3. Nationality. Right to keep her own nationality, and her
children having the right to choose the nationality of the mother
on majority.
4. Property. Equal right to hold and acquire, administer
and inherit property.
744732°—47—8




85

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

C.

Social and Economic

Full possibility of taking equal part in social life, which
implies full opportunity of fulfilling her duties toward society.
1. To prevent discrimination against women in social and
economic status and customs.
2. (a) To abolish prostitution by removing the legal and
customary provisions pertaining to it.
(b) To take strong measures to put down traffic in women
and children.
(c) To prevent clandestine prostitution by providing con­
ditions that make it no longer necessary for women to earn money
by these means.
(d) To enable former prostitutes to return to normal life
without discrimination by providing work for them as well as a
broad and widely accessible educational system.
3. While no disability should be attached to woman on the
ground of her sex, in regard to the enjoyment of full equality, in
the exercise of social and labor rights and in the assumption of
social and labor duties, special consideration on grounds of health
may be given equally to men and women and special consideration
to women on grounds of motherhood.
4. There shall be an effective scheme of health and social
insurance legislation which will provide equal preventive and
remedial opportunities for women and will include special pro­
visions for maternal and child care.
D.

Education

Equal opportunity for compulsory, free and full education,
equal opportunity in all specialized fields as well as training in
euthenics—the right to enjoy scientific discoveries applied to
human growth and development.
To achieve these aims, the Subcommission proposes:
1. That world public opinion be stimulated in favor of rais­
ing the status of women as an instrument to further human rights
and peace. The Subcommission also recommends that in view of
the fact that the governments of all the United Nations in signing
the Charter recognized that one of its principal aims, as stated in
the Preamble, was “to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights,
in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights
of men and women and of nations large and small,” the Subcom­
mission on the Status of Women expects the full collaboration and
support of the governments of all the United Nations in their




86

APPENDIX A—UNITED NATIONS DOCUMENTS

endeavors to raise the status of women throughout the world. At
the same time, this Subcommission earnestly desires to render all
possible assistance to those governments, in the application of the
principle of equal rights as between men and women;
2. That the Subcommission collaborates with United Nations
commissions, with governments, with specialized agencies, with
public and private agencies, with international and national
women’s organizations,2 with any other experts deemed necessary,
and that representatives of the former organizations should be
invited to participate as observers or as consultative agents;
3. That the Subcommission welcomes reports and recom­
mendations.
II.

Program

Bearing in mind this broad outline of their goal the Subcom­
mission proposes the following program of work;
1. To undertake a world-wide up-to-date, reliable and valid
survey of laws pertaining to the status of women, their applica­
tion and the actual status of women. (The Subcommission should
secure the information through governments, specialized agencies,
women’s organizations, academic institutes, trade unions and
others.)
2. To conduct polls in various regions to sound public
opinions on matters of interest to the Subcommission.
3. To organize a forum to hear the views of the consultative
agents.
4. To call a United Nations women’s conference to further
the program.
5. To arrange for international exchange of all categories of
manual and intellectual women workers, including the industrial,
agricultural and cultural fields.
6. To collect and systematize records on women’s affairs in
the form of books, pamphlets, charts, etc. (preferably as a section
of the United Nations’ archives).
7. To implement the proposal to create a world-wide public
opinion through the media of the press, radio, publications, lec­
tures, motion pictures, etc.
8. That the United Nations Information Section prepare
material about the United Nations to be distributed on request.
9. To request reference to the Subcommission of all com­
munications and information concerning matters of interest to
women received by the United Nations.
2 See Appendix I, p. 80 f.




87

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

10. To train leaders in a course on women’s affairs and to
encourage the promotion of scholarships.
11. That public and private agencies be urged to plan and
equip the homes in ways which will enable the housewife to devote
more time to participate actively in civic affairs.
12. That an executive office on women’s affairs be estab­
lished as part of the Secretariat to deal with all work of the Sub­
commission, under the leadership of a highly competent woman
who will be appointed after consulting the Subcommission and
will be assisted by qualified staff.
13. That an executive committee be formed from members
of the Subcommission residing in the vicinity of the headquarters
of the United Nations. The purpose of this committee shall be to
guard the general policy of the Subcommission.
III.

Composition

Following the terms of reference in document E/27, Section
B.4, that the nuclear Subcommission shall make recommendations
on the definitive composition of the Subcommission, the nuclear
Subcommission recommends:
1. That the future composition should be fifteen members
including three members from the Commission on Human Rights.
2. That the members should be appointed by the Economic
and Social Council in their individual capacity.
3. That the additional members should be selected from the
regions of the Balkan States, Great Britain, Latin America and
the United States of America to make up the definitive composi­
tion of the Subcommission.
4. That selection should be made from among women promi­
nent in public affairs.
5. That before final appointment by the Economic and Social
Council, the chairman of the Subcommission should be consulted.
6. That in view of the fact that the present Subcommission
is eligible for reelection and that its work cannot begin before
October or November 1946, all members be reelected for a period
of three years commencing on 1 April 1947, to serve effectively
during the period of initiation.
7. That after this period a sound system of rotation be
adopted.
8. That members should attend regularly.
9. That in the case of an emergency, alternates may be desig­
nated according to the rules of the Economic and Social Council.
10. That the next session of the Subcommission should take




88

APPENDIX A—UNITED NATIONS DOCUMENTS

place before the end of the year, the date to be determined by the
chairman of the Economic and Social Council in consultation with
the chairman and vice chairman of the Subcommission.
Members of the Subcommission wish to emphasize that action
by the Economic and Social Council in establishing this Subcom­
mission has awakened hope and expectancy among women in all
parts of the world. It is the firm belief of the Subcommission that
all the recommendations for social progress which it has made
are equally important; yet it wishes to stress that immediate
action can and should be taken under the headings proposed:
1. Executive office (paragraph II, 12).
2. Survey (paragraph II, 1).
3. Education (paragraph I, D).
4. Women’s conference (paragraph II, 4).
5. Political rights (paragraph I, A).
The Subcommission on the Status of Women earnestly re­
quests the Economic and Social Council to direct an appeal to the
governments of the United Nations that have not accorded suf­
frage to women, to take such action at the earliest date possible
within their frame of government, in order that all the terms of
the Charter of the United Nations shall be put into effect.
In conclusion, the Subcommission expresses the hope that the
full Subcommission will explore the vast field of complex problems
concerning the status of women all over the world so that it can
play its part in building a better world in which men and women
in full equality work together towards universal peace.
Appendix /. [o/ Subcommission Report]

Memorandum, to the Commission on Human Rights from the
Subcommission on the Status of Women, dated 6 May 1946.
As the meeting of the Committee on Non-Governmental
Organizations is being held on 20 May, the Subcommission wishes
to make the following recommendation:
For the efficient handling of the work of the United Na­
tions it is important that the Subcommission on the Status of
Women should stimulate the interest of women of the inter­
national and national organizations, to collaborate with these
organizations and coordinate their efforts.
Therefore, the Subcommission requests the Economic and
Social Council to refer to it all communications and informa­
tion received concerning all matters of interest to women.
The Subcommission would appreciate if it should be con­
sulted in all matters pertaining to women before any decision




89

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

is reached by the Council. The Subcommission would appre­
ciate if the Commission on Human Rights would transmit this
to the Economic and Social Council.
5. Second Session, Economic and Social Council, New York,
May—June 1946
EXTRACT FROM REPORT OF COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS TO
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL, 28 MAY 1946 1

Report of the Subcommission on the Status of Women

The Commission transmits to the Council for its information
the report of the Subcommission on the Status of Women appended
hereto (E/HR/18). It commends the conscientious care and
thoroughness with which the report has been*prepared.
Section B of the resolution of the Council of 16 February 1946
on the establishment of the Subcommission (E/27) provided in
paragraphs 2, 3, and 4:
“2 The subcommission shall submit proposals, recommenda­
tions, and reports to the Commission on Human Rights
regarding the status of women.
“3. The subcommission may submit proposals to the Council,
through the Commission on Human Rights, regarding its
terms of reference.
“4. The subcommission * * * shall make recommenda­
tions on the definitive composition of the subcommission
to the Second Session of the Council through the Com­
mission on Human Rights.”
Taking these provisions into account, the Commission rec­
ommends to the Economic and Social Council:
1—That the Council might follow the suggestions concerning
the composition of the full Subcommission made in para­
graphs 1, 2, and 4 of Section III of the Report of the Sub­
commission (E/HR/18) and that for all other questions, a
similar procedure to the one recommended for the Com­
mission on Human Rights be applied.12
2—That, having due regard for the importance of Section I
on Policy (E/HR/18), it be referred for study to the full
Commission on Human Rights, and that the attention of
1 Source: United Nations, E/38, 17 May 1946 ; Journal of the Economic and Social Council,
First Year, No. 14, 24 May 1946, p. 168 f.
2 Mr. Borisov (Soviet Union) disagreed with the recommendation that all members should
serve as non-governmental representatives. He expressed the view that all members of the
commissions and subcommissions should be appointed as government representatives in the
same way as the members of the Economic and Social Council.




90

APPENDIX A—UNITED NATIONS DOCUMENTS

the governments of all member states should be drawn
especially to the suggestions concerning development of
education of women and their political rights wherever
they are not yet in a position to assume their full respon­
sibility. (E/HR/18, p. 9.)
3—That a complete and detailed study of legislation concern­
ing the status of women and its practical application be
initiated, taking into account all important alterations
that have arisen since the first general inquiries made by
the League of Nations. (E/HR/18, Section II, 1.)
4—That the Secretariat (Department of Social Affairs, Divi­
sion of Human Rights) be furnished with all necessary
means of qualified personnel and material, to enable it to
organize the studies referred to in paragraph 3, to collect
and distribute in agreement with the Department of Pub­
lic Information and other services and branches of the
United Nations, the documentation concerning the ques­
tion of women, and to fulfill all the duties incumbent on the
United Nations in this field. (E/HR/18, Section II, 1, 6.)
5—That consultations should take place with the governments
of member states on problems concerning women which
may appear to them to be the first items for discussion,
either by a general women’s conference or by different
conferences, each with a definite purpose, inside the field
of one of the specialized agencies, such as the ILO,
UNESCO, etc. (E/HR/18, Section II, 4.)
ADDRESS OF CHAIRMAN OF SUBCOMMISSION ON STATUS OF WOMEN
IN PRESENTING ITS REPORT TO ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL,
28 MAY 1946 1

Summary Record of the Fourth Meeting of the Second Session of
the Economic and Social Council

Held at Hunter College, New York, on Tuesday, 28 May 1946,
at 10:30 a. m.
President: Sir Ramaswami MUDALIAR (India).
(1) Report of the Commission on Human Rights
The PRESIDENT announced that the Economic and Social
Council had at its last meeting received the report of the Tempo­
rary Transportation and Communications Commission and of the
Statistical Commission [and] would next receive the report of
the Commission on Human Rights.* 6
1 Source: United Nations, Journal of the Economic and Social Council, First Year, No. 20,
6 June 1946, p. 303 ff.




91

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

Mrs. ROOSEVELT (United States of America), Chairman
of the Commission on Human Rights: * * *
Concerning the report of the Subcommission on the Status
of Women, presented to the Economic and Social Council through
the Commission on Human Rights, Mrs. Roosevelt pointed out
that the Commission had chosen the most important recommen­
dations of the Subcommission’s report and incorporated them in
its own report.
(2) Subcommission on the Status of Women
The PRESIDENT invited Mrs. Bodil Begtrup, Chairman of
the Subcommission on the Status of Women, to address the Coun­
cil. He said that normally the chairman of the subcommission
reports to the commission and Mrs. Begtrup had already made her
report to the Commission on Human Rights. She had, however,
asked to be allowed to make some supplementary remarks on the
report to the Council and the Council was prepared to grant her
that privilege.
Mrs. Bodil BEGTRUP (Denmark), thanked the Economic
and Social Council for its wisdom and foresight in taking up the
question of the status of women so early in its work. This action
had shown a deep understanding of the fundamental social and
economic inequalities between men and women.
At the outset, the members of the Subcommission had agreed
that the purpose of their work must cover all fields of human
enterprise in which progress was needed and they had, therefore,
proposed that their aims should be classified under the following
headings: political, civil, social, economic and educational.
To help in achieving its aims, the Subcommission had recom­
mended that world-wide public opinion should be stimulated in
favor of raising the status of women. It hoped that the United
Nations information service could help it in this project.
The recommendations which it considered of immediate
importance were the setting up of an office to deal with women’s
affairs in the United Nations Secretariat. It considered this very
important since women all over the world would feel great satis­
faction that there was a women’s office at the headquarters of the
United Nations. The Subcommission had also proposed that a
universal up-to-date survey of laws pertaining to the status of
women, and their application, should be made. It had taken into
consideration the study already prepared by the League of
Nations but had come to the conclusion that this was already out
of date; that it covered a very limited regional field and that it




92

APPENDIX A—UNITED NATIONS DOCUMENTS

dealt with laws only and not their application. When the survey
was completed they recommended the calling of a United Nations
women’s conference to discuss the aims of the Subcommission. It
had also included a recommendation in its report that all govern­
ments should be called upon to accord suffrage to women, since it
felt that little progress could be made in raising the status of
women without the grant of political rights.
With regard to the composition of the full Subcommission, it
had recommended that the members should be drawn from differ­
ent regions which had different stages of social development. The
Subcommission considered that members should be chosen in their
individual capacity and they felt very strongly that those who had
already served on the nuclear Subcommission should be allowed
to continue to serve at the end of their year of office. So that there
should be some continuity in the work which they were planning.
Mrs. Begtrup said that she wished to point out that they hoped
that men would be included in the membership and that both men
and women would serve in the office which they had recommended
should be set up.
She wished to stress that some of the work which they had
planned would need to be carried out in collaboration with special­
ized agencies such as the ILO and UNESCO, and with other com­
missions.
The members of the Subcommission were aware why the
Economic and Social Council, in establishing the Subcommission,
had placed it under the wing of the Commission on Human Rights.
Nevertheless, the Subcommission felt that it should work under
the best possible conditions and not be dependent on the pace of
another commission. It, therefore, wished to recommend to the
Council that the Subcommission should be established as a full
commission.
In conclusion, she wished to say that the time had come for
changes in the status of women. Women had worked during the
war in resistance movements, and in other activities had taken
their place with men. The time had now come to put into effect
the principles outlined in the preamble to the Charter. The action
of the Economic and Social Council had aroused great feeling and
interest among women all over the world and gratitude that in
the midst of such urgent and pressing problems the Council
should have time to devote to the question of the raising of the,
status of women.
The PRESIDENT thanked Mrs. Begtrup for her report and
said that the Council would consider the proposals which the




93

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

members of the Subcommission had made, including the proposal
that the Subcommission should be made into a full commission.
RESOLUTION CREATING COMMISSION ON STATUS OF WOMEN,
21 JUNE 1946 1

THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL, having consid­
ered the report of the nuclear Commission on Human Rights and
of the nuclear Subcommission on the Status of Women of 21 May
1946 (document E/38/Rev. 1), DECIDES to confer upon the
Subcommission the status of a full commission to be known as
the COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN.
1.

Functions

The functions of the Commission shall be to prepare recom­
mendations and reports to the Economic and Social Council on
promoting women’s rights in political, economic, social, and edu­
cational fields. The Commission shall also make recommendations
to the Council on urgent problems requiring immediate attention
in the field of women’s rights.
The Commission may submit proposals to the Council re­
garding its terms of reference.
2.

Composition

(a) The Commission on the Status of Women shall consist
of one representative from each of fifteen members of the United
Nations selected by the- Council.
(b) With a view to securing a balanced representation in the
various fields covered by the Commission, the Secretary-General
shall consult with the governments so selected before the repre­
sentatives are finally nominated by these governments and con­
firmed by the Council.
(c) Except for the initial period, the term of office shall be
for three years. For the initial period, one-third of the members
shall serve for two years, one-third for three years, and one-third
for four years, the term of each member to be determined by lot.
(d) Retiring members shall be eligible for reelection.
(e) In the event that a member of the Commission is unable
to serve for the full three-year term, the vacancy thus arising
shall be filled by a representative designated by the member gov­
ernment, subject to the provisions of paragraph (b) above.
1 Source: United Nations, E/90 and E/84, paragraph 6; Journal of the Economic and
Social Council, First Year, No, 29, 13 July 1946, p. 625 ff,




94

APPENDIX A—UNITED NATIONS DOCUMENTS

3.

Policy and Program

Sections I and II of the report of the Subcommission, con­
cerning policy and program, shall be referred for study to the
Commission on the Status of Women.
4.

Documentation

In order to assist the Commission on the Status of Women,
the Secretary-General is requested to make arrangements for a
complete and detailed study of the legislation concerning the
status of women and the practical application of such legislation.
EXTRACT FROM REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ARRANGEMENTS FOR
CONSULTATION WITH NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS,
21 JUNE 1946 1

I.

Principles To Be Applied in Placing Organizations on the List
of Non-Governmental Organizations Eligible for Consultation
Under Article 71

The Committee, taking note of the organizations which have
expressed their interest in consultation, and considering that
many other organizations are likely to indicate such an interest,
recommends that the following principles be applied in establish­
ing a list of non-governmental organizations 12 3which would be
eligible for consultation:
1. The organization shall be concerned with matters
falling within the competence of the Economic and Social
Council with respect to international economic, social, cultu­
ral, educational, health and related matters.
2. The aims and purposes of the organization should be
in conformity with the spirit, purposes and principles of the
Charter of the United Nations.
3. Organizations proved to be discredited by past col­
laboration in fascist activities shall not for the present, be
admitted.
4. The organization shall be of recognized standing and
shall represent a substantial proportion of the organized per­
sons within the particular interest field in which it operates.
1 Source: United Nations, Official No. E/43/Rev. 2; Journal of the Economic and Social
Council, First Year, No. 29, 13 July 1946, p. 481 ff.
This committee known as the Council NGO Committee was composed of the President of
the Council and representatives from the following countries: China, Cuba, France, Greece,
Lebanon, Peru, Ukraine, United Kingdom, U.S.A., U.S.S.R., Yugoslavia. Source: Journal of
the Economic and Social Council, First Year, No. 12, 10 April 1946, p. 123.
3 Any international organization which is not established by inter-governmental agreement
shall be considered as a non-governmental international organization,




95

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

To meet this requirement, a group of organizations may form
a joint committee or other body authorized to carry on con­
sultation for the group as a whole.
5. The organization shall have an established headquar­
ters, with an executive officer. It shall have a conference,
convention, or other policy-making body.
6. The organization shall have authority to speak for its
members through its authorized representatives. Evidence
of this authority shall be presented, if requested.
7. The organization should be international in its struc­
ture, with members who exercise voting rights in relation to
the policies or action of the international organization.
8. National organizations should normally present their
views through their respective governments or through inter­
national non-governmental organizations to which they be­
long. It would not, save in exceptional cases, be appropriate to
include national organizations which are affiliated to an inter­
national non-governmental organization covering the same
subjects on an international basis. National organizations,
however, may be included in the list after consultation with
the member state concerned if they cover a field which is not
covered by any international organization or have special
experience upon which the Council wishes to draw.
9. The Committee recommends that the Council, in
determining the scope and methods of consultation with each
non-governmental organization, take as a basis the nature and
scope of activities of each organization considering the assist­
ance that may be expected by the Council from this Organi­
zation in carrying out the tasks set out in chapter IX of the
Charter of the United Nations.
10. The Committee considers that most close consulta­
tive connection should be established with the World Federa­
tion of Trade Unions which has already applied to the Eco­
nomic and Social Council with a request to establish connec­
tion.
II.

Machinery for Applying the Principles for Placing Organiza­
tions on the Eligible List

1. The Economic and Social Council shall establish a
standing Committee composed of the President of the Council
and five members of the Council who will be assisted by the
Assistant Secretaries-General for Economic and Social Affairs
respectively. This Committee will review applications for
consultative status submitted by non-governmental organiza-




96

APPENDIX A—UNITED NATIONS DOCUMENTS

tions, and make recommendations to the Council. It shall be
known as the “Committee on Arrangements for Consultation
with Non-Governmental Organizations” (short title: Council
NGO Committee).3
2. The Council NGO Committee may direct the Secre­
tariat to screen applications on the basis of the criteria
adopted by the Council for this purpose.
3. The list of applications so screened shall be circu­
lated to the members of the United Nations by the Secretariat
before it is considered by the Council Committee.
III.

Principles Governing the Nature of the Consultative Arrange­
ments

1. It is important to note that a clear distinction is
drawn in the Charter between participation without vote in
the deliberations of the Council, and the arrangements for
consultation. Under Articles 69 and 70 participation is pro­
vided for only in the case of states not members of the Coun­
cil, and of specialized inter-govertimental agencies. Article 71
applying to non-governmental organizations provided for
suitable arrangements for consultation. It is considered that
this distinction, deliberately made in the Charter, is funda­
mental and that the arrangements for consultation should not
be such as to accord to non-governmental organizations the
same rights of participation accorded to states not members
of the Council and to the specialized agencies brought into
relationship with the United Nations.
2. It should also be recognized as a basic principle that
the arrangements should not be such as to overburden the
Council or transform it into a general forum for discussion
instead of a body for coordination of policy and action, as is
contemplated in the Charter.
3. Decisions on arrangements for consultation should be
guided by the principle that consultative arrangements are
to be made, on the one hand for the purpose of enabling the
Council or one of its bodies to secure expert information or
advice from organizations having special competence on the
subjects for which consultative arrangements are made, and,
3 The Report of the Committee on Arrangements for Consultation with Non-Governmental
Organizations (E/43/Rev. 1) approved by the Council at its fourteenth meeting, 21 June 1946,
provided that the Committee consist of the President and four members of the Council. At its
fifteenth meeting, 21 June 1946, the Council decided that the Committee should be composed of
the President and five members of the Council. The five members elected were: China, France,
the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United Kingdom, and the United States,




97

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

on the other hand, to enable organizations which represent
important elements of public opinion, to express their views.
Therefore, the arrangements for consultation made with each
organization should involve only the subjects for which that
organization has a special competence or in which it has a
special interest. In general these arrangements should be
made for a definite period, reviewable at the end thereof.
4. Consultative arrangements should not be made with
an international organization which is a member of a com­
mittee or group composed of international organizations with
which consultative arrangements have been made except for
different subjects than those for which consultation arrange­
ments have been made with the committee or group.
5. In several of the fields covered by the Council there
will exist specialized inter-governmental agencies brought
into relationship with the Council, and participating in its
deliberations as provided in Article 70. There may be close
connection and cooperation between these agencies and the
non-governmental organizations whose specific field of inter­
est is the same as or similar to that of the specialized agency.
The Council should take this consideration into account.




98

APPENDIX B. Woman Personnel in League of Nations
and United Nations and Participants in Activities Related
to Status of Women
I.
1.

WOMEN OFFICIALS IN LEAGUE OF NATIONS

Women Sent by Their Countries to League of Nations Assembly
as Delegates, Substitute Delegates, Experts, 1920-39, 1946

In most instances women were substitute delegates, of whom
each country could have as many as two in addition to its full
voting delegate. In only a few instances were women full dele­
gates, notably for four years from Sweden and three years each
from Canada and Hungary. Substitute delegates could address the
Assembly, and they played an important part in the League’s
operation, since they could serve on any of the Assembly’s six
committees, on each of which every country could have representa­
tion. The following list includes names of all women who were
full delegates and all others who were sent in more than one year,
including those appointed as experts or technical advisers. Unless
otherwise stated, service listed below is as substitute delegate.
Countries are listed in order of length of representation of women.
Years of
service

Denmark—Women in delegation 19 years, as follows:
Froken Henni Forchammer 1 (1920-37, as expert 1920-22, 1924) —
Fru Bodil Begtrup 12 (1938) ------------------------------------------------Norway—Women in delegation 19 years, as follows:
Dr. Kristine Elisabeth Bonnevie (1920-24)----- -----------------------Fru Martha Larsen Jahn (1925-27) --------------------------------------Fru Ingebord Aas (1928-34) -----------------------------------------------Froken Johanne Reutz (1935-38) ---------------------------------------Sweden—Women in delegation 18 years, as follows:
Fru Anna Bugge-Wicksell3 (1920-27) -----------------------------------

18
1
5
3
7
4
8

1 Miss Forchammer was one of nine women who came to America in 1902 to attend the
first international conference of women, which was called by Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt,
President of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. This conference made plans
for the organization in 1904 of the International Woman Suffrage Alliance. Miss Forchammer
served 9 years (1928-34, 1936, 1937) on the Assembly’s Sixth Committee (Political Questions,
which included dealing with minorities). She was the first woman ever to address the League
Assembly, speaking on the subject of traffic in women and children.
2 Mrs. Begtrup was sent as an adviser with her country's delegation to the First Assembly
of the United Nations, which met in London January 1946, and later was appointed from her
country as a member of the Subcommission on Status of Women, which elected her its chair­
man, (see pp. 109, 27) ; still later she was made a member of the full Commission on Status
of Women.
3 Mrs. Wicksell, a fully qualified lawyer, was a member of the League’s Permanent Man­
dates Commission, organized in 1920. A proposal of hers was adopted, influencing inter­
national outlook: that each member be responsible for a given area of information through­
out all mandated territories. She served for 7 early years (1921-27) on the Assembly's First
Committee (Legal and Constitutional Questions), in one year as a full member*




99

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN
Years of
service

to co to

Froken Kirsten Hesselgren 4 (1928, 1930-38; as full delegate
1933-36, as expert 1928, 1930)
10
(Also an additional woman member in 1938.)
Rumania—Women in delegation 18 years, as follows:
Mile. Helene Vacaresco 45 6(1921-38)
2.8
Mme. Alexandrine Cantacuzine (as expert, 1929, 1931) _________
2
Great Britain—Women in delegation 17 years (1922-38); one as full delegate,
Susan Lawrence (1930); only women serving more than one session:
Dame Edith Lyttelton (1923, 1926-28, 1931) _________________
5
Mrs. Helen M. Swanwick (1924, 1929) ______________________
2
Mrs. Mary Hamilton (1929-30) ____
Miss F. G. Horsbrugh « (1933-35) ....
Mrs. Irene M. B. Ward (1937-38) ..
Australia—Women in delegation 16 years (1922-30, 1932-38). Only
woman serving more than one session:
Miss A. F. Bage (1926, 1938)
2
Hungary—Women in delegation 12 years (1927-38). Only woman
serving more than one session:
11
Countess Albert Apponyi (1928-38; as full delegate 1936-38) ___
Netherlands—Women in delegation 12 years (1928-38, 1946). Only
woman serving more than one session:
Mervw. C. A. Kluyver7 (1928-30, 1932-38; 1946, full delegate)__
11
Germany—Women in delegation 8 years (1926-33), always as experts.
Only woman serving more than one session:
Frau Lang-Brumann (as expert, 1927-30)___________________
4
Poland—Women in delegation 8 years (1931-38). Only women serving
more than one session:
Mme. Hanna Hubicka (1932-35)
4
Mme. Wanda Woytowicz-Grabinska (1934 as expert; 1937-38)___
3
France—Woman in delegation 7 years, as follows:
Mme. Malaterre-Sellier (as expert or technical adviser, 1932-38)
7
Canada—Women in delegation 6 years (1929-32, 1935, 1938). No
woman served more than one session. Three were full delegates, Mrs.
Irene Parlby (1930), Mrs. Henry P. Plumptre (1931), Mrs. Charles
Fremont (1932).
4 Miss Hesselgren was ex officio vice-president of the Assembly in 1933: as Rapporteur on
the subject of status of women in 1937 for the First Committee of the Assembly (that on Legal
and Constitutional Questions), she summarized and reported on information on this subject
sent in by governments of some 38 countries, see p. 10. She was a member of the League
Committee of Experts on Status of Women established in 1937, see p. 11.
r' Miss Vacaresco served for 8 years (1925-32) on the Assembly’s Second Committee (on
Technical Organizations)—in 5 of these years as her country’s full member. She was a mem­
ber of the Permanent Committee on Arts and Letters (Letters Section) of the League’s Com­
mittee on Intellectual Cooperation. She served for 8 years (1928, 1931-37) on the League’s
Sixth Committee (Political Questions).
6 Miss Horsbrugh was sent as an assistant delegate from her country to the United
Nations Conference on International Organization, San Francisco, 1945. (See p. 105.)
4 Mrs. Kluyver was a member of the committee of jurists to draft statutes of the Perma­
nent Court of International Justice in 1920 : she served during 10 sessions on the Fourth Com­
mittee of the League Assembly (that on Budget and Financial Questions), on which it was
unusual for women to be placed, and in 1936 she was its vice chairman. She was a full dele­
gate to the League Assembly at its last session in 1946.




100

APPENDIX B—WOMEN IN INTERNATIONAL AGENCIES
Years of
service

Lithuania—Woman in delegation 6 years, as follows:
Mme. Sofija Ciurlionis (as full delegate 1929, 1931; 1935-38)_____
Spain—Women in delegation 6 years (1931-34, 1936, 1938). Only
women serving more than one session:
Senorita Clara Camposnor (1931, 1934) ,.»_____
Senora Isabel 0. de Palencia (1932-33, 1936) ------------------------Finland—Women in delegation 5 years (1927-30, 1937). Only woman
serving more than one session:
Mme. Tilma Hainari (1927-30)
Czechoslovakia—Women in delegation 4 years, as follows:
Mme. Frantiska Plaminkova (1931-32) ______________________
Mile. Helena Barnadova (as expert, 1935, 1937) ---------------------Russia—Woman in delegation 4 years, as follows:
Mme. Alexandra Kollontay (1935-38) ______________________
Austria—Woman in delegation 3 years, as follows:
Mme. Fanny Starhemberg (1934-36):------------------------China—Women in delegation 3 years (1934-35, 1937). Only woman
serving more than one session:
Mme. Hilda Yen Chen (as expert, 1935, 1937) ------------------------Mexico—Woman in delegation 3 years, as follows:
Senorita Palma Guillen (1937 as full delegate; 1938-39)-----------Chile—Woman in delegation 2 years, as follows:
Senora Marta Vergara (1931 as expert; 1932) ------------------------Iran—Women in delegation 2 years (1933, 1936).
Switzerland—Woman in delegation 2 years, as follows:
Mile. Suzanne Ferriere (as expert, 1937-38) ----------------------------

6
2
3
4
2
2
4
3
2

3
2

2

Countries having a woman member of their delegation in
one year only:
Siam—1922
Bulgaria—1930
Colombia—1932
Portugal—1936

Turkey (Full delegate, Mme. Nayman)—1938
New Zealand—1939

Total countries having women members of their delegations
at some time—29. Total countries with any woman full delegate
—8.
2.

Women Members of League of Nations Commissions,
1920-371

Permanent Mandates Commission (1920)

Members:

Fru Anna Bugge-Wicksell (Swedish)
Froken Valentine Dannevig (Norwegian)
1 Source: As listed in Year-Books and other publications through 1937 (in a few instances,
later).
For positions where the delegate represented the Government, the country has been desig­
nated ; otherwise the nationality of the individual. Wherever an individual's full name was
available in any of the sources used, the full name has been used throughout.
744732°—47—9




101

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN
Committee of Jurists to Draft Statutes of Permanent Court of International
Justice (1920)

Secretary—Mervw. C. A. Kluyver (Dutch)
Commission on Traffic in Opium (1921)

Assessor—Mrs. Hamilton Wright (American)
Commission on Deported Women and Children in Asia Minor (1921)

Members:

Miss Emma Cushman (American; of Constantinople)
Miss Karen Jeppe (Danish; of Aleppo)
Standing Health Committee (1921)

[Composed of President General Advisory Health Council (in Paris); 9
members appointed by it, and 16 by Council of League.]
Members:

~

Dr. Alice Hamilton (American)
Dame Janet Campbell (British)
Committee on Intellectual Cooperation (1922)

Vice President, Member, Executive Committee—Mme. Curie-Sklodowska

(Polish)
Members:

Dr. Kristine Elisabeth Bonnevie (Norwegian)
Mme. Cecile de Tormay (Hungarian)
Permanent Committee for Arts and Letters
Members:

•

Mile. Helene Vacaresco (Rumanian) (in Section of Letters)
Fru Nini Roll-Anker (Norwegian)
Senorita Gabriela Mistral (Chilean)
International Institute of Intellectual Cooperation (Paris—1925)

Section on Scientific Relations
Mathematics, Physics, Natural Science
Attache—Froken Thorkildssen (Norwegian)
Advisory Commission for the Protection and Welfare of Children and Young
People

This was organized in 1924 and was composed of 15 government delegates
to the Advisory Committee on Traffic in Women and Children (1921) and
the Child Welfare Committee (1924), and assessors of each, representing
some 17 voluntary organizations. In 1936 it was succeeded by the Advisory
Committee on Social Questions, which was composed of representatives of
not more than 25 governments and experts nominated as assessors.
Members (Government Delegates)
Earlier Commission

Miss Grace Abbott (United States)
Dr. Paulina Luisi (Uruguay)
Dr. Gertrud Baumer (Germany)
Dr. Matz (Germany)
Fru Estrid Hein (Denmark)
Mme. Romniciano (Rumania)
Senora de Martinez Sierra (Spain)
Mrs. Surrabayan (India)
Princess Alexandrine Cantacuzene
(Rumania)




Later Committee

Dr. Estrid Hein, Chairman
(Denmark)
Miss Charlotte Whitton, Rapporteur
(Canada)
Senora Matilde Huici (Spain)
Lady Abdul Cadir (India)
Miss Elsa Castendyck (United States)
Mrs. Keron Hoss (India)
Senorita Palma Guillen (Mexico)
Mile. Milena Atonatakovitch
(Yugoslavia)

102

APPENDIX B—WOMEN IN INTERNATIONAL AGENCIES
Advisory Commission for Refugees (1928)

Member (Government Delegate)—Mrs. Mary Hamilton (Great Britain)
Economic Organization

1. Preparatory Commission of 35 for Preliminary Studies for World Con­
ference on Economic Problems (1925)
Member—Frau Emmy Freundlich (Austrian)
2. World Conference on Economic Problems (1927)
National Delegate and a Vice President—Frau Emmy Freundlich
(Austria)
Appointed by Council as experts representing International Women’s
Organizations—

Froken C. E. Van Dorp (Dutch)
Dr. Marie-Elisabeth Luders (German)
Mrs. Barbara Wootten (British)
3. Consultative Committee of Economic Organizations (1928)
Member—Frau Emmy Freundlich (Austrian) (President, Internanational Guild of Cooperative Societies)
World Conference on Disarmament (1932)

Delegate—Dr. Mary E. Wooley (United States)
Saar Plebiscite Commission (1935)

Technical Counselor—Dr. Sarah Wambaugh (American)
Advisory Commission of Experts on Slavery (1935)

Senora Isabel Oyarzabal de Palencia (Spanish)
Senora L. de Castro e Avemeida (Portuguese)
(For Expert Committee on Legal Status of Women (1937), see p. 11 of text.)

3.

Women Officials in League of Nations Secretariat,
1920-29

Social Questions and (After 1922) Opium Traffic Section
Head—Dame Rachel Eleanor Crowdy (British)
Section Member, Opium Traffic—Mile. E. S. T. A. de Romer
Section Members, Social Questions:

Princess G. Radziwill (Lithuanian)
Mile. A. M. Colin (Belgian)
Communications and Transit Section

Section Member—Mile. H. Key-Rasmussen (Swedish)
Information Section

Editor Official Journal—Dr. Gertrude C. Dickson (American)
Section Member—Miss G. Radziwill (Lithuanian)
International Bureau and Intellectual Cooperation Section

Section Member—Mile. A. I. Hallsten-Kallia (Finnish)
Library

Chief Librarian—Miss Florence Wilson (American) (1920-1926)
Deputy Librarian—Miss Alice C. Bartlett (American)
Assistant Librarian—Mile. M. Ginsberg
Personnel

Section Member—Miss Nancy Williams (British)
Establishment Office

Member—Miss A. J. Cathrall (British)




103

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

4. Members of First Committee of the League of Nations Assembly
Who Participated in Discussion of Status of Women Resolution,
18th Assembly, September 1937
Australia—Mr. Bailey
Canada—M. Dandurand
China—Mme. Yen Chen
Colombia—M. Yepes
Czechoslovakia—Mile. Bernardova
Denmark—Mile. Westergaard
Finland—Mme. Makinen-Ollinen
France—M. Cassin
Hungary—M. Sebestyen
Irish Free State—Mr. Hearne
Mexico—Mile. Guillen




Egypt—El Sayed Bey
Belgium—M. Borquin
Bulgaria—M. Balabanoff
Netherlands—M. Limburg
Norway—Mile. Reutz
Rumania—Mile. Vacaresco
South Africa—Mr. Andrews
Sweden—Mile. Hesselgren
Switzerland—M. Gorge
U. S. S. R.—Mme. Kollontay
Yugoslavia—M. Soubbotitch
United Kingdom—Mr. Beckett

104

r

1.

n.

WOMEN OFFICIALS IN UNITED NATIONS
United Nations Conference on International Organization,
San Francisco, April—June 1945 1
WOMEN SENT BY THEIR COUNTRIES AS DELEGATES, ASSISTANT
DELEGATES, ADVISERS, TECHNICAL EXPERTS
Netherlands

Australia

Assistant Public Relations Adviser

Assistant—Mrs. Jessie Street

Mrs. Julie Lynch

Brazil

Norway

Delegate—Dr. Bertha Lutz 1
2

Adviser—Mrs. Aase G. Skaard
United Kingdom

Canada

Assistant Delegates

Delegate

Miss Ellen Wilkinson
Miss Florence Horsbrugh
Adviser—Mrs. E. S. Gibbs

Mrs. Cora T. Casselman
Adviser

Miss Elizabeth McCallum

United States of America

Delegate

China

Dean Virginia Gildersleeve 2

Delegate—Dr. Wu Yi-Fang 2

Special Assistants

Mrs. Nancy Davis
Miss Dorothy Fosdick

Dominican Republic

Delegate

Technical Experts

Mile. Minerva Bernardino 2

Miss
Mrs.
Miss
Miss
Mrs.

France

Adviser

Mile. Elisabeth de Miribel
Direct Collaborators

Mme. Odette Cornu
Mme. H. de Arrieta
Mme. Anne-Marie Girard

Marjorie M. Whiteman
Esther C. Brunauer
Dorothy Fosdick
Marcia Maylott
Alice M. McDiarmid

Uruguay

Delegate

Sra. Isabel Pinto de Vidal
Venezuela

Mexico

Vdvisers

Counselors

Sra. Castillo Ledon
Sra. Obregon Santacilia

Sra. Sanchez de Urdaneta
Sra. Perez Diaz

Women also served as Secretaries-General, Technical Assistants, and Interpreters, as follows:
Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic

Yugoslavia

Secretary-General

Technical Secretary

Charlotte Muzar

Miss Maria I. Petrova
Lebanon

Secretary-General

Philippine Commonwealth

Technical Assistant

Miss Angela M. Jurdak

Miss Gladys Beauchamp

Ukranian Soviet Socialist Republic

Assistant Interpreter

Miss Maria L. Shapareva

1 Source: As listed in United Nations Conference on International Organization, Docu­
ments, Vol. I, as of May 28, 1945. p. 13 ff.
2 Signer of United Nations Charter.




105

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

In addition to the 18 nations listed above, the following 8 had
included women in their delegations only as secretaries—Chile,
Costa Rica, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Iraq, New Zealand, Peru, and
(Syria.
WOMEN IN UNITED STATES DELEGATION TO UNITED NATIONS CON­
FERENCE ON INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION, SAN FRANCISCO,
APRIL-JUNE 1945

Delegate

Special Assistants to Public Liaison
Officer—cont’d

Dean Virginia C. Gilder sleeve

Mrs. Delia Kuhn
Mrs. Ruth Bryan Rohde
Mrs. Shirley Savage

Special Assistants

Mrs. Nancy Davis
Miss Dorothy Fosdick (also Tech­
Executive Secretary
nical Expert)
Mrs. Virginia F. Hartley
Technical Experts
Miss M. Kathleen Bell, Asst.
Miss Marjorie M. Whiteman
Miss Rosalind Wright, Asst.
Mrs. Esther Brunauer
Special Information Officer
Miss Dorothy Fosdick
Miss Suzanne Green
Miss Marcia Maylott
Miss
Jean Turnbull, Asst.
Mrs. Alice M. McDiarmid
Assistants to Documents and
Security Officer

Aides and Assistants

Miss Vera Bloom
Miss Martha Dalrymple
Lt. Mary E. McDonald,
USNR (W)
.
Lt. Comdr. Elizabeth Reynard,
USNR (W)

Miss Elizabeth Driscoll
Miss Betty Gough
Miss Jane Wheeler
Reference Librarian

Miss Alice C. Bartlett
Miss Jeanette E. Muther,
Asst.

Assistant to Press Officer

Miss Mary J. Leutzinger

Assistant to Language Officer

Special Assistants to Public Liaison
Officer

Miss Doris Cochrane
Miss Emily Hickman

Mrs. Marcella Woerheide
Administrative Officer

Miss Louise White

WOMEN REPRESENTING NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS AS CONSULTANTS
TO THE UNITED STATES DELEGATION AT THE UNITED NATIONS CON­
FERENCE ON INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION, SAN FRANCISCO,
APRIL-JUNE 1945

REPRESENTING NATIONAL WOMEN’S ORGANIZATIONS
American Association of University Women

Dr. Helen Dwight Reid, Consultant
Mrs. Malbone W. Graham, Associate
Dr. Aurelia Henry Reinhardt, Associate
Mrs. Edward C. Lamphier, Associate
General Federation of Women’s Clubs

Mrs. LaFell Dickinson, Consultant
Mrs. William Dick Sporberg, Associate
Mrs. Earl Shoesmith, Associate




106

.

APPENDIX B—WOMEN IN INTERNATIONAL AGENCIES
National Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs

Miss Margaret A. Hickey, Consultant
Miss Josephine Schain, Associate
National League of Women Voters

Mrs. Anne Hartwell Johnstone, Consultant
Mrs. George H. Engels, Associate
Mrs. Harold Nachtrieb, Associate
Mrs. Harold Hacke, Associate
Women’s Action Committee for Victory and Lasting Peace

Miss Lillian M. Phillips, Consultant
Mrs. Arthur Brin, Associate
Mrs. George Fielding Eliot, Associate
REPRESENTING OTHER NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
American Association for the United Nations

Miss Margaret Olson, Associate
American Council on Education

Miss Helen C. Hurley, Associate
American Farm Bureau Federation

Mrs. Charles W. Sewell, Associate
Americans United for World Organization

Mrs. Doris Warner Leroy, Associate
Catholic Association for International Peace

Miss Catherine Schaeffer, Associate
Church Peace Union

Miss Margaret Forsyth, Associate
Miss Dorothy McConnell, Associate
Congress of Industrial Organizations

Miss Molly Lynch, Associate
Foreign Policv Association

Mrs. Vera M. Dean, Associate
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

Mrs. Mary McLeod Bethune, Associate
National Congress of Parents and Teachers

Mrs. William A. Hastings, Consultant
National Peace Conference

Miss Jane Evans, Consultant
WOMEN OFFICERS OF THE SECRETARIAT OF THE UNITED NATIONS
CONFERENCE ON INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION, SAN FRANCISCO,
APRIL-JUNE 1945
Secretary General

Special Assistants

Miss Ruth Ray
Mrs. Virginia Alexander
Administrative Assistants

Miss Inez Johnston
Miss Frances Pringle




107

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

Information Officer
Librarian—Miss Jose Meyer
Reference Assistant—Mrs. Hana Mandelik
Prinicipal Correspondence Assistant—Miss Helen Daniel
Asst. Information Officer for Correspondence Information

1
r

Mrs. Anne McGowan
Assistant Comptroller—Mrs. Elizabeth Friend
Press Relations Officer—Mrs. Margaret Raymond
Assistants to Presentation Officer

Mrs. Marie Barton
Miss Ruth Mandelbaum
Assistant Photographic Officer—Miss Mary Losey
Executive Secretary

Assistant Adviser—Margaret Ball
Special Assistant—Edna R. Fluegel
Administrative Assistant—Elizabeth H. Benson
Technical Secretariat

(Serving the Committees of the Commissions on General Provisions,
General Assembly, and Security Council)
Assistant Executive Officer—Rowena Rommel
Secretary—Miss Elizabeth Armstrong
Associate Secretary—Miss Heather Harvey
Assistant Secretaries

*

Miss Ruth Bacon
Mrs. Marion D. Battles
Mrs. Jane Clark Carey
Miss Ursula Duffus
Mrs. Sherleigh Fowler
Mrs. Ruth Hughes
Mrs. Virginia Little
Mrs. Pauline Reinsch Preuss
Miss Victoria Schuck

•

Conference Library

Miss Nona L. Doherty
Mrs. Mary L. Hurt
Reference Specialist—Miss Ruth Savord
Deputy Documents Officer—Miss Maurine Mulliner
Conference Editor—Mrs. Virginia Angel
Assistant Conference Editor—Miss Frances Armbruster
Archivist—Miss Ruth Wailes
Index and Reference Officer—Miss M. Carmel Sullivan
Administrative Secretary

Assistant Personnel Officer—Miss Virginia Brittingham
Health Services—Mrs. Emma Joyce




1

108

APPENDIX B—WOMEN IN INTERNATIONAL AGENCIES

2.

First General Assembly, London, January 1946

WOMEN DELEGATES AND ADVISERS IN FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
OF UNITED NATIONS, LONDON, JANUARY 1946
United States of America

Netherlands

Alternate Delegate

Delegate—Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt
Advisers

Miss Dorothy Fosdick
Miss Frieda S. Miller

Mrs. Dr. H. H. Verwey-Jonker
New Zealand

Delegate—Miss Jean R. McKenzie
Alternate—Miss Lorna McPhee

Czechoslavakia

Advisers

Mme. Olga Hillova
Mme. Gertrude Sekaninova
Denmark

Adviser—Mme. Bodil Begtrup

Norway

Alternate Delegate

Mme. Frieda Dalen
Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic

Delegate

Dominican Republic

Delegate

Mile. Minerva Bernardino
France

Mrs. Evdokia I. Uralova
United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland

Assistant Delegate

Mme. Marie Helene Lefaucheux
Adviser—Mme. Pierre Vienot
Greece

Adviser—Mile. Rena Zafiriov
3.

Delegate—Miss Ellen Wilkinson
Advisers

Miss C. I. Rolfe
Miss M. Fletcher
Miss K. M. Midwinter

United Nations Commissions, New York, 1946

WOMEN OFFICIAL MEMBERS OF UNITED NATIONS COMMISSIONS, 1946
Human Rights Commission

Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt (United States of America). Elected by the
Commission as its chairman.
Economic and Employment Commission

Miss Rena Zafiriov (Greece)
Temporary Social Commission

Mrs. Kristi Djordjevic (Yugoslavia)
Secretary—Miss Katharine Lenroot (United States of America)
Administrative Officials in Secretariat

Health and Welfare Services—Mrs. Helen Brooks (From United States

of America)

Chief of Personnel—Miss Mary Smieton (From United Kingdom)
Special Committee on Refugees and Displaced Persons

Mme. H. Verwey-Jonker (Netherlands)
(For Subcommission on Status of Women (1946), see p. 27 of text.)

4. Women in the United Nations Secretariat, New York, 1946 1
The United Nations Secretariat is organized into eight major
departments aside from the Office of the Secretary-General. The
1 For lists of names, see United Nations Handbook No. 6. October 1946.




INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

various departments have to do with the subject matter to be
dealt with by the United Nations, or with the services to be ren­
dered to the entire organization, and each is headed by an Assist­
ant Secretary-General. These departments have divisions, or
in a few instances bureaus, each with a director. Most divisions
or bureaus are further separated into sections, or in a few in­
stances services, headed by chiefs, and some of the sections or
services again into units. A few women are carrying on the work
of head of a section or unit. The organization of the Secretariat
is not fully completed; distribution of posts among various mem­
ber nations is a part of the planning, though quotas have not been
formally established. In the forefront, so far as women in the
Secretariat are concerned, is the director of the Bureau of Per­
sonnel. The more important Secretariat posts held by women are
listed below.2
Department of Administrative and Financial Services
Bureau of Personnel

Director of Personnel—Miss Mary G. Smieton (United Kingdom)
Chief, Policies and Procedures Staff

Mrs. Ruth Tumbleson (U. S. A.)
Staff Relations and Services Division
Head, Staff Services Section—Mrs. Helen G. Brooks (U. S. A.)
Recruitment, Examination, and Placement Division
Chief, Social and Economic Affairs Section

Miss Elizabeth Cosgrove (U. S. A.)
Chief, Interviewing and Local Recruiting Section

Mrs. Louise Bartlett (U. S. A.)
Department of Public Information
Reference and Publications Division

Chief, Reference Section—Miss Jose Meyer (U. S. A.)
Films and Visual Information Division

Chief, Film Liaison Office of Film Section—Miss Marion Dix (U. S. A.)
Department of Economic Affairs
Transportation and Communication Division

Chief, Inland Transportation and Coordination Section

Miss Helen M. Moats (U. S. A.)
Department of Conferences and General Services
Conference Coordination Division

Chief, Central Registry Section—Mrs. E. Turner-Coles (United Kingdom)

In addition to the foregoing, many women are serving in the
Secretariat in a variety of lesser posts. A few are assistant
chiefs of sections or heads of units within sections, and others
serve as administrative assistants or executives in certain parts
2 It was reported in early 1947 that the total Secretariat staff consisted of some 2,800 per­
sons, 45 percent of them women. However, only 137 staff members had permanent appoint­
ments ; slightly less than a third of these were women.




110

APPENDIX B—WOMEN IN INTERNATIONAL AGENCIES

of the Secretariat. In many parts of the organization from top
to bottom are women with varied types of experience who serve
as assistants, executive officers, administrative assistants, special
advisers, or consultants; others have reference or research duties,
are archivists, or assist in editorial work. A few branches have
women as liaison officers for contacts with differing kinds of
public agencies.
Considerable groups are in the Department of Social Affairs,
where three in five of those at work in the divisions are women;
and in the Department of Public Information where a number of
women are junior press officers and some are in posts of higher
rating. In a number of cases women are doing responsible work
as translators, interpreters, verbatim reporters. More unusual
jobs are those of cryptograph operator, art editor, or film librar­
ian.
Practically all the offices have women serving in secretarial
and other clerical capacities. The largest numbers are in the
Department of Conferences and General Services; here and else­
where many women are in charge of the production, handling,
and distribution of documents and mail, and there are women as
bilingual stenographers, transcribers, mimeograph operators.




1
APPENDIX C.

Suffrage for Women in Countries of the
World, 1946

t

Many countries are in a state of political flux; however, ac­
cording to various sources available in the fall of 1946, the fol­
lowing countries grant women the right of suffrage. (* Signifies
suffrage was obtained during or after World War II.)
‘''Albania
Australia
Austria
Brazil
♦Bulgaria (before war, limited to
married women)
Burma
Canada
China
Cuba
Czechoslovakia
Denmark
* Dominican Republic
Ecuador
♦El Salvador
Finland
♦France
♦French Indochina (before war,
limited to propertied women)
♦Guatemala
♦Hungary (before war, limited to
women over 30)
Iceland

India (British)
Irish Free State
♦Italy
♦Japan
Luxemburg
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
♦Panama
Philippines
Poland
♦Rumania
Siam
Sweden
Turkey
Union of South Africa
Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics
United Kingdom
United States of America (and
territories and possessions)
Uruguay
♦Yugoslavia

The following countries grant women limited suffrage:
Argentina (full suffrage in one prov­
ince, and municipal in one)
Belgium (local suffrage only)
Bolivia
Chile (municipal suffrage)

Mexico (provincial and municipal
suffrage)
Peru (municipal suffrage)
Portugal (local suffrage and for
election to one chamber)
♦Venezuela

The following countries do not grant women suffrage:
Afghanistan
Colombia
Costa Rica
Egypt
Greece
Haiti
Honduras




Iran
Iraq
Nicaragua
Paraguay
Saudi-Arabia
Switzerland
Syria-Lebanon

112

*

APPENDIX C—SUFFRAGE FOR WOMEN

It should also be noted that:
Germany: Had had equal suffrage under the Weimar Republic. In
recent municipal elections under occupying governments, women were granted
equal suffrage.
Indonesia: The Republican Nationalists promised suffrage to women.
There is as yet no definite provision for voting, but women hold seats on
the Central Executive Committee.
Korea: Also occupied. In the north, equal suffrage has been instituted;
in the south, passage of a law providing for universal suffrage is pending.
Spain: Women had equal suffrage under the 1931 Republic.

1

(




113

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN
PUBLICATIONS OF THE WOMEN’S BUREAU

For complete list of publications, write the Women’s Bureau.
Single copies of these publications—or a small supply for special edu­
cational purposes—may be secured through the Women’s Bureau without
charge, as long as the free supply lasts. These bulletins may be purchased
direct from the Superintendent of Documents, Washington 25, D. C., at
prices listed. A discount of 25 percent on orders of 100 or more copies is
allowed. Leaflets may be secured from the Women’s Bureau.
Bulletins Available for Distribution, Published Since 1940

No.
157.

The Legal Status of Women in the United States of America, January
1938, United States Summary. 1941. 89 pp. 15ft. No. 157-A. Cumula­
tive Supplement, 1938-1945. 31 pp. 1946. 10?!. Leaflet—Women’s Eli­
gibility for Jury Duty. June 1, 1947.
175. Earnings in the Women’s and Children’s Apparel Industry in the
Spring of 1939. 91 pp. 1940. 15?!.
176. Application of Labor Legislation to the Fruit and Vegetable Canning
and Preserving Industries. 162 pp. 1940. 20?!.
177. Earnings and Hours in Hawaii, Woman-Employing Industries, 53 pp.
1940. 10fh
178. Women’s Wages and Hours in Nebraska. 51 pp. 1940. 10jzf.
180. Employment in Service and Trade Industries in Maine. 30 pp. 1940. 10jh
182. Employment of Women in the Federal Government, 1923 to 1939. 60
pp. 1941. 10??.
183. Women Workers in Their Family Environment. (City of Cleveland,
State of Utah.) 82 pp. 1941. 15??.
185. The Migratory Labor Problem in Delaware. 24 pp. 1941. 10$?.
186. Earnings and Hours in Pacific Coast Fish Canneries. 30 pp. 1941. 10?#.
187. Labor Standards and Competitive Market Conditions in the CannedGoods Industry. 34 pp. 1941. 10?f.
188. Office Work in 5 Cities in 1940:
1, Houston (10?!) ; 2, Los Angeles (10c); 3, Kansas City (15£) ;
4, Richmond (15<t)5, Philadelphia (15?!); Chart, Salary Rates
in 5 Cities.
189. Part 1. Women’s Factory Employment in an Expanding Aircraft
Production Program. 12 pp. 1942. 5*#. (See Bull. 192-1.)
Part 4. Employment of and Demand for Women Workers in the
Manufacture of Instruments—Aircraft, Optical and Fire-Control,
and Surgical and Dental. 20 pp. 1942. 5?f.
190. Recreation and Housing for Women War Workers: A Handbook on
Standards. 40 pp. 1942. 10?!.
191. State Minimum-Wage Laws and Orders, 1942: An Analysis. 52 pp.
and 6 folders. 1942. 20?#. Supplements through 1946. Mimeo. Prog­
ress of Minimum-Wage Legislation, 1943-1945.
192. Reports on employment of women in wartime industries:
1, Aircraft Assembly Plants (10?!); 2, Artillery Ammunition
Plants (5??) ; 3, Manufacture of Cannon and Small Arms (10c1):
4, Machine Tool Industry (10<#); 5, Steel (10?#); 6, Shipyards
(20?!); 7, Foundries (10«?); 8, Army Supply Depots (10?!); 9,
Cane-Sugar Refineries (10?#).




114

APPENDIX C—SUFFRAGE FOR WOMEN

195.
196.
197.
198.
199.
200.
201.
202.

Women Workers in Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay. 15 pp. 1942. 5?f.
“Equal Pay” for Women in War Industries. 26 pp. 1942. 10?*.
Women Workers in Some Expanding Wartime Industries—New Jersey,
1942. 44 pp. 1943. 101.
Employment and Housing Problems of Migratory Workers in New
York and New Jersey Canning Industries, 1943. 35 pp. 1944. 10^.
Successful Practices in the Employment of Nonfarm Women on Farms
in the Northeastern States. 44 pp. 1944. 10?.
British Policies and Methods in Employing Women in Wartime. 44
pp. 1944. 10?.
Employment Opportunities in Characteristic Industrial Occupations
of Women. 50 pp. 1944. 10?.
State Labor Laws for Women, with Wartime Modifications, Dec. 15,
1944.
Part I. Analysis of Hour Laws. 110 pp. 1945. 15?.
Part II. Analysis of Plant Facilities Laws. 43 pp. 1945. 10(#.
Part III. Analysis of Regulatory Laws, Prohibitory Laws, Ma­
ternity Laws. 12 pp. 1945. 5?.
Part IV. Analysis of Industrial Home-Work Laws. 26 pp. 1945.
10?.

203.

Part V. Explanation and Appraisal. 66 pp. 1946. 15?.
The Outlook for Women in Occupations in the Medical and Other
Health Services.
No. 1—Physical Therapists. 14 pp. 1945. 10?.
No. 2—Occupational Therapists. 15 pp. 1945. 10c'.
No. 3.—Professional Nurses. 66 pp. 1946. 15?.
No. 4—Medical Laboratory Technicians. 10 pp. 1945. 10?*.
No. 5—Practical Nurses and Hospital Attendants. 20 pp. 1945.
10?*.

No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.

6—Medical Record Librarians. 9 pp. 1945. 10?.
*
7—Women Physicians. 28 pp. 1945. 10??.
8—X-Ray Technicians. 14 pp. 1945. 10?.
9—Women Dentists. 21 pp. 1945. 10?*.
10—Dental Hygienists. 17 pp. 1945. 10?.
11—Physicians’ and Dentists’ Assistants. 15 pp. 1946. 10??.
12—Trends and Their Effect Upon the Demand for Women
Workers. 55 pp. 1946. 15?.
204. Women’s Emergency Farm Service on the Pacific Coast in 1943. 36
pp. 1945. 10?*.
205. Negro Women War Workers. 23 pp. 1945. 10?.
206. Women Workers in Brazil. 42 pp. 1946. 10?*.
207. The Woman Telephone Worker. 38 pp. 1946. 10??.
207-A. Typical Women’s Jobs in the Telephone Industry. 52 pp. 1947. 15?*.
208. Women’s Wartime Hours of Work—The Effect on their Factory Per­
formance and Home Life. 187 pp. 1947. 35?.
209. Women Workers in Ten War Production Areas and Their Postwar
Employment Plans.
(Springfield-Holyoke, Baltimore, DaytonSpringfield, Detroit-Willow Run, Kenosha, Wichita, Mobile, SeattleTacoma, San Francisco-Oakland, and Erie County, N. Y.) 56 pp.
1946. 15?.




INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

210.
211.
212.
213.
214.
215.
216.
217.
218.
219.

Women Workers in Paraguay. 16 pp. 1946. 10<f.
Employment of Women in the Early Postwar Period, with Background
of Prewar and War Data. 14 pp. 1946. 10<L
Industrial Injuries to Women. 20 pp. 1947. lOt.
Women Workers in Peru. (In press.)
Maternity-Benefits Under Union-Contract Health Insurance Plans.
19 pp. 1947. 10j#.
Women Workers in Power Laundries. 71 pp. 1947. 20^.
Women Workers After VJ-Day in One Community—Bridgeport, Conn.
37 pp. 1947. 15<f.
International Documents on the Satus of Women. (Instant publication.)
Women’s Occupations Through Seven Decades. (In press.)
Earnings of Women Factory Workers, 1946. (In press.)

Special Bulletins

No.
2.

Lifting and Carrying Weights by Women in Industry. Rev. 1946. 12
pp. 5ff.
3. Safety Clothing for Women in Industry. 11 pp. 1941. 10$!. Supple­
ments: Safety Caps for Women Machine Operators. 4 pp. 1944. 5$!.
Safety Shoes for Women War Workers. 4 pp. 1944. 51.
4. Washing and Toilet Facilities for Women in Industry. 11 pp. 1942. 51.
10. Women’s Effective War Work Requires Good Posture. 6 pp. 1943. 5£.
13. Part-Time Employment of Women in Wartime. 17 pp. 1943. 10$!.
14. When You Hire Women. 16 pp. 1944. 10(L
15. Community Services for Women War Workers. 11 pp. 1944. 5$!.
19. The Industrial Nurse and the Woman Worker. 47 pp. 1944. 10^.
20. Changes in Women’s Employment During the War. 29 pp. 1944. 10$!.
(Chart based on statistical data also available.)
Bibliography on Night Work for Women. 1946. Multilith.

I
Leaflets
Standards for Employment of Women. Leaflet No. 1, 1946.
Training for Jobs—-For Women and Girls. Leaflet No. 1, 1947.
Equal Pay for Women. Leaflet No. 2, 1947.
Women White Collar Workers, “Re-Tool Your Thinking for Your Job To­
morrow.” 1945.
Protect Future Wage Levels Now (on minimum-wage legislation). 1946.
Unemployment Compensation—How It Works for Working Women. 1945.
Why Women Work. 1946. Multilith.
The Women’s Bureau—Its Purpose and Functions. 1946.
Your Job Future After College. 1947.
☆

U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1947-----744732




THE UNITED NATIONS
REGIONAL
SECURITY

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