Women Admitted as Members 30 Years Ago
Posted by Jim Dunny on Aug 14, 2016
History of Women in Rotary (See the timeline here.)
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In 1983 the Rotary Club of Duarte, CA admitted into membership, Dr. Sylvia Whitlock, a local school principle. When Rotary International discovered that S. Whitlock was Sylvia Whitlock, Rotary revoked the charter of the Duarte Club for violation of the standard Rotary Club bylaw prohibiting female membership. The Ex-Rotary Club of Duarte promptly sued Rotary International. Rotary's right to restrict membership was upheld by the trial court.
However, the Duarte Club appealed this decision to the California Court of Appeals where in 1986, the decision of the trial court was overturned. The California Supreme Court denied a request to hear the case, which meant that, in California, women had to be admitted as members. An appeal to the United States Supreme Court resulted in the decison handed down on May 4, 1987 that Rotary clubs may not exclude women as members.
Rotary then issued a policy statement that any United States Rotary club could admit qualified women into membership. Sylvia Whitlock was elected president of the reinstated Rotary Club in 1987-88 to become the first woman to be a president of a Rotary club. The Rotary Club of Marin Sunrise, California (formerly Larkspur Landing), was chartered on 28 May 1987. It becomes the first club after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling to have women as charter members. At the first meeting of the Council on Legislation after the US Supreme Court decision (in 1989), the bylaws were officially changed to remove the "male only" language in the standard Rotary bylaws for Rotary clubs around the world.