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Women's Movement

The women's movement has strongly influenced ideas about leadership throughout its history. The women's movement spans from approximately the early 1800s to the present time. The first wave of the women's movement began in the 1800s and tapered off during the 1940s as industrialized countries granted women the vote, which was one of the early goals of the movement. A revival of the women's movement termed the “second wave” began during the mid to late 1960s, focusing on the status of women in society. As this struggle continued and positive changes occurred, a younger generation of women emerged during the 1990s with a different perspective and their generation is considered the “third wave” of the women's movement. This wave coexists with the organizations and goals of secondwave feminists. During the first wave, the fact that women took leadership roles to fight for women's suffrage and other rights was significant, because it meant that women became leaders in the public sphere. While this continued to be true to some extent during the second wave, it is also true that during the second wave women challenged traditional notions of leadership. Currently, in the third wave, some organizations within the women's movement are offering feminist leadership training.

The First Wave: Women's Suffrage

Women first became leaders in the women's movement during the battle for women's suffrage. New Zealand was the first country to grant women suffrage, doing so in 1893. Kate Sheppard (1847–1934) of New Zealand's Women's Christian Temperance Union was instrumental in the fight for suffrage, as were Harriet Morison (c. 1862–1925), Marion Hatton (1835–1905), and Helen Nicol (1854–1932), who organized the first Women's Franchise League. Meri Te Tai Mangakahia (1868–1920) successfully fought for the inclusion of Maori women. (The Maori are New Zealand's indigenous population.) New Zealand women's early victory in gaining the vote inspired leaders of the women's suffrage movement all over the world.

The fight for suffrage and other women's rights was international. The International Council of Women (ICW) was founded in 1887, with Ishbel Aberdeen (1857–1939), from the United Kingdom, as its first president. The International Women's Suffrage Alliance (IWSA) was formed in 1904, with Carrie Chapman Catt (1859–1947), from the United States, as its president. Many women were influential in their own countries as well as in the international struggle for suffrage. In Japan, Ichikawa Fusae (1893–1981) was one of the founders of Fusen Kakutoku Domei (Women's Suffrage League). She led the women's suffrage movement in Japan, which granted suffrage for women, the right to be a candidate and to attend political meetings in 1945. Subsequent to these victories, Fusae was elected to Parliament five separate times between the years of 1953 and 1980. Huda Shaarawi (1879–1947) founded the Egyptian Feminist Union in 1923 and was its president for twenty-four years. The EFU fought for women's suffrage, advances in education, and legal reforms for women. Shaarawi was the Vice President of the International Alliance of Women for Suffrage and Equal Citizenship in 1935.

Connections with Other Movements

The women's movement in the first wave not only was international but also addressed issues of race and class oppression. Feminist leaders were strengthened by their ties to other movements, even when controversy and disagreement arose between leaders of these movements. Many U.S. women had been brought to an understanding of women's position in society during their fight for the abolition of slavery. In the United States, Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815–1902) met Lucretia Mott (1793–1880) at an antislavery convention in 1840. As a result of this meeting, they organized the Women's Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848. Susan B. Anthony (1820–1906) met Elizabeth Cady Stanton at an abolitionist meeting in 1851 and they began a partnership of shared leadership. Together they formed the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) in 1869. Sojourner Truth (1797–1883), a former slave, became a leader in both the antislavery movement and the feminist movement and is best known for her speech “Ain't I a Woman,” given at the Women's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio, in 1851. Many women were involved in the struggle for women's rights and the right of labor to organize and were leaders in both of these areas. Kate Mullany (1845–1906) is an example of a woman who was both a feminist and a labor leader. She worked with Susan B. Anthony and others suffragists on the needs of women workers, and in 1864 formed the Collar Laundry Union, the first female union in the United States.

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