International Council of Women Collected Records

International Council of Women: ICW; in the 1880s the American suffragettes Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony contacted several women's advocates in France and Great Britain (Margaret E. Parker, Priscilla Bright McLaren, Margaret Bright Lucas, Alice Lyle Scatcherd, Hubertine Auclert, Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Stanton, and Charlotte B. Wilbour) hoping to create an organization dedicated to the question of women's suffrage. The goal of the organization was to promote unity and mutual understanding between women working for the common good. On March 25, 1888, during a conference organized by the National Women's Suffrage Association in Washington, D.C., the International Council of Women (ICW) was officially formed. Its intention was not merely to bring together women from across the globe, but also to provide coordination for national women's movements. As such, the ICW was intended as a federation of national organizations. To this end, national councils -- umbrella organizations for various women's organizations in each country -- were established. The first three countries to found national councils were the United States (1893), Canada (1897), and Germany (1897). These three national councils were followed by many more in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Argentina established a national council and joined the ICW in 1901, and Austria followed suit two years later.--Encyclopedia of Women Social Reformers.