United Nations Decade for Women 7.3.1980

United Nations Decade for Women, program that began on January 1, 1976, the goal of which was the promotion of equal rights and opportunities for women around the world.

Included in this decade were three major meetings for women. The first UN women’s conference, held in Mexico City in 1975, designated 1975–85 as the UN Decade for Women, and five months later the UN General Assembly launched that program. The second UN women’s conference was held in Copenhagen in 1980, and the third UN women’s conference was held in Nairobi in 1985. The participants at these meetings discussed issues such as pay equity, violence against women, landholding, and basic human rights.

The UN Decade for Women concentrated mainly on women and development. The UN women’s conference in Mexico City produced two major documents: the “Declaration of Mexico on the Equality of Women and Their Contribution to Development and Peace” and the “World Plan of Action for the Implementation of the Objectives of the International Women’s Year.” The conference in Copenhagen was used to report on progress since the Mexico City meeting and produced a “Programme of Action.” The conference in Nairobi celebrated the accomplishments of the Decade for Women and established an agenda that would guide future efforts to promote worldwide equality for women. The Nairobi conference adopted a document titled “The Nairobi Forward-Looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women.” A Fourth World Conference on Women was held in Beijing in September 1995 to accelerate the implementation of the policies outlined in that document.

The UN Decade for Women and its conferences helped establish the legitimacy of women’s issues regarding their roles as workers in the home and outside it. The decade also brought the many inequalities women face in education, health care, and work to the attention of national leaders and the general public.

Thank you Merja.

2002 International Women's Day 8.3.2002

International Women's Day 2002. International Women's Day (IWD), originally called International Working Women's Day, is celebrated on March 8 every year. In different regions the focus of the celebrations ranges from general celebration of respect, appreciation, and love towards women to a celebration for women's economic, political, and social achievements. Started as a Socialist political event, the holiday blended the culture of many countries, primarily in Europe, especially those in the Soviet Bloc. In some regions, the day lost its political flavor, and became simply an occasion for people to express their love for women in a way somewhat similar to a mixture of Mother's Day and Valentine's Day. In other regions, however, the political and human rights theme designated by the United Nations runs strong, and political and social awareness of the struggles of women worldwide are brought out and examined in a hopeful manner. Some people celebrate the day by wearing purple ribbons.

Thank you Merja.

General Federation of Woman’s Clubs 12.9.1966

1966 5¢ General Federation of Woman’s Clubs stamp issued on September 12, 1966 Celebrated the 75th anniversary of the General Federation of Women's Clubs that range in projects from aiding school dropouts to encouraging international understanding.

Thank you Merja.

100 years of women’s progress

U.S. 3¢ dark violet Progress of Women stamp commemorates 100 years of women’s progress. The stamp pictures Elizabeth Stanton, Carrie C. Catt, and Lucretia Mott. It was issued on 19.7.1948 at Seneca Falls, NY.

100th Anniversary of the First Women’s Rights Convention. This stamp was issued on the 100th anniversary of the first women’s rights convention in the United States. Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902) and Lucretia Coffin Mott (1793-1880) met while attempting to attend the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London – women were kept from attending the conference. Outraged, the two pledged to work for women’s rights.  Stanton and Mott organized the first women’s rights conference in the U.S. in Seneca Falls, New York. Many famous Americans, including Frederick Douglass, attended the two-day event, held July 19-20, 1848.

Carrie Chapman Catt (1859-1947) was the president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association from 1900-04 and from 1915-20, when the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote. In 1920, she founded the National League of Women Voters, now the League of Women Voters, to teach women about public affairs so that they could vote wisely. Today, the Women’s Rights National Historic Park stands near the spot where the Seneca Falls Convention was held.

Thank you Merja for this memorable cover which was postmarked at Seneca Falls, NY on the first day of issue.