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- Woman's clubs or women's clubs are examples of the woman's club movement. Many local clubs and national or regional federations were influential in history. The importance of some local clubs is demonstrated by their women's club buildings being listed on historic registries. In the United States, the General Federation of Women's Clubs (GFWC) became the primary umbrella organization of women's clubs in the United States. "For the later part of the nineteenth century andmuch of the twentieth century, the women's clubs were an essential vehicle for women's activity outside of the home." In New Mexico alone, a state federation grew to include 59 clubs. In Australia, the Country Women's Association had numerous clubs. Most historical women's clubs served social and charitable purposes, most of which may seem relatively uncontroversial today. These purposes have included voluntary civic service purposes such as:
* opening lending libraries and seeking funding to create permanent public libraries
* pursuing historic preservation
* advocating for women's suffrage, other rights for women
* campaigning against lynching and Jim Crow laws
* serving as professional women's clubs, comparable to historic men's clubs of London
* serving as athletic clubs or otherwise supporting sports, physical activity
* addressing sanitation and health issues
* hosting social activities, including card games
* hosting lectures and otherwise engaging in education
* addressing employment and labor conditions Some women's groups with a more activist political orientation which used "club" in their name, such as perhaps the Alpha Suffrage Club which fought for black female suffrage in Chicago, are included here, too. (en)
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