Business and Professional Women's Club (BPW) 1946-1952

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Collection SummaryThe collection consists of material related to the Business and Professional Women’s Club located in Hot Springs, Montana between 1946-1952. The club is no longer active, but assisted in making Hot Springs a better place. The Club took on various projects around the region. The legacy of Business and Professional Women/USA began in 1919. While mobilizing for World War I, the U.S. Government recognized the need for a cohesive group to coordinate identification of women's available skills and experience. BPW worked throughout the 1930s to prohibit legislation or directives denying jobs to married women and lobbied successfully to legislatively end the legal practice of workplace preference for unmarried persons and, in the case of married persons, preference for males. At the advent of World War II, BPW developed a classification system for women with specialized skills critical to the war effort 2 of 3 and supported the formation of women's branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. Immediately following the war, the Women's Equal Pay Act (1945) - the first ever legislation to require equal pay - was introduced in the U.S. Congress. It was another 18 years before an equal pay bill made its way to the President's desk to be signed into law.Contributing InstitutionLaRue Hot Springs Museum

Business and Professional Women's Club (BPW) 1946-1952

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Business and Professional Women's Club (BPW) 1946-1952

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