Business and Professional Women/Raleigh

Business and Professional Women / Raleigh

About BPW/Raleigh

Mission: To achieve equity for all women in the workplace through advocacy, education, and information. Locally, we strive to support and educate women in business. Our goal is to make a significant contribution to our community while benefiting our members with educational programs and a variety of networking opportunities.

Benefits:

Participate in local community of women who support one another's professional efforts

Gain knowledge and skills that will enhance your business acumen

Access the local resources our members provide through our membership directory

Join or Renew

Download BPW RaleighMembership Form

Membership Benefits

Meetings: We meet on the fourth Tuesday of each month for Networking, Dinner & Program.

A Bit of the History of BPW, taken from the national site.

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. A Women's War Council, financed through a federal grant, was established by the War Department to organize the resources of professional women. The National Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs was founded on July 15, 1919. Throughout the years, three major issues shaped BPW's legislative agenda: elimination of sex discrimination in employment, the principle of equal pay, and the need for a comprehensive equal rights amendment.

The establishment of "Status of Women" commissions in the U.S. in 1963 was due largely to BPW efforts. President Kennedy recognized BPW's leading role in securing passage of the Equal Pay Act by giving BPW's National President the first pen he used when signing the Act into law.

Discussions on "comparable worth" are expanded to include enforcement and strengthening of existing Equal Pay legislation. The Pay Equity Employment Act of 1994, followed by the Equal Pay Act (introduced in 1994) and the Paycheck Fairness Act (introduced in 1997) became BPW's focus legislation through the '90s. 2003 marked the 75th Anniversary of National Business Women's Week? (NBWW).