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About Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland (SIGBI)

Educate. Empower. Enable

Soroptimist International is a global volunteer women’s organisation working together to transform the lives of women and girls with nearly 66,000 Members in 121 countries. Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland (SIGBI) has over 5,000 Members in over 250 Clubs in 17 countries including Great Britain, Ireland and countries in Asia and the Caribbean, who work at a local, national and international level to educate, empower and enable opportunities for women and girls.

Find your local club

Join the 66,000 Soroptimists worldwide, the majority of whom belong to their local Club, where they can make friends with like-minded women, have fun and work on projects that help improve the lives of women and girls locally, nationally and internationally.

View Club Finder

What We Do

As a member of SIGBI you can have fun and work on projects that help improve the lives of women and girls locally, nationally and internationally.

Find out more

Who We Are

Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland (SIGBI) has over 5,000 Members in 250 Clubs in 17 countries including Great Britain, Ireland and countries in Asia and the Caribbean, who work at a local, national and international level to educate, empower and enable opportunities for women and girls.

Find out more

Benefits of joining an international women’s organisation

Become Part Of An

International Women’s Organisation

Improve Lives

Improve lives of women and girls

Make Friends

Meet like minded members

Travel The World

Opportunities to travel abroad

Volunteer

Opportunities to volunteer

Attend Conferences

Annual conference & meetings

Stay Updated

View our online magazine

Get Rewards

Access to Members’ Rewards Portal

Become A Member

Making A Difference Worldwide

109403
Women & Girls Helped
66000
Soroptimists Worldwide
5500
SIGBI Members
250
SIGBI Clubs Worldwide

Recent Articles

View Articles

New Domestic Violence Resource Celebrated by Soroptimists During 2024 Best Practice Awards

A new domestic violence resource called ‘Fresh Thoughts’ has been celebrated by Soroptimist International Great…

Celebrating our 90th year by relaunching our national railway safety project

On 1-3 November, Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland (SIGBI) – which has consultancy status…

SIGBI response to 2024 Budget

Autumn Budget Reaction. Comment provided by Ruth Healey, President at registered women’s charity, Soroptimist International…

Frequently Asked Questions

Please find a selection of Frequently Asked Questions that may help you, if you have further questions, please contact us.

The name Soroptimist was coined from the Latin soror meaning sister, and optima meaning best.

Soroptimist is perhaps best interpreted as ‘the best for women’. From the founding of the first Soroptimist club in Oakland, California, in 1921, through to the present day where over 3000 Clubs are flourishing throughout the world, Soroptimists have continued to strive as a women’s organisation to achieve ‘the best for women’ in every sphere of their lives.

We are an international women’s organisation and together our Members are a global voice for women.

Our achievements have a huge impact on the lives of women and girls. We are an organisation with special consultative status at the United Nations (UN) through the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). In addition we make friends and have fun!

Benefits of joining this international women’s organisation include:

The opportunity to contribute to improving the lives of women and girls by doing projects with other women
The opportunity to meet Soroptimists in other countries when travelling abroad
Regular newsletters
The opportunity to attend our annual Conference, Regional Conferences and Club Meetings

1) Club Membership

Join a local Club, attend regular meetings and events and participate fully in their project work which is local, national and international whilst enjoying close friendships forged through regular Club attendance. Be part of a global women’s organisation.

Interested? You can search for your nearest Club or if you know your local Club complete the online form. Then hold tight, your local Club will be in touch soon.

If there isn’t a Club in your area, why not start one? Contact the SIGBI Membership Officer sally@sigbi.org to find out more.

2) Associate Membership

Associate Membership is open to women who believe in what we do, want to be involved, but can’t commit to Club Membership. You will learn about our organisation and get involved in our project work to improve the lives of women and girls through our magazine, website, social media and email updates. This is an online membership although Members can attend our annual conference and may be invited to attend local Club and regional events.

To join a local Club and be part of this global women’s organisation, attend regular meetings and events and participate fully in their project work which is local, national and international whilst enjoying close friendships forged through regular Club attendance.

Interested? You can search for your nearest Club or if you know your local Club complete the online form. Then hold tight, your local Club will be in touch soon.

If there isn’t a Club in your area, why not start one? Contact the SIGBI Membership Officer, please visit: https://sigbi.org/get-involved/membership/

Contact SIGBI

To contact Soroptimist International Great Britain & Ireland (SIGBI) or for information about how to join, please fill in the enquiry form.

For urgent matters, please call our head office:

+44 (0)161 480 7686