{"id":434,"date":"2017-05-19T13:58:31","date_gmt":"2017-05-19T12:58:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sigbi.org\/barnstaple\/?page_id=434"},"modified":"2020-07-05T17:23:40","modified_gmt":"2020-07-05T16:23:40","slug":"reminiscences-of-si-barnstaples-4-longest-members","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sigbi.org\/barnstaple\/reminiscences-of-si-barnstaples-4-longest-members\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a Soroptimist ?"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The blog below (June 2020) by Rachel\u00a0 Weinhold of SI Rossendale explains clearly what a Soroptimist is.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

A blog by Rachel Weinhold, SI Rossendale<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Having been a Soroptimist for several years now, I\u2019m often asked \u2018what is a Soroptimist?\u2019 and \u2018what do Soroptimists do?\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

Well, Soroptimists work to ensure that women and girls get a fair deal, in every country around the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve been doing it for 100 years now and we think it\u2019s about time the world knew about us. Which is why we\u2019ve come up with a mission statement, to help explain what we do, as Soroptimists, day in day out.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read on to find out more about our mission statement.<\/span><\/p>\n

Who Are The Soroptimists? <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a good question and, in my 4 years of being a Soroptimist, it\u2019s one I\u2019ve been asked many times. I\u2019m sure my Soroptimist sisters, some of whom have been members for 50+ years, have been asked it many more times than I.<\/span><\/p>\n

In short, The Soroptimists are an international women\u2019s charity who work to improve the lives of women and girls around the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Soroptimists have actually been around for 100 years \u2013 in fact, <\/span>it\u2019s our Centenary year in 2021<\/span><\/i><\/a>. And yet, unfortunately, we\u2019re often perceived as one of the best kept secrets amongst women\u2019s organisations.<\/span><\/p>\n

You\u2019ve probably heard of the <\/span>Women\u2019s Institute<\/span><\/i><\/a>. You\u2019ve probably even heard of the <\/span>Mother\u2019s Union<\/span><\/i><\/a>. But who\u2019s heard of the Soroptimists?<\/span><\/p>\n

Chances are, if you are aware of us, it\u2019s likely because your Mum or your Grandma were Soroptimists in their day.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, the Soroptimists are still going strong as an international women\u2019s organisation, fighting for the rights of women and girls all over the globe. In fact, there are currently about <\/span>80,000 Soroptimists<\/span><\/i><\/a> in the world, <\/span>based in over 121 territories globally<\/span><\/i><\/a> and that membership is growing year-on-year.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, you could say, we\u2019re a force to be reckoned with!.<\/span><\/p>\n

Who Are SIGBI?<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Because Soroptimism globally is such a large organisation, it is split into tiers to make it easier to administer and govern. This also ensures that every Soroptimist club is a local group made up of local women, tackling the issues that are most pressing and relevant to the women and girls in their community.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the top of the tier, we have <\/span>Soroptimist International;<\/span><\/i><\/a> the global governing body, if you like. Soroptimist International has General (Category One) Consultative Status as a non-governmental organization at the United Nations. This means that, as Soroptimists, women have a seat at the highest tables of power in the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

Soroptimist International is then split into four groups, or Federations, as they\u2019re called. One of which is Soroptimist International of Great Britain & Ireland.<\/span><\/p>\n

Soroptimist International of Great Britain and Ireland (SIGBI) covers Great Britain and some countries in India, Africa and The Caribbean (although the African countries will shortly be leaving SIGBI to form their own <\/span>Africa Federation<\/span><\/i><\/a>)………………….<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The blog below (June 2020) by Rachel\u00a0 Weinhold of SI Rossendale explains clearly what a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":579,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-434","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat is a Soroptimist ? | SI Barnstaple and District | SIGBI<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"SIGBI : SI Barnstaple and District : What is a Soroptimist ? : SI Barnstaple and District is part of a worldwide organisation of women, find more information regarding the What is a Soroptimist ? here.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sigbi.org\/barnstaple\/reminiscences-of-si-barnstaples-4-longest-members\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What is a Soroptimist ? 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