80,000 Soroptimists Worldwide
There are nearly 80,000 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.
Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland (SIGBI) also offers Associate Membership, for busy women who believe in what we do but do not have the time to get involved in Club activities.
Soroptimist International (SI) and SIGBI both have consultative status at the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) at the United Nations (UN), which gives us a voice on important discussion papers, and allows us to attend the Commission on the Status of Women in New York each March, and contribute to the “Agreed Conclusions”. This status would not be possible without the fantastic work being done by our Members.
Our Work
Clubs choose projects to work on that tackle one or more of the five P’s, below. All the United Nations 17 Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) fit into one of these P’s:
- People – SDGs 1-5
- Prosperity – SDGs7-11
- Planet – SDG6 and 12-15
- Peace – SDG 16
- Partnership – SDG17
All our work is linked to the Sustainable Development Goals whether it’s local, national or international. All projects work towards ending poverty, eradicating hunger, providing education for all and preserving the environment.
Club Members and Associate Members can support their projects by practical and/or financial support, or by Advocacy (lobbying governments and raising awareness of the issue).
Recent projects by regional clubs include
- Knitting Trauma Bears for traumatised children
- Tree planting in coastal park
- Tackling Period Poverty
- Lobbying re FGM
- Monetary award for 6th form girl to study STEM subject at university
- Anti-slavery marches in local towns and cities
- Running a food bank
- Collecting blister packs for Marie Curie
- Activism against gender-based violence
We also have a lot of FUN and FRIENDSHIP.
Organisation-wide Projects
As well as supporting their own projects, Clubs and Members also support a number of SI and SIGBI charities and projects. Full details of all these, as well as the opportunity to donate to them, are given on the SIGBI ‘Our Charities’ page.