On Tuesday, Sept. 24, women from all five Williamson County Rotary Clubs and their guests gathered at The Sapphire Suite to celebrate the 35 years since women joined their male counterparts in Rotary International. Rotary leaders from each Rotary Club spoke about their clubs and welcomed a special guest from across the world.
“This is the first year we’ve had three women Franklin presidents at the same time,” said Michelle Watkins, a member of the Rotary Club of Franklin.
These leaders — Phyllis Molyneux of the Rotary Club of Franklin at Breakfast, Christina McClary of the Rotary Club of Downtown Franklin and Meghan Guffee of the Rotary Club of Franklin — follow in the footsteps of many women who came before them to create a space for themselves in Rotaries across the world.
“Women haven’t always been a part of Rotary,” said Suzie Lindsey, a Rotary district leader. “The awesome thing about this anniversary is this year’s president of Rotary International is a woman for the first time ever.”
When women were first allowed into Rotary clubs 35 years ago, the move may have seemed behind the curve of women’s rights movements. But as an international organization, it took time for Rotary to get a consensus from its branches all around the world.
“Rotary is an international organization and there are some countries in our world where women are not afforded the same level of rights as men,” Guffee said. “It took a long time to get every constitution of every club changed in all the countries.”According to Guffee, India, the U.S. and the United Kingdom were the first countries to petition Rotary to include women – a serendipitous fact considering a Rotary member from India was visiting the group.
Helena Virani heard about the event on social media as she was visiting the area and exchanged flags with the Franklin Rotaries in a symbol of the ties between their two organizations. She said her experiences as a woman in Rotary in India have been slightly different than her American counterparts, but some things about being a female leader are universal.
“When I joined, you had to have your husband in Rotary, so I kind of dragged my husband,” Virani said. “I was president [for a year] — not that it was a cake walk. The men don’t like to be told what to do.”
The event also collected donations for a local nonprofit, The Oak Cottage for Women, which houses and supports women after incarceration. Even the venue was women-centered as The Sapphire Suite is designed to support female entrepreneurs and businesswomen in the community.
Story edited from a feature in the Williamson Herald.
