Page 1 - Rotary Matters - September 2022

September 2022 DG Newsletter

Dear fellow Rotarians, partners and friends of Rotary,

Recently I had a little unplanned spare time at home. Kathryn was needing
to isolate with Covid-19, as a “close contact”- I too was confined to ‘barracks’.

I viewed more television than I would normally. One evening, doing my usual
“flick through channels”, was surprised and attracted
to a white, green and purple flag on the screen. My initial reaction,
was that it was something to do with promoting Imagine Rotary
– but after referring to the Programme Guide, was to learn that it
was movie – Suffragette, starring Meryl Streep, playing the role of
Emmeline Pankhurst.

The movie portrayed the Women’s
Freedom League of 1907 and their
struggle to gain Votes for Women in
Public Elections in the UK.
It involved their civil disobedience,
their hunger strikes to gain
attention and their Direct Action
– jailed for their enthusiasm.
I drew comparisons, that Rotary had been formed two years earlier – those founding fathers
probably never envisaging that one day, not only would Women be afforded membership –
they would not have Imagined Rotary being headed by a Female.

The debates, discussion, the anxiety, the confusion, the misunderstanding associated with the
changes to constitutions after the 1989 Council of Legislation vote are still vivid in my mind.
“Fellow delegates, I would like to remind you that the world of 1989 is very different to
the world of 1905.
I sincerely believe that Rotary has to adapt itself to a changing world”
said Franklin J Devlyn, who went on to be RI President in 2000-01.

I know in my own club, that we lost several long serving Rotarians who
couldn’t or wouldn’t accept the changes. One of those men, had been a
member for over 25 years with 100% attendance – he lived Rotary.
But walked away not accepting change. Yet 32 years later, upon his
recommendation, his daughter was inducted as a member of our club.
Her father returned to a Rotary Meeting for the first time to share her
induction – admitting he was wrong. “Where would Rotary be if Women hadn’t been allowed
to join”.

RI had set a target of 30% membership of Women by 2023. D9510 can boast 31.9% in 2022.

But as we celebrate these statistics – I hope that as we continue to embrace Diversity Equity
and Inclusion – the struggles and the anxieties will not be repeated.

continued over....