I have been working on organizing photographs, many of which were left to me from the passing of my parents several years ago.
The photo in this article is of my two namesakes – my great-aunt Sarah and my paternal Grandmother, Kathryn. They were taken around the same time our club was started in 1925, I’m guessing in the Holmesburg section of Philadelphia, where they were raised with my great-uncles.
Never in a million years would either my Aunt or my Grandmother dream of leading anything; it wasn’t a part of their mindset. They completed 8th grade and then went to work. My Grandmother stayed home and cared for their wheelchair bound mother who suffered from Arthritis – 70 years later, we assume it was the crippling Rheumatoid Arthritis my sister suffered from, since RA can run in families. My grandmother was a caregiver her entire life. She cared for her mother, her son, and her grandchildren. She was the best.
When I was in middle school, my mother decided to return to higher education. It was my grandmother who moved in and took on me and my two siblings. Both her and my father were supportive of my mother. In addition to my sister being chronically ill her entire life, we were not the easiest children to keep after. To make a long story short, my mother completed two master’s degrees and went on to become the second woman in the Franconia Mennonite Conference to be ordained. In the mid-1980s, that was trailblazing – good grief – today it’s still trailblazing! My mother often said, if it wasn’t for her mother-in-law, my Grandmother, she would never have become the leader she was.
A few weeks ago, Mina Yi-Merizalde, President of the Rotary Club of Media, joined us. She spoke about the power of DEI – Diversity, Equity and Inclusion – in her own story. Her story has made me think often about how DEI has played a part in my own story, granted, not nearly as life-changing as Mina’s story! Most men, especially in the 1980s, did not have to worry about childcare. My Grandmother took on the caregiving, which allowed my mother to pursue education without worrying about childcare. It may not seem like a lot, but looking at the larger picture, it really was.
On May 4, 1987, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Rotary clubs may not exclude women from membership based on gender. Jennifer Jones became the first woman president of Rotary International in 2022. It took 35 years for a woman to become president of Rotary International. Thirty-Five Years! The first woman to become president of our club was in 1998, Barbara McClennen. It took 11 years for our club to have a woman president, and in 100 years since our founding, we have had six women lead the club.
This article is not about putting down the male members of our club. However, it is about HOW did the almost all male membership created an equitable space for a woman to lead our club?
I think this is a great opportunity for us to reflect on how women rose to leadership through our club. What can we glean from our past? What can past women leaders share with our club about leading the ST Rotary?
Looking at the next 100 years, we are going to need to be mindful of all members. We need to ensure that everyone, regardless of their background or identity, has the support and resources they need to thrive. When members of our club are successful, our club will be successful.
Thank you for supporting all members of our club to continue building into the next 100 years!
In Rotary
Sarah Bergin
President