Federation / Foundation Mission Statement Prior to July 1, 2009, the Federation mission statement was: The mission of BPW / USA shall be to achieve equity for all women in the workplace through advocacy, education, and information.
Following the merger, the BPW Foundation mission statement became: The Business and Professional Womenʼs Foundation( BPW Foundation) empowers workingwomen to achieve their full potential and partners with employers to build successful workplaces through education, research, knowledge and policy.
BPW / TN Mission Statement
The mission of BPW / TN shall be to achieve equity for all women in the workplace through advocacy, education, and information.
The Collect
Keep us, O God, from pettiness; let us be large in thought, in word, in deed. Let us be done with fault-finding and leave off self-seeking. May we put away all pretense and meet each other face to face, without self-pity and without prejudice May we never be hasty in judgment and always generous. Let us take time for all things, make us grow calm, serene, gentle. Teach us to put into action our better impulses, straightforward and unafraid. Grant that we may realize it is the little things that create differences, that in the big things of life we are at one. And may we strive to touch and to know the great common human heart of us all, and O Lord God, let us forget not to be kind!... Mary Stewart History of the Collect Mary Stewart wrote the collect in 1904 as a member of the Fortnightly Clubs, the forerunner of the Longmont, Colorado BPW Club. The collect was written as a prayer to instill a sense of unity among women working together with wide interests and important goals. Mary Stewart worked for womenʼs suffrage nationally and attended the meeting in St. Louis in 1919 at which the national federation was launched. She was elected its first corresponding secretary and thereafter took an active part in the growth of the young organization by service as chairman or member of a number of national committees.
The collect was reprinted in many forms around the world. Miss Stewart, who until 1910 signed the collect with her pen name,“ Mary Stuart,” remained involved in BPW until her death in 1943.
The Emblem
In 1920, at the St. Paul National Convention, with Gail Laughlin as president, a committee was appointed to select an emblem typifying the emergence of women in the business world, with vision and courage for unlimited possibilities and growth in an organization of business and professional women. This committee was composed of Fern Bauersfeld of Kansas, Nina B. Price of New York, and Georgia Emery of Michigan.
In February 1921, under the leadership of Lena Lake Forrest, second national president, the committee selected from a number of designs the one in use until July 2009.
Emblem Symbols
The emblem of BPW / TN [ and formerly of BPW / USA ] consists of the following symbols: Nike— The Winged Victory of Samothrace; symbol of strength, progress, freedom, triumph, facing squarely the winds and waves of prejudice and other limitations. Torch— symbol of light, wisdom, principle, and leadership. Wand— winged staff of Mercury; herald of a new day for women and symbol of opportunity, equality, cooperation, healing, harmony, and power. Ship of Commerce— symbol of activity and growth, economic independence, and adventures in friendship. Scroll— symbol of achievement; typifies our faith, ideals and accomplishments, while denoting our obligation to the future.
These symbols are within the Golden Circle. The circle, representing the globe, signifies unbroken harmony and endless friendship. The components of the completed circle are illumination, vigor, tranquility, development, and victory.
2 July 2009