National Women's Political Caucus

The National Women's Political Caucus (NWPC) describes itself as a multi-partisan grassroots organization in the United States dedicated to recruiting, training, and supporting women who seek elected and appointed offices at all levels of government. The Caucus offers training, technical assistance, and advice for political candidates, campaign managers, and trainers, with state and local chapters providing support to candidates running at state and local levels by helping raise money and providing hands-on volunteer assistance. History Organizing Convention "The group's main purpose is to get women into positions of power, women who are committed to the causes of other women - not women who are going to just imitate the male politics as it has been practiced all these years complete with elitism, racism and prejudice against women, but women who really care about their sisters and will work for social reform. " -Gloria Steinem describing the purpose of the NWPC, July 1971.An Organizing Convention for the NWPC was hosted in Washington, D.C. from July 10 to 11, 1971. Approximately 324 women were in attendance, representing 27 states and the District of Columbia; attendees included Bella Abzug, Shirley Chisholm, Betty Friedan, Fannie Lou Hamer, LaDonna Harris, Mildred Jeffrey, Florynce Kennedy, Jill Ruckelshaus, and Gloria Steinem. At the founding meeting, Steinem delivered an Address to the Women of America, in which she characterized feminism as a "revolution" that meant striving for a society free of racism and sexism; the speech, delivered at the height of the women's movement, became a milestone in U.S. female oratory.