"If one trend joins the philanthropy of 19th century women to that of the 20th and the 21st, irrespective of class, creed, or political orientation, it is the tendency for women to work in groups."
Throughout the 20th century, possibilities for women’s active involvement in philanthropy expanded for a number of reasons: the award of political citizenship for women; rapid economic growth after World War Two; shifts in population size and composition with a surge in the migrant population; the development of the formal philanthropic foundation; and the social upheaval of the 1960s and 70s, particularly the expansion of education and the rise of second wave feminism. With access to employment and the freedom to earn their own money, the social and financial position of women was being completely reshaped. From the 1970s onward, a number of philanthropic foundations took the lead in pushing for social change, and many of them were driven by women.
To read Barbara's article in Philanthropy Australia Magazine click here