History

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy created the President's Council on the Status of Women with Eleanor Roosevelt as its first  Chairman. The report issued by that Council encouraged each state to create a similar organization to look at current legal status, potential problems of gender bias and key quality of life issues facing women and families.

Governor Henry Bellmon established the first Governor's Commission on the Status of Women during his first term as Governor in 1965. Each Governor thereafter established either a Committee or a Commission by Executive Order and appointed a group of individuals to server. The size of the Commission ranged from 20 to 90 at the pleasure of each Governor.

There were several problems associated with not having a permanent Commission in place: each Commission started again new with apparently little continuity of programming or issue concentration; it took several months before the Commissions were able to start developing a plan for action; there was no transfer of documentation between Commissions; and there were no long range plans developed to address the problems facing Oklahoma women and families. Those Commissions were never funded by the State of Oklahoma. Any support for their activities was provided by the Governor's office and on a limited basis.

The new permanent Oklahoma Commission on the Status of Women was created by SB1147 in 1994 to replace the Governor's Commission and establish permanent status. With the help of Governor David Waiters, Speaker Glen Johnson and Senate President Pro Tempore, Bob Cullison, Senator Angela Monson and Representative Laura Boyd were able to establish the Oklahoma Commission on the Status of Women by state statute. The appointments are now made by the Governor, Senate President Pro Tempore and the Speaker of the House and consist of 30 members appointed for five year terms. The initial appointment terms were staggered. By statute, the terms will end on June 30th of each year. However, the commission chose a fiscal year to run concurrently with the calendar year.

During the second term of Governor Henry Bellmon, the Commission established a Governor's Commission on the Status of Women Fund, a separate 501 (c)(3) organization to support the educational activities of the Commission. This non-profit organization, which is totally separate from the Commission, has been renamed The Women's Fund and has been expanded to support educational and charitable activities to improve quality of life for the women and families of Oklahoma. It continues to support the projects of the Commission as appropriate.

OPM Home Page