The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) is an international non-governmental organization with 25 national sections on 5 continents. Founded in 1919, WILPF's mission is to create a just peaceful world through the empowerment of women, nonviolence, and human rights. WILPF addresses issues such as racism, sexism, economic injustice, and militarism through practices like advocacy, education, and members learning from each other. Both WILPF and the social work profession focus on enhancing human well-being, meeting basic needs, and empowering vulnerable groups in a social context.

1. Women’s International League
for Peace and Freedom
Henry Garcia
California State University, Fresno

2. WILPF
• WILPF's first International President was Jane
Addams, founder of Hull House in Chicago and
the first U.S. woman to win the Nobel Peace
Prize.

3. WILPF cont…
• WILPF works to create an environment of
political, economic, social and psychological
freedom for all members of the human
community, so that true peace can be enjoyed
by all.

4. WILPF International Organizational
Charts
International Congress
Executive Committee
International Office
International
Representatives (UN,
UNESCO, FAO, ILO,
UNICEF)
Standing Committees
Project Coordinators
Regional Coordinators
National Section

5. Community of Context
• Because WILPF is an international organization,
branches and members can be found in a variety
of global communities.
• WILPF now has 25 national sections on five
continents.
• In the U.S. section, members and branches across
the country are supported by a national office in
Philadelphia, a legislative office in Washington,
DC, and a non-governmental (NGO)
representatives at the UN.

6. Populations-at-risk whose needs the
agency addresses
• the equality of all people in a world free of
sexism, racism, classism, and homophobia
• the guarantee of fundamental human rights
including the right to sustainable development
• an end to all forms of violence: rape, battering,
exploitation, intervention and war
• the transfer of world resources from military to
human needs, leading to economic justice within
and among nations
• and, world disarmament and peaceful resolution
of international conflicts via the United Nations.

7. WILPF Mission
WILPF members create the peaceful transformation they
wish to see in the world by making connections that:
• Provide continuity with the past so that knowledge of
historical events and patterns informs current activities
for change
• Create analysis and action that reflect and reinforce
each other
• Link and challenge root causes of oppression, especially
racism, sexism, heterosexism, militarism, economic
disparity, and political disempowerment
• Build and strengthen relationships and movements for
justice, peace, and radical democracy

8. WILPF Aims
• WILPF envisions a transformed world at peace,
where there is racial, social, and economic justice
for all people everywhere - a world in which:
• The needs of all people are met in a fair and
equitable manner
• All people equally participate in making the
decisions that affect them
• The interconnected web of life is acknowledged
and celebrated in diverse ways and communities
• Human societies are designed and organized for
sustainable existence.

9. WILPF: Agency Practices
• The agency’s practices include:
• teaching
• learning from each other
• advocating

10. Significance of WILPF in terms of social
justice, social work values, and human
rights
• Both WILPF and the profession of Social Work:
• enhance human wellbeing and help meet the basic
human needs of all people, with particular attention to
the needs and empowerment of people who are
vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty.
• a historic and defining feature of social work is the
profession’s focus on individual wellbeing in a social
context and the wellbeing of society. Fundamental to
social work is attention to the environmental forces
that create, contribute to, and address problems in
living.