WomenSpace (1975-1995) was an organization designed to bring together existing women's organizations to promote women's advocacy and to allay duplication of services and events. It was inspired by the Greater Cleveland Congress gathering in honor of the 1975 International Year of the Woman event, sponsored by the United Nations in its quest to promote human rights. WomenSpace enabled member organizations to share resources and act as a collective power to work for the betterment of women and support social change. WomenSpace opened its first center in the Cleveland Metro Y.W.C.A. in January of 1976 under the leadership of President Roberta Steinbacher and Executive Director Jane Campbell.
In time, WomenSpace began to focus more on directly servicing the Cleveland community. It took control of a Helpline first created by a small group of feminists concerned with the welfare of women in 1972, and later run by the Cleveland Women's Council from 1973-1978. WomenSpace also promoted and held numerous events, including the Women At Work Exposition (later called "Options"), and Women In Skilled Employment. The Women At Work Exposition began in 1980 under the aegis of Barbara McLean and consisted of seminars, workshops, programs, and study sessions to assist women in the workplace and in finding employment. Women In Skilled Employment worked to close the earning gap between men and women and promoted women entering workplaces considered as "non-traditional". This resulted in, among other things, an increase of women working in the field for the Ohio Department of Transportation and the passing of the City Contracts for Women Coalition law of 1984 in Cleveland, promoting business enterprises for women.
Additionally, WomenSpace was the birthplace of the Women and Alcohol Project. Founded by Dagmar Celeste in November of 1980, it worked to aid in the prevention of and recovery from drug and alcohol abuse. Also created was the Domestic Violence Outreach Project, which gathered organizations focused on the issue of domestic abuse to provide education and services to the community. This project was responsible for the passing of a surtax on marriage licenses in the state of Ohio for the benefit of shelters for women. The first shelter in Cleveland for homeless and/or abused women and children in Cleveland was the Zelma George Shelter, which opened in 1986, and was sponsored by WomenSpace. WomenSpace was presented with the Anisfield-Wolf Award in 1988 for outstanding service in the shelter.
Due to a drop in membership and decreases in funds brought upon in part by the same duplication of services WomenSpace was created to avoid, WomenSpace closed its doors on April 26, 1995. WomenSpace had been funded by a combination of foundation grants, government subsidies, contributions by individuals and corporations, membership dues, and proceeds from events and programs. However, an endowment fund was never created, and the organization could not maintain its financial integrity, finding itself with little staff and $30,000 in debt. By switching to a philosophy of direct service to the community rather than advocacy, WomenSpace had greater financial requirements than it was capable of handling.
The WomenSpace Records, 1969-1994 and undated, consist primarily of agendas, annual reports, balance sheets, brochures, budgets, bylaws, contact records, contracts, correspondence, financial statements, grant proposals, lists, magazine articles, manuals, memoranda, minutes, newsletters, newspaper clippings, notes, press releases, publicity material, reports, research, resource material, rosters, speech texts, and surveys.
This collection is of value to researchers studying both gender issues and the history of the Women's Movement during the 1970s through the mid 1990s. This collection is useful for researchers interested in the national women's movement as well as the Cleveland, Ohio, area movement and groups within that movement. WomenSpace was dedicated to aiding women in domestic relationships, employment, politics, and personal issues. It promoted equality between men and women, held and sponsored workshops and other events to improve the status and quality of life for women, and operated a Help Line for women suffering from domestic abuse or seeking advice. They closely followed political issues, including promoting the Equal Rights Amendment, documented political changes both nationally and locally, and examined the legal status of women within the workplace, with such issues as pay equity, sexual harassment, and career development. This collection is also of use to those interested in non-profit women's groups and their funding and operations. The administrative records, board activities and information, financial records, grant proposals, and development information contained in the collection offer great insight into how WomenSpace was organized and operated.
The collection is arranged in six series.
All photographs have been removed to PG 556 WomenSpace Photographs.
The researcher should also consult MS 3546 Consumer's League of Ohio Records; MS 3535 Women's City Club of Cleveland Records; MS 4107 Women's Rights Society of Cleveland Records; and PG 556 WomenSpace Photographs.
Processed by Hannah Kemp-Severence, David F. Balog, Nicholas Durda, Sarah Richardson, and Brianna Zgodinski in 2011.
Access to this collection is restricted. All researchers will be asked to make an appointment with the WRHS Curator of Manuscripts to discuss these restrictions and sign a "Case Files Access Form" before using this collection.
[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 5074 WomenSpace Records, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio
Gift of WomenSpace in 1998.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.