Preliminary Inventory of the University Career Women Records

University Career Women was founded at Arizona State University in March of 1985 in order to address a need for professional development support and mentoring among the University's administrative women as they advanced in their careers. Many of the organization's founders were members of the existing Faculty Women's Association but often felt left off the agenda by the group's focus on tenure and pay equity, which affected faculty women specifically.

University Career Women grew out of a tradition among the University's women of taking new female employees out to lunch to offer them tips on succeeding in their new environment and serving as a support group. As the number of women the University employed grew, they began to consider creating a more formal organization. Sixteen of these women, who dubbed themselves the Women Organizers, discussed the structure of a potential new organization (or organizations) at length and by February of 1985 had evolved into the University Career Women's Association. It began with a membership of 78, which had risen to 212 by 1989. Today, although the organization's focus remains on non-faculty women, its membership has grown to include classified staff, faculty, academic professionals, and graduate students and it remains committed to its goals of providing a mechanism for women to affect issues, providing professional and personal development programs, taking an active role in improving the status of women, and creating and inspiring opportunities in a supportive and accepting environment.