About us

LWVSF is fully committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in principle and in practice. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are central to our current and future success in engaging all individuals, households, communities, and policy makers in creating a more perfect democracy. 

There shall be no barriers to full participation in LWVSF on the basis of gender, gender identity, gender expression, ethnicity, race, native or indigenous origin, age, generation, sexual orientation, culture, religion, belief system, marital status, parental status, socioeconomic status, language, accent, ability status, mental health, educational level or background, geography, nationality, work style, work experience, job role function, housing status, immigration status, thinking style, personality type, physical appearance, political perspective or affiliation, and/or any other characteristic that can be identified as recognizing or illustrating diversity.

In 1911, California women earned the right to vote. That same year, San Francisco women founded the San Francisco Center to promote voter education and women’s suffrage. In 1920, the San Francisco Center became part of the League of Women Voters of the U.S. The League had just been founded by Carrie Chapman Catt during the convention of the National American Woman Suffrage Association just six months before the ratification of the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which granted women the right to vote.

Some of the League’s earliest causes included support for child labor laws, minimum wage, compulsory education, and equal opportunity for women. Our work on some of these issues affected the creation of laws that are still in force today.

A brief review of some other issues in which the League took a leadership role reads like a historical summary of our nation. The League has been involved in environmental advocacy, the fight against poverty and discrimination, the civil rights movement, reproductive freedom, health care reform, and campaign finance reform.