- Social clubs for women go back as far as the 1700s, when women would gather to knit and discuss the events of the day. Because discussing politics and business was seen as unladylike until in the late 20th century, women would meet in small groups to discuss how these matters affected their lives. Social clubs for women evolved as America spread westward and westbound women found it difficult to maintain the cultural ties of the East coast. To make up for this, women formed literary societies and library associations to educate themselves. In the early 1900s, many young women formed social clubs in an effort to achieve the right to vote for women. Today, social clubs for women include a wide variety of hobbies in addition to political and social interests.
- Social clubs for women allow women who share common interests to meet and socialize. Although many clubs have a social aspect to them, many gather to allow women to network. In the most general sense, social clubs for women allow women who share a common field of work, hobby, skill or dream to gather and discuss their common activities. In addition, these clubs often hold regular meetings, require dues, raise funds for charity and organize within their communities. In some instances, social clubs for women are simply a way for women to get together and socialize with others who share a common bond.
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Social clubs often revolve around a shared activity or occupation. The groups often revolve around a specific hobby, such as reading, and require no official membership. Occupation-specific social clubs for women often gather for the express purpose of networking and discussing issues within a particular industry. Other social clubs may be structured around religion, marital status, political beliefs and sexual orientation.
Other social clubs for women may include sororities and secret societies. - Some social clubs for women, such as sororities and occupation-specific social clubs, have closed membership. That is, these clubs require members to go through a membership process or belong to a professional association. These clubs often require membership fees as well. Other clubs have open membership as long as the women are interested in the area the group is focusing on. Open membership clubs often don't require an official status to meet and exchange ideas. For example, a jewelry-making club can easily be formed among a group of friends without professional authorization. Regardless of closed or open membership status, many of these clubs simply require that all members be female.
- A common, but inaccurate, perception of social clubs for women is that they all include stereotypical activities, such as knitting and cooking. However, social clubs exist for women motorcyclists, bodybuilders and lumberjacks. Furthermore, throughout history, social clubs for women were formed to provide charity or fight injustice. Despite the charitable nature of these clubs, many social clubs for women are segregated by race or ethnicity.
