The structure in the UK
Clubs
Each club in the UK has its own Programme Action Committee (PAC), chaired by the club's Programme Action Officer (PAO), who serves on the Regional PAC (RPAC).
Regions
The UK is divided into 17 Regions. Each Region has its own Programme Action Committee (RPAC), comprised of the Programme Action Officers from all the clubs in that Region. This Regional committee is chaired by the RPAC chairman who, in turn, represents the membership of the clubs in her Region on the UKPAC.
UKPAC
Representatives from all 17 Regions (as far apart as Scotland North Region and South West & Channel Islands Region) serve on the United Kingdom Programme Action Committee (UKPAC), which provides help and guidance to Soroptimist clubs in the UK in devising, planning and carrying out their project work (known as Programme Action).This way we work on a local, national and international level with a wide range of partner organisations including Regional Development Agencies, Primary Care Trusts, devolved governments (the Welsh Assembly, Scottish Executive etc), UK NGOs, charities, and with international bodies such as the United Nations.
Every month the UKPAC Chairman, Sue Biggs, writes a column for this website. This is also produced in a newsletter format and emailed to every club in the UK, to be cascaded down to every member, either by forwarding via email or by hard copy for those members who do not have internet facilities. In this way the entire membership of the UK has direct and current information, each month, on the work of this Committee.
The UKPAC holds a Study Day every two years, the next one - on the national theme of Violence Against Women, will be held in Reading on July 2010.
The Federation
Our Federation, one of four around the world, is Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland (SIGBI) Limited. It draws together the work of clubs in 28 countries - all the UK clubs, plus those in, amongst others, India, Uganda and ZImbabwe.
Soroptimist International
Soroptimist International, headquartered in Cambridge, is the umbrella organisation for Soroptimists worldwide. It has General Consultative Status with the UN Economic and Social Council, (ECOSOC) and has representatives at many meetings of its agencies in UN Centres throughout the world.
Soroptimist International has permanent, volunteer representatives to the major United Nations centres in New York, Geneva and Vienna, UNESCO in Paris, the FAO (Food and Agricultural Organisation) in Rome, and UNEP (UN Environment Programme) in Nairobi. It also has representatives at the UN Regional Commissions in Western Asia (ESCWA); South America (ECLAC); and Asia Pacific (ESCAP).
These Representatives attend a broad range of meetings and committees, reporting back to the membership and making recommendations for the Soroptimist Programme of Service. Soroptimist delegations to the major UN meetings and forums advocate for policies and actions which support our aims and objects.
Not a member?
If you are not a Soroptimist, but the work of our organisation appeals to you, why not consider helping us?
To be eligible to be invited to membership, a woman should be working in a profession or business or other occupation of comparable status or responsibility. Recently retired or women temporarily or permanently out of work from a profession or business, and those embarking on a career are also eligible. So, if you are interested in working with like-minded women who care about the world around them, why not send us an email (Contact Us) telling us briefly about yourself. We would really love to hear from you.
To see whether there is a club near you, go to Our Clubs' and Regions; there you wil see sub pages of all 17 Regions in the UK. Select your area and you will then be presented with a list of the clubs in that Region.