This year Lions Clubs International will celebrate the 20th anniversary of welcoming women into Lions Clubs.

Women have been involved in Lions for decades, first as auxiliary members of Lioness clubs and, since July 4, 1987, as full-fledged Lions. In 2003, Past International President Tae-Sup Lee spearheaded an initiative to reach out to potential women members. Statistics show women are a largely untapped market for Lions membership development. Asking women and families to be members offered an enormous potential for strengthening clubs and their involvement in their community. Lions worldwide embraced the initiative and received a positive response from the communities they serve. Since being inducted women have been welcomed by Lions and have provided their input and expertise. In recognition of their contributions Lions have provided women members with opportunities to develop their leadership skills.

As the association commemorates the 20th anniversary of women being admitted as full members in Lions clubs, we’re profiling some women Lions from around the world, giving voice to their experiences as members and learning what belonging to the world’s largest service club organization means to them. We hope you enjoy meeting these remarkable women.

Lion Dilshad Mohamed, Nairobi, Kenya, 411-A
Lion Guðrún Björt Yngvadóttir, Gardabaer, Iceland, 109-A
Lion Polly Voon, North Vancouver, British Colombia, Canada, 19-A
Lion Yolima de Garcia Paez, Barranquilla Atlantico, Colombia, F-2

The total number of women Lions worldwide has grown from 13.5 percent to 18 percent since 2003. As the number of women Lions has grown so has the number of women club presidents, district governors, council chairpersons and international directors. Women having Lion leadership roles continue to grow at the same rate as the percentage of women Lions increases. The chart below indicates the growth of women members from July 1987 to June 2006.