At the 1981 Congress of the International Union in History and Philosophy of Science, Division of History of Science, held in Bucharest, Romania, participants of a symposium on women in science mobilized to form of a Commission on Women, formally proposed by the USA delegation during the General Assembly. Delegates of the USA who supported the motion included Sally Gregory Kohlstedt and Thomas P. Hughes. After a favorable vote, the Commission was formed with Margaret W. Rossiter elected the Commission’s first President.
The original charge of the Commission included the following four objectives:
- To hold meetings between Congresses and form symposia at subsequent International Congresses;
- To prepare bibliographies and promote the preservation of records;
- To encourage the comparative, international history of women in science, technology, and medicine; and
- To promote communication among scholars doing research on the subject.
Among the founding members who attended the Commission’s initial meeting held during the Congress included
- Pnina Abir-Am (Canada and Israel)
- Marianna Belis (Romania)
- Diana Dyason (Australia)
- Marian Fournier (Netherlands)
- Suzanna Gadea (Romania)
- Ines Harding (Chile and West Germany)
- Daryl Haftner (USA)
- Brigitte Hoppe (West Germany)
- Joy Harvey (USA)
- Danielle Jacquart (France)
- Sally Gregory Kohlstedt (USA)
- Olga Lejneva (USSR)
- Mary Robischon (USA)
- Margaret Rossiter (USA)
- Eva Vamos (Hungary)
- John Beer (observer, USA)
The Commission held symposiums at the following Congresses:
- Bucharest, 1981
- Berkeley, 1985
- Hamburg/Munich, 1989
- Zaragoza, 1993
- Liege, 1997
- Mexico City, 2001
- Beijing, 2005
- Budapest, 2009
- Manchester, 2013
- Rio De Janeiro, 2017
- Prague (virtual), 2021
The following “in-between” conferences were also held:
- Veszprem, 1983
- Sopron / Vienna, 1992
- Cambridge, 1999
- Prague, 2003
- Syros, 2007
- Paris, 2011
- Prague, 2015
- Tel Aviv, 2019
Past Presidents of the Commission are
- Margaret W. Rossiter (USA), 1981–1989
- Eva Vamos (Hungary), 1989–1997
- Ida Stamhuis (Netherlands), 1997–2005
- Annette Vogt (Germany), 2005–2013
- Maria Rentetzi (Greece), 2013–2021