Kiwanis Vote to Reject Women

HOUSTON — Delegates at the Kiwanis International Convention voted today against allowing women to join the all-male organization.

Fifty-three percent of the delegates, or 2,555, voted to override a board recommendation to admit women as members, while 47%, or 2,295, voted to allow women to join. A two-thirds majority was required for women to be admitted under an amendment to the Kiwanis constitution, which would have applied only to chapters in the United States. At last year’s convention in Toronto, 77% of the delegates voted against admitting women as members.