Women of Silicon Valley - Women's History — Highlights - SJSU Research Guides at San José State University Library

First Woman Lawyer in the State: Clara Shortridge Foltz

Clara Shortridge Foltz, the first woman ever admitted to the bar in California (in 1878) was a San Jose housewife and mother of five who went on to practice law in San Jose. Foltz drafted a bill to change the law's wording for becoming an attorney from being just for "white males" to being "any citizen or person". She introduced and lobbied for the bill at the State Legislature, where objections to the bill included the fear that once women became lawyers, there might someday be woman jurors, even judges! At two minutes before midnight on the 30th of March, 1878 (the last day the legislature was in session) the governor signed her bill into law. At times Foltz was vilified for her gender in court: a public attorney told jurors, "She is a woman, she cannot be expected to reason. God Almighty decreed her limitations". Once during a trial Foltz was referred to with contempt as a "lady lawyer." She said of her opponent, "I am sorry I cannot return the compliment, but I cannot. I never heard anybody call him any kind of a lawyer at all." Foltz is also credited with writing the law that gave women the right to vote in 1911.
Source: Superior Court of California: County of Santa Clara

Irene Dalis

Opera singer Irene Dalis, 1925-2014, was a native of San Jose, and after her performing career, she returned to the area. In that time, she was awarded honorary Doctor of Music degrees from San Jose State University and Santa Clara University. Dalis received the Tower award from SJSU, and a lifetime achievement award from Silicon Valley Arts & Business. Under her leadership, SJSU developed an impressive opera department. Dalis received the Tower award from SJSU, and a lifetime achievement award from Silicon Valley Arts & Business. The experiences at SJSU and the international opera community helped her to establish Opera San Jose.

The Irene Dalis-Loinaz Papers are available for research at SJSU's Special Collections & Archives. Many items from her collection have also been digitized and are available as part of SJSU's Digital Collections here.

Women's Archival Collections

Chinese American Women's Club of Santa Clara County Records
The Chinese American Women's Club of Santa Clara County (CAWC) was founded in 1962 by a group of women who were brought together by the common thread of preserving Chinese culture through educating their children. While their children attended a weekly Chinese school and learned Chinese languages, the mothers would meet and discuss different topics. The weekly meetings soon became a discussion about starting a cultural club; a club that would support, educate and befriend the entire community.
The Delphian Study Club Records
The Delphian Study Club Records (1931-2011) document the San Jose Delphian Club's history and activities. The Delphian Study Club originally formed as a chapter of the Delphian Society, which was founded in Chicago around 1910 to promote education of women in the arts, literature, and history. The San Jose Delphian Study Club was founded in 1931. The first name of this women's club was the Alpha Chi Chapter. The goal of the club was to promote education, personal improvement and social progress. In 1947, the Alpha Chi Chapter spilt from the National Organization to form a separate autonomous organization, which they renamed the Delphian Study Club. This collection is arranged into two series: Series I. Minutes Records and Meeting Reports, 1931-2010; Series II. Programs, 1957-2011.
more...less...
This collection is held on the 5th floor of the King Library, in Special Collections & Archives.
Diane Solomon Civil Rights and Viet Nam War Era Button Collection
Diane Solomon is a local journalist and political activist in San José, California. Solomon attended San José State College as a student of New College, an experimental four-year libral arts program, and later she received a Masters degree. She developed an early interest in political and social movements and at age 14 she started collecting political buttons. Solomon continues the hobby of button collecting, while working as a freelance journalist, accountant, and as the radio host of “A Meeting of the Ways, on Radio KKUP.
The First Class of San Jose State Normal School Research Records
This collection was compiled by SJSU Emeritus Professor of History, James P. Walsh. During the research process for his book One and the Same, Walsh explored the history of the first graduates of the State Normal School. Walsh began the process to document in greater detail the lives of the first sixteen graduates of the San Jose Normal School…the first graduating class consisted of sixteen women, fifteen were single, and one was married. These women migrated to California during gold rush era, and several of them came from Irish immigrant families. The State Normal School laid the foundation for public higher education in California, and the graduates became the first credentialed teachers in the state. The records consist of correspondence, census lists, biographical and historical articles, handwritten notes, and includes the galley proofs of the article "Tadhg" Lets Change the Subject."
more...less...
This collection is available on the 5th floor of the King Library, in Special Collections & Archives.
Janet Gray Hayes papers, 1914-2003
Hayes became the first woman to be elected mayor of a large American city. In terms of policy, she championed controlled urban growth, restored historic buildings, and helped transform San José into a model city. Hayes received tremendous publicity as the first female mayor of San José, and nationally as Santa Clara County edged into the national political landscape as the "Feminist Capital of the World." By the time she left office in 1983, Hayes had blazed a trail for women in politics throughout the Santa Clara Valley and indeed the nation. The Janet Gray Hayes Papers document the historical significance of Hayes' mayoralty in state and national politics and her influence in bringing other women into local government. Items in this collection also detail Hayes' commitment to improving citizen access to the mayor's office, reducing crime, and promoting controlled urban growth in San José.
more...less...
This collection is held on the 5th floor of the King Library, in Special Collections & Archives.
League of Women Voters, San José/Santa Clara Chapter Records, 1945-2006
The League of Women Voters, San José/Santa Clara Chapter Records, 1945-2006 consist of administrative records, political studies and action materials, which include subject specific legislation, government records, voter and election data and reports, as well as convention and meeting records from other chapters and the National organization.
more...less...
Holdings are available on the 5th floor of the King Library, in Special Collections & Archives.
National Organization for Women, San José/South Bay chapter records, 1971-2007.
NOW is the largest organization of feminist activists in the United States. The South Bay chapter was founded in 1970, followed by the San José chapter in 1972. The San José chapter absorbed the South Bay chapter in 1978, creating the San José /South Bay chapter which operated until 2006. The collection consists of administrative files, correspondence, publicity, outreach, publications, reports and photographs.
more...less...
This collection is held on the 5th floor of the King Library, in Special Collections & Archives.
San José State University Women's Studies Program records, 1963-2003
San José State University's Women's Studies Program records document the formation of the Women's Studies Program from 1963 to 2003 (bulk 1972-1991). The collection consists of administrative records, correspondence, reports, financial records, personnel files, course curriculum, programs and outreach literature, student and faculty research, surveys and other related program material.
more...less...
This collection is held on the 5th floor of the King Library, in Special Collections & Archives.
South Bay Second Wave Feminist Oral History Collection
The South Bay Second Wave Feminist Oral History Project, 2006-2010 consists of thirteen digital recordings and complete transcriptions documenting the experiences of women in politics in San José and Santa Clara County. The interviewees include: Blanca Alvarado, Joan Goddard, Susan Hammer, Janet Gray Hayes, Linda J. LeZotte, Dianne McKenna, Madison Nguyen, Sally Reed, Lu Ryden, Leona Egeland Siadek, Lee Sturtevant, Susanne Wilson, and Zoe Lofgren.
more...less...
Holdings are available at SJSU's King Library, in Special Collections & Archives on the 5th floor.
Susan Hammer papers, 1966-1999
The papers of former San José Mayor, Susan Hammer, consist of administrative files, correspondence, publicity, photographs, videotapes, and other memorabilia. The documents also include files from the Protocol Office created during the 1982-1990 tenure of Tom McEnery, Hammer's predecessor. Hammer's involvement in San José community and economic development is well-documented in the collection, including files of the Committee of the Whole, the Redevelopment Agency, Joint Venture Silicon Valley, Cultural Initiatives Silicon Valley, and the New Realities Task Force. Other items of interest include artwork and photographs of Hammer, campaign files, and files from the Advisory Committee on Trade Policy and Negotiation, a Presidential advisory group to which Hammer was appointed by President Bill Clinton.
more...less...
This collection is held on the 5th floor of the King Library, in Special Collections & Archives.
The YWCA of Silicon Valley Records, 1905-2005
The Young Women's Christian Association of Silicon Valley (YWCA) was established in 1905 to provide fellowship, mutual aid, and spiritual and professional guidance to young working women. The YWCA pioneered services to poor and working women in the valley, and continues to offer an array of educational resources and programs designed to improve the community. The records included in this collection, range from 1905 to 2005 and include budgets, clippings, correspondence, financial statements, minutes, memoranda, photographs, printed material, registries, reports, scrapbooks, slides, and videos. Holdings are available on the 5th floor of the King Library, in the Special Collections & Archives.

Women's History — Highlights

Eleanor Roosevelt Visits San Jose

San Jose NOW Representatives, 1990

Further Reading

First Woman Lawyer in the State: Clara Shortridge Foltz

Irene Dalis

Women's Archival Collections