Women at the Hague was an International Congress of Women conference held at The Hague, Netherlands in April 1915.
The scheme of an International Congress of Women was formulated at a small conference of women from neutral and belligerent countries, held at Amsterdam early in February 1915. A preliminary programme was drafted at this meeting, and it was agreed to request the Dutch women to form a committee to take in hand all the arrangement for the Congress and to issue the invitations. The expenses of the Congress were guaranteed by British, Dutch and German women present who all agreed to raise one third of the sum required.
Invitations to take part in the Congress were sent to women's organisations and mixed organisations as well as to individual women all over the world. Each organisation was invited to appoint two delegates. Women only could become members of the Congress and they were required to express themselves in general agreement with the resolutions on the preliminary programme. This general agreement was interpreted to imply the conviction (a) That international disputes should be settled by pacific means; (b) That the parliamentary franchise should be extended to women.
The Congress was carried on under two important rules:
- That discussions on the relative national responsibility for or conduct of the present war,
- Resolutions dealing with the rules under which war shall in future be carried on, shall be outside the scope of the Congress.
Countries represented included the United States, which sent 47 members; Sweden, 12; Norway, 12; Netherlands, 1,000; Italy, 1; Hungary, 9; Germany, 28; Denmark, 6; Canada, 2; Belgium, 5; Austria, 6, and Great Britain, 3, although 180 others from there were prevented from sailing owing to the closing of the North Sea for military reasons. The Congress, which was attended by a large number of visitors as well as by the members, was extremely successful. Proceedings were conducted with the greatest goodwill throughout, and the accompanying resolutions were passed at the business sessions.