YWCA Metro Vancouver entwines advocacy with its social and community services, programming, and other functions. Advocacy emerged as a distinct function of YWCA Metro Vancouver in the 1960s, as the organization began to involve itself more vocally with social issues and public affairs relevant to its services. YWCA Metro Vancouver began allocating committees to coordination of social issues within the organization in the early 1970s. After the YWCA of Canada disseminated its Social Action Platform in 1971, YWCA Metro Vancouver formed a Social Concerns Committee that operated from 1972 to the late 1970s. This committee coordinated social concerns for the YWCA by undertaking studies for the Board of Directors, planning programs and newsletter pieces pertinent to contemporary social issues, and generally encouraging groups within the organization to become socially involved. In 1980, the Social Issues Committee was created to survey members on contemporary social issues. As a result of that survey, in 1982 the Social Action Committee formed as a committee of the YWCA Board of Directors to provide a stronger central coordinating function for social issues. The committee studied, researched, and monitored issues; collected background material relevant to those issues; formulated policy statements; gave advice to the Board and staff on social action; and regularly identified and reassessed priority issues to membership. The Social Action Committee was discontinued in 1995. YWCA Metro Vancouver YWCA has involved itself in advocacy via these committees, task forces on Board-identified and prioritized social issues, and collaboration with other advocacy-based and community service groups in Vancouver.

Material in this series arises from the business of the Social Concerns, Social Issues, and Social Action Committees; task forces struck by the Board of Directors to research and report on issues identified as of priority concern; and collaboration on women’s issues between YWCA Metro Vancouver and other advocacy-based and community service groups in Vancouver.

Records consist of reports, meeting minutes, reference material, memoranda, correspondence, media clippings, and other material arising from YWCA Metro Vancouver’s involvement in contemporary social issues as identified by the organization.