PATRICIA LINDH and JEANNE HOLM FILES, 1974-77

The Special Assistant to the President for Women advised the President on women's issues, handled White House liaison with women's organizations and oversaw the work of the Office of Women's Programs (OWP) headed by Karen Keesling. Presidential Counsellor Anne Armstrong created the small office in the Nixon White House in February 1973 and brought it into the Ford administration. The office provided liaison between the President and women as a special interest group, encouraged recruitment of women for top-level government positions and initiated and assisted in the development of programs, policies, legislation and regulations supporting women's civil rights (see Appendix A). In addition, the office sponsored a number of meetings attended by Mrs. Ford and occasionally sent her briefings concerning women's issues.

When Counsellor Armstrong resigned in December 1974, the OWP was transferred to the Office of Public Liaison. Patricia Lindh, Armstrong's assistant, was appointed to the new position of Special Assistant to the President for Women and headed the office during the United Nations' International Women's Year, 1975. Retired Major General Jeanne Holm succeeded Lindh when she resigned in March 1976.

The Lindh/Holm collection contains material from Armstrong, Lindh, Holm and Keesling from throughout the administration. Although the leadership changed, the purpose and substance of the office remained the same with only minor differences in style.

The bulk of the collection is derived from liaison activities with over 300 women's organizations, agency women's groups and program units, advisory committees on women and women appointees. Topics include public policy, legislation and regulation of women's civil rights in the government and the economy.

One series is devoted entirely to the planning of White House meetings, some of which were attended by President or Mrs. Ford, in which women leaders exchanged views with administration officials. These were part of the "Tuesday" and "Wednesday" meeting series organized by all White House Public Liaison Office units. Several meetings generated follow-up meetings hosted by, for example, the Small Business Administration and the Department of Labor. Other meetings sought priorities for the OWP agenda and candidates for presidential appointment.

The files also contain material related to OWP outreach activities, including attendance at conventions, speeches and solicitation of organization background and printed materials.

The OWP regularly provided the President and the White House staff with advice on legislation, regulations, proclamations and executive orders. Many documents were routinely staffed to the OWP for comment and review, as were large amounts of informational material. Substantial amounts of material are present related to sex and credit discrimination, affirmative action, education and child care.

Additionally, the Office's role in overseeing national activities for International Women's Year provided interesting material related to its origin in 1972, and Armstrong's and Lindh's efforts in securing an executive order and agency funding for a National Commission to Observe International Women's Year. Files on the United Nations' International Conference in Mexico City, the U.S. delegation's role and efforts to begin a 10 year World Plan of Action also appear.

Related Materials (March 1989)
Related materials are in the files of the First Lady's Press Secretary Sheila Weidenfeld, in White House Central Files categories FG 399 (National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year), HU 2-5 (Human Rights - Women), PP 5-1 (Mrs. Ford), WE 1 (Children), WE 1-1 (Child Welfare Services), WE 3 (Family Planning), WE 7 (Social Security), in the routine files of Counsellor Anne Armstrong and First Lady's Director of Correspondence Elizabeth O'Neill, and in the unprocessed papers of Mrs. Ford and files of William J. Baroody.