Peace, Equality, and Prosperity

Valerie Pettis' 1975 logo for The United Nations Year of Women.

The United Nations Decade for Women, which ran from 1975 to 1985, was a period dedicated to addressing issues that prevented the advancement of women. The decade formally consisted of three international meetings with the goal of bringing to attention injustices that women faced in education and healthcare, in the workplace, at home, and within wider society. These included pay inequality, gender-based violence and deep-rooted gender biases, whilst delegates from colonised countries further critiqued policies and rulings that favoured racism, colonialism, apartheid, and hegemonism.

United Nations announced in 1975 that it was to be the International Year of Women, whilst also establishing the Decade for Women. The world-renowned industrial design firm Henry Dreyfuss Associates was chosen to design the symbol for the year. Most importantly, this came with the strict requirement, by Sally Swing Shelly, Chief Information Officer of International Women’s Year for the UN, that the designer was to be a woman. The task was assigned to Valerie Pettis, the firm’s sole female designer who had joined in 1974.

It was a daunting task for the 27 year old, exacerbated by the urgent deadline of only a week to complete it. The United Nations not only wanted the symbol to communicate peace, equality, and equal opportunity but it was also vital that it could be universally understood, across cultural boundaries.

In an essay by Pettis, written for a special LogoArchive Extra Issue, the designer outlines her process. “I began with iconography for peace, equality, women’s gender,” she explains, “ultimately incorporating them into one succinct shape: a dove with an equal sign in the tail and a woman’s gender glyph in the centre.” The original was presented in green – representing development and prosperity – this later changed to United Nations Blue.

In the essay, Pettis also fondly recalls Shelly’s unrelenting support for the designer as she maintained that Pettis’ name be associated with the iconic design, further championing Pettis as the symbol was adopted by the UN. The symbol was emblazoned on a variety of items and memorabilia, for fundraising purposes.

Many countries celebrated the decade with notable developments including coins and stamps, a Tiffany commemorative pin, and a feature on the cover of Time Magazine. As the symbol reached global recognition, Pettis reflects on the lasting impact of the design which, after 50 years, is still in use:

“In giving up control of what I created I had given my symbol to the world, and in return the world made my symbol its own.”

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