"[1][6] Third World Women consisted of about 300 delegates and included "Black, Chicano, Asian, and [sic] Native American, and Canadian groups.
[1][5][6] The "Old Friends" possessed politics that were Communist or "maternalists," and had a long history of friendship with the Vietnamese women.
[4][5] The division of the conference into three sections was a result of the existing tensions and conflicting priorities of each faction of women.
It was especially important to the "Third World Women"' that they speak privately with the Indochinese women, as they felt they had a unique understanding of their political and social struggles that the "New Friends" and "Old Friends" did not possess.
[9] The Indochinese women ranged in age from 29 to 50, and were from Cambodia, Laos, and North and South Vietnam.