WIZO was founded in England on 7 July 1920 by Rebecca Sieff, Dr. Vera Weizmann (wife of Israel's first president, Dr. Chaim Weizmann), Edith Eder, Romana Goodman, and Henrietta Irwell to provide community services for the residents of Mandatory Palestine.

Among WIZO's early social welfare projects in Mandatory Palestine were the establishment of Tipat Halav well-baby clinics and clothing distribution centers, many of which are still in operation today.

[3] WIZO branches opened across Europe, such as that run by Julia Batino in Macedonia, but many were closed down in the wake of Nazi occupation and the Holocaust.

[4] Other past presidents include Raya Jaglom and Michal Har'el, former Miss Israel and wife of Israeli politician Yitzhak Moda'i.

[9] The organization also runs summer camps, courses for single-parent families and therapeutic frameworks for children removed from their homes by court order.