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The University of Washington Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) was established in 1895 by Ella Chamberlain, head of the English department. It was the first women's organization on campus and was organized before the incorporation of the national YWCA in 1906. In its early years, the UW YWCA was mostly a religious organization, offering Bible study groups, and devotional and missionary meetings. Throughout the 1910s, members volunteered to perform mission work and teach English to Japanese immigrants in local settlement houses. In 1916 the tenth anniversary of the national YWCA's founding was celebrated through the national jubilee.

In 1930 after the State Legislature prohibited religious organizations from being housed on the University campus, the UW YWCA moved off campus. In 1940 it merged with the UW YMCA and the two organizations operated jointly for the next thirty years . The UW YMCA-YWCA were housed in Eagleson Hall from 1940 to 1964. Eagleson Hall was sold to the University of Washington in 1964, and a new, spacious building was completed in 1965 at 4525 19th Ave. N.E.

In 1962 UW denied a campus group space for a talk by Gus Hall, general secretary of the American Communist Party. Students petitioned the UW YMCA-YWCA for rental use of Eagleson Hall, which was granted after much debate. The decision to allow a Communist speaker use YMCA-YWCA resources sparked immediate outrage and support. Members of the general public, students, faculty, and other YMCA-YWCA executives voiced their opinions through phone calls, letters, and newspaper articles. Some believed in the upholding of freedom of speech ; others were outraged by the "unAmerican" and "un-Christian" nature of the Communist Party. The topic of Hall's speech was the McCarran Internal Security Act (1950), which required registration of Communist party members and attempted to criminalize the party. Elizabeth Jackson and Frank Mark, respective executive directors for the UW YMCA-YWCA, made the difficult decision to allow Hall a speaking platform. (Elizabeth Jackson later went on to head the Western Region of the National Student YWCA.) After the controversial event, the organizations drafted an open platform policy, affirming their commitment to freedom of speech and intellectual pursuit. Throughout the 1960s, speakers and forums were sponsored by the UW YMCA-YWCA on diverse topics such as LSD use, the beatnik or "fringie" problem on University Way, capital punishment, racism, and birth control.

1970 was a pivotal year for the UW YWCA, marking its declaration of autonomy from the YMCA and subsequent move to 4224 University Way N.E. The effects of the second wave of the women's movement can be seen in its motivation for independent status, namely its commitment to "the development of a separate, visible identity of self-determining women-not identical to, but equal to men." Over the course of a decade, the UW YWCA pioneered feminist programming, providing an extensive range of services and activities not only for UW students but also for women throughout the Seattle area. Many of the UW YWCA's programs were considered radical or controversial , and pushed the understanding of what a YWCA meant for women and a community.

The Abortion Birth Control (ABC) Referral Service was formed after a UW student group, the Committee for Abortion Reform , was ordered off campus for advocating passage of a 1970 abortion reform bill (Referendum 20) in Washington State. ABC found a home at the UW YWCA, disbanding as a politically-focused group and reforming as a support service. The ABC Referral Service provided doctor referrals, counseling and advocacy to women considering abortion procedures, as well as birth control methods, and a range of other reproductive health topics. ABC staff regularly visited the offices of doctors providing abortions and gathered information from abortion patients about their experiences to ensure the quality of their referrals.

Another UW YWCA program centered on women's health. Aradia Clinic opened in 1972 after a year of organizing. The clinic was built by over sixty women under the leadership of a female architect. Aradia strongly encouraged patients to take their health into their own hands. Aradia staff offered annual examinations, pregnancy detection and counselling , and other medical services, as well as self-health classes, workshops, and abortion procedures. In 1973, Aradia sponsored the Third World Women Family Planning Needs Assessment Project. Several community groups, including EI Centro de la Raza and Planned Parenthood, encouraged Aradia to research the need for family planning services within Seattle's ethnic communities. The project's objective was to determine what family planning services were needed and how those needs could be met. Information was gathered from family planning clinics, ethnic service centers, and a sampling of women from each community. The report was completed in 1974 and included extensive demographic material and a list of recommendations. In 1973, Aradia legally separated from the YWCA in order to release the Board of Directors from responsibility for Aradia's actions, although it continued to be housed in the UW YWCA building until 1978. As of 2005, it operates as the Aradia Women's Health Center, and has remained committed to providing feminist health care for women.

The Lesbian Resource Center began as the Gay Women's Resource Center in 1971 after a UW YWCA staff member took a course on homosexuality at the UW Experimental College and recognized a need in the community. The LRC was a peer counseling center that prpvidea support services to lesbians in the Seattle-King County area. As well as providing individual counseling , a lending library, and a speaker's bureau, discussion "rap" groups were offered. The LRC also worked to make changes within the UW YWCA, pushing for more lesbian membership on the Board of Directors. The LRC became independent from the UW YWCA in 1980. It gained non-profit status under the name Pacific Women's Resources but continued to offer services as the LRC. As of 2005, the LRC is still active in Seattle.

Mechanica began as a women's co-operative garage and auto mechanics course in 1972. By 1975, it had evolved into a skilled trades information service for women seeking to enter apprenticeships in the skilled trades and other nontraditional jobs. As well as providing job counseling , Mechanica staff promoted affirmative action hiring of women and ethnic minorities and pushed for affirmative action placements in union apprenticeships. They worked hard to persuade the University of Washington to adopt a 12% goal for women on UW construction sites. Off campus, Mechanica worked as a consultant to the City of Seattle and King County to help them reach affirmative action goals. It also worked with Federal Contract Compliance officers to push local private companies to hire women. Mechanica lost funding in1980, and the program was converted into a Women's Employment Service.

Women in Trades (WIT) emerged out of Mechanica as an advocacy group for equal employment opportunites for women and people of color in the trades. In operation by 1976, WIT was an organization of working women employed in bluecollar jobs in the production, maintenance, and construction industries. They were dedicated to establishing legal action for the enforcement of affirmative action goals on a local and national level. Together with Mechanica, WIT negotiated with the Port of Seattle and local unions to ensure they met affirmative action hiring guidelines. WIT also offered support groups and legal support for tradeswomen . WIT was defunct by 1979, but the annual Women in Trades Fair started by Mechanica in 1979 still continues.

Rape Relief was formed in 1972 following a speakout on rape on the UW campus. Rape Relief provided a 24-hour crisis line for victims of sexual assault and their allies, as well as medical and legal advocacy . Rape Relief staff promoted community education about rape by speaking to junior high and high school students, as well as to various adult community groups. Projects designed for developmentally disabled people, ethnic communities and non-English speaking victims were created. Rape Relief also conducted sensitivity training for police in Washington, Oregon and Alaska . Rape Relief became independent in 1980 and continued to operate as Seattle Rape Relief until financial problems forced its closure in 1999.

Serve Our Sisters (SOS) was formed in 1970 by two Seattle feminists and was modeled on a temporary, feminist, emergency housing service for women in crisis in New York City. In 1972, SOS became part of the UW YWCA, obtaining a much-needed central telephone. SOS provided women with housing, referrals, a telephone crisis line, and emotional support. Local referral agencies, such as the Open Door Clinic and Harborview Emergency Room, also used SOS's services. By 1974, SOS was no longer an active.

The Third World Women's Resource Center opened in the summer of 1973 as part of the UW YWCA's attempt to implement the One Imperative to Eliminate Racism. The One Imperative was a National YWCA policy which pushed for "the elimination of racism wherever it exists and by any means necessary." One of the main purposes of the Center was to provide educational material for all women struggling with the intersections of racism, sexism and economic oppression. The Center was developed and coordinated by Third World women, or women of color. Counseling, classes, rap groups, a library, a speaker's bureau, and a referral service were offered, and there were also efforts to interact with incarcerated women of color. The Center was no longer active by 1976. The failure of the UW YWCA to implement the One Imperative successfully caused tension among staff and Board members.

Women in Midstream (WI M) was started as the Ad-Hoc Committee on Menopause in 1972 by several middle-aged women who served on the Board of Directors and saw the need for a program dedicated to older women's health, particularly on the topic of menopause. WIM sent out questionnaires about women's personal experiences dealing with symptoms, treatments and the medical field. Due to a small amount of unexpected national publicity, women from around the United States participated and looked to WIM as a resource on menopause. A WIM volunteer, Jane Page wrote a book The Other Awkward Age utilizing the questionnaire results and contributing a much-needed woman's perspective on menopause. WIM was no longer in operation by 1979.

Women's Divorce Cooperative (WDC) began operating in 1971 as a cooperative of women interested in learning more about divorce law and how to file for divorce without hiring a lawyer. The WDC became an official UW YWCA program in 1975. In its early years, WDC volunteers provided sessions in pro se divorce procedures, as well as referrals to lawyers, counselors, and other agencies for further help in securing a divorce. Telephone and in-person counseling were also available to help women cope emotionally with a divorce. The WDC separated from the UW YWCA in 1980 to regain financial control and restore a cooperative philosophy.

The feminist spirit inherent in the UW YWCA's programming can also be seen in internal organizational changes. In the two years following its independence from the UW YMCA, the staff structure shifted from a hierarchical to a co-director model, in which three adminstrators received equal pay. The Co-Directorship was seen as a more egalitarian power structure. Evaluation of the model began in 1975, and in 1976, the Board of Directors voted to return to an Executive Coordinator model. The Executive Coordinator was responsible for agency supervision, staff development and supervision , fiscal management, liasion with the Board, and coordination with the community services. Many staff members were displeased with the restructuring; some did not feel included in the decision-making process and others did not believe the model fit into a feminist organiza tion.

In 1980, the UW YWCA was evicted from University Way and moved away from the UW campus to Northlake. They remained at 701 NE Northlake Way until 1988 and continued to "struggle for peace and justice, freedom and dignity for all people ," as stated by the National YWCA purpose. The UW YWCA was still active in 1995 on the UW campus, though they may have become defunct as early as 1996.