Every August 26, the United States observes Women’s Equality Day. The day commemorates the anniversary of the certification of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote on a national level. The 1920 certification was the result of a decades-long civil rights movement that began in 1848 at the first women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls.
2017 marks 97 years since ratification of the 19th Amendment. Representative Bella Abzug introduced Congressional legislation for Women’s Equality Day in 1971. Every U.S. president since 1972 has issued a proclamation in support and celebration of the day. Click here for ways that you can help celebrate Women’s Equality Day in your own homes and communities.
Women’s Equality Day acts as a symbol of the continued fight for gender equality. The United States has come far in the struggle for gender equality but if the past year has taught us anything, it’s that we still have a long way to go to achieve full gender equality. This list of things that women in the U.S. couldn’t do 50 years ago makes me that much more appreciative of being alive in 2017. For me, reading it is kind of shocking, but it gives me hope that the lives of women in the U.S., and all over the world, will continue to improve in the years to come.
-Sage Daugherty
Junior Girl
Girl Museum Inc.