Today is Women’s Equality Day, set on this date to mark the 91st anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment and recognize the struggle for gender equality. The 19th Amendment legalized women’s right to vote and was the culmination of a 72-year fight for suffrage, officially beginning with the Seneca Falls women’s rights convention in New York in 1848.
Congress designated today as Women’s Equality Day in 1971, as proposed by Rep. Bella Abzug (D-NY). Their intent was to create an annual reminder of the never-ending fight for equality for both genders, a fight that continues today in the workplace.
Every year, the President is required to make a proclamation in honor of this day.
“We are working to ensure that women-owned businesses can compete in the marketplace, that women are not discriminated against in healthcare, and that we redouble our efforts to bring an end to sexual assault on college campuses,” President Barack Obama said in his speech this year.
However, he began by acknowledging the efforts of the women who fought for suffrage.
“For the women who fought for this right, voting was not the end of the journey for equality, but the beginning of a new era in the advancement of our Union,” Obama said. “Their legacy inspires us to reach ever higher in our pursuit of liberty and equality for all.”
Obama made it clear that gender equality is not an achievement yet, but a goal the nation is still striving towards.
