Happy Women’s Equality Day

Women's suffrage: the right of women to vote and to hold public office.

Women's suffrage movement: all the organized activities of reformers to change laws that kept women from voting or to add laws and constitutional amendments to guarantee women the right to vote.

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In 1971 August 26th was designated as Women’s Equality Day. The date was selected by the U.S. Congress to commemorate the 1920 passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution which grants women the right to vote.

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The right to vote was granted 91 years ago but do you think things are equal today?

• In 2011 women hold 90 seats out of 535 seats of the 112th U.S. Congress.
• In 2010 only 15% of Fortune 500 leadership positions were held by women.

 

Here are a few great statistics from the United Nations Statistics Division.

• In 2010 only 14 women in the world held positions as the Head of State or Head of Government.
• In 2010 only 13 of the 500 largest corporations in the world have a female Chief Executive Officer
• In 2009 56.6% of all mothers with children under the age of 1 were in the labor force.

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Women have been fighting for the right to vote since the early 1800's.  Progress began around the year 1862 when some Swedish women gained voting rights in local elections. The keyword is 'some' because for almost 80 more years there were many restrictions blocking women's right to vote.  In some countries women could vote in local elections but not national while other countries imposed restrictions such as age limits and marital status.  It took the US until 1920 and it wasn't until the year 2005 that Kuwait granted women full suffrage.

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Did you empower yourself and vote in the last election?
If yes = Hurray!!  You are awesome!!!
If no =         Do you like others to dictate what you can and cannot do?
                    For example:
                             - your right to education         
                             - your right to own property
                             - your right to chose when and where to work
                             - your right to marry or not
                             - your right to have or not have children
                             - your right to drive

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Why it's important that women vote. 
Here are some reasons from a newspaper article written in 1917 so you can see how sexist things were back then:

"Men can deceive each other much more easily than they can deceive women -- the latter being providentially provided with the X-ray of institutional perception."

"The blustering politician, preaching what he does not practise, may hold forth on the street corner or in a saloon, and influence the votes of others as worthless as himself. But among women his home life will more than offset his political influence."

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These are some wonderful reasons from Votes for Women, 1848-1921 in the Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress

"Because it is fair and right that those who must obey the laws should have a voice in making them, and that those who must pay taxes should have a vote as to the size of the tax and the way it shall be spent."

" Because laws unjust to women would be amended more quickly. It cost Massachusetts women 55 years of effort to secure the law making mothers equal guardians of their children with the fathers."

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These are some more wonderful reasons from The National Woman's Law Center

• " To Make Sure that Courts Protect Women's Legal Rights!"
• " To Obtain Equal Pay and Job Opportunities!"
• " To Rectify Long-Standing Inequities in Women's Health and Make Health Insurance More Affordable for Women and Their Families"

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Here is a list of wonderful Resources for women's issues. I urge you to inform yourselves of these facts I never learned in the many schools I attended.

From the White House 2010: Women's Equality Day and the 90th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment 

  

Latinas Who Have Been Honored by the National Women's History Project During Our 25 Years of "Writing Women Back into History 

 

International Woman Suffrage Timeline: Winning the Vote for Women Around the World

Political statistics

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No self respecting person should ever vote for any politician or party that ignores there needs. 

I'm proud of what women have accomplished but we should not be complacent.  There is still work to do.  It is our duty to continue to work toward making the world a better place.  I support you.