“I raise up my voice—not so that I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard. … We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back.” -Malala Yousafzai
National Women’s Equality Day has been designated to commemorate the Nineteenth Amendment adopted in the 1920s in the United States.
This amendment granted women across the United States the right to vote. The observance of Women’s Equality Day not only commemorates the passage of the 19th Amendment but also calls attention to women’s continuing efforts toward full equality.
Taking a walk-through history, we’re reminded that this day would not have been possible without the women’s suffrage movement. The movement was a decades-long fight to win the right to vote for women in the United States.
A timeline of the women’s fight for their right to vote:
- July 19th, 1848- The Seneca Falls Convention. More than 200 women attended the convention to discuss the issues women faced based on their gender.
- 1869- Susan B. Anthony forms the National Woman Suffrage Association. After 17 years of campaigning for equality, they brought the first debate on equality to congress in 1866. Unfortunately, the motion was trounced.
- 1919- The Suffragettes returned to congress with new support from the states that already had equal rights for women in their constitution.
- May 1919- Large groups of women protest for their rights. The majority of congress voted for the 19th amendment to be added to the constitution. Secretary of state Bainbridge Colby signed the amendment in 1920, finally giving women the right to vote
- 1971- New York Congresswoman Bella Azbug introduces a resolution to congress to have August 26th declared Women’s Equality Day.
- 1973- Congress meets on August 16th and approves the resolution
The fight for women’s equality is not yet done. Here are some areas where women do not have the same rights as men:
- All over the world, men tend to earn more than women even in jobs that men and women equally work. For every dollar a man may make on a job, women earn 77 cents.
- Women are still underrepresented in governments and political processes
- Women make up more than two-thirds of the world’s 796 million illiterate people
- 153 countries have laws that discriminate against women economically.
Women still have a long way to go in the fight to achieve full equality in all aspects of life, but we are here to back that fight!
You can help celebrate National Women’s Equality Day by:
- Volunteering at a women’s shelter near you as a way of showing support
- Signing petitions from organizations that continue to fight for women’s rights
- Celebrate the achievements made thus far for women by women
- Spread the message to friends and family and also on social media
At Ocean Sole, we are proud to support women, which is why our employment policies are gender balanced. We strive to incorporate women in every area of our Ocean Sole family and couldn’t be prouder of women's achievements in the workplace.
#DidYouKnow? We have designated carving teams that are made up of only women!
Both our turtle carving team & our yoga block carving team is proudly all women.
We encourage women all over the world to have the fighting spirit of the Suffragettes and defend their position in the world. You matter; let your voices be heard. When the time comes, VOTE! Your vote is your POWER.
