What Is Women’s Equality Day?
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What does Women’s Equality Day honor?
Women’s Equality Day is celebrated on August 26 and commemorates the 19th amendment granting women the right to vote. The 19th amendment states:
“The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”
The 19th amendment was ratified on August 18, 1920, but it actually wasn’t certified until it was signed by a government official eight days later. Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby signed the historic proclamation on August 26, 1920 (a week after its ratification) at 8 a.m. in Washington, D.C., without an audience or any fanfare.
When did it become a holiday?
On August 26, 1971, the Unites States Congress declared August 26 Women's Equality Day to honor the importance of the 19th amendment. The Joint Resolution of Congress said in part of Women's Equality Day:
“…and WHEREAS, the women of the United States have designated August 26, the anniversary date of the certification of the Nineteenth Amendment, as symbol of the continued fight for equal rights…”
It was officially passed two years later, in 1973.
Why was Women’s Equality Day established?
On August 26, 1970 (50 years after women earned the right to vote), 50,000 second-wave feminists marched down New York City’s Fifth Avenue with “linked arms, blocking the major thoroughfare during rush hour.”
Known as the “Women’s Strike for Equality March,” the march was sponsored National Organization for Women (NOW) and was conceived by women’s rights activist and author Betty Friedan. She imagined the day as a “work stoppage” where women would put down their household duties and take to the streets on the 50th anniversary of the passing of the 19th amendment to demand women’s rights including abortion access, better and affordable childcare, and equal access to education and employment. Thousands of women across the country staged protests, making the Women’s Strike for Equality March one of the biggest women’s rights rallies in the U.S. (FYI: The Women’s March on January 21, 2017, drew about 4.1 million across the country, making it the largest single-day protest in U.S. history.)
Who was behind making Women’s Equality Day possible?
New York congresswoman Bella Abzug (aka “Battling Bella”) championed the bill to create an official Women’s Equality Day. Abzug became a congresswoman at age 50 after an already successful career as a civil rights lawyer and activist. Her campaign slogan was the famous catchphrase: “This woman’s place is in the House…the House of Representatives!”
Through the passing of Women's Equality Day, Azbug hoped to commemorate the resilience and persistence of women while also bringing attention the ongoing struggle women face.
It is now widely understood that even though the 19th amendment was the culmination of decades of hard work and determination of so many factions of suffragettes, the reality is that women of color didn’t have full access and freedom to vote until years and decades later after laws and legislation were passed, like the Snyder Act of 1924 and the Civil Rights Act of 1965. It is also unfortunate that the rights and freedoms feminists marched for in 1970 like abortion access, affordable daycare, equal employment opportunities, and equal pay are still issues women are fighting for today.
How can we celebrate Women’s Equality Day today?
Read: Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All
Donate to: Planned Parenthood Action Fund
Visit: equalpaytoday.org to learn about pay inequity and support Black, Latinx, Native, AANHPI, and Moms Equal Pay Days
Register: To vote
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