Women’s Equality Day celebrated every August 26, commemorates the passage of women’s suffrage in the U.S. and reminds us of the hurdles overcome by the heroic women who faced violence and discrimination to propel the women’s movement forward.
In the early 19th century, American women, who generally couldn’t inherit property and made half of a man’s wages in any available jobs, began organizing to demand political rights and representation.
By the early 1900s, several countries including Finland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom had legalized voting for women as the movement continued to sweep across the world. In the U.S., the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was first introduced in 1878, but it failed to gain traction. It wasn’t until women’s involvement in the World War I effort made their contributions painfully obvious that women’s suffrage finally gained enough support. Women’s rights groups pointed out the hypocrisy of fighting for democracy in Europe while denying it to half of the American citizens at home.
Because a Constitutional amendment requires approval from two-thirds of the states, 36 of them had to ratify the 19th Amendment before its passage. The deciding vote in the Tennessee legislature came from Harry T. Burn, a young state representative whose mother’s plea to support the amendment became a deciding factor in his vote (which he switched at the last minute).
Women aren’t done fighting for equal rights. Today, the wage gap between men and women still impacts women’s economic power, and gender-based discrimination still plagues workplaces and business transactions.
To remind us of past, present, and future struggles, Congress designated August 26 as Women’s Equality Day in 1971.
By The Numbers
18 – the number of countries where husbands can legally prevent their wives from working.
39 – the number of countries where sons and daughters do not share equal inheritance rights.
1 in 5 – women and girls have experienced physical and/or sexual abuse by a partner.
23.7% – the percentage of women representation in national parliaments.
108 – the number of years it will take to bridge the gender gap.
6 – the number of countries that give women equal work rights as men.
2.24 – the number of men for every female character in films.
47% – the percentage of the increased likelihood for women to suffer severe injuries in car crashes because safety features are designed for men.
13% – the percentage of women globally who are agricultural landholders.
40% – the percentage drop in girls getting married in childhood in Southern Asia since 2000.
