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President's Message: Women’s Equality Day and Economic Reality


Women’s Equality Day was Aug. 26, but after 18 months dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, “equality” has a hollow ring for women today.
 
Every economic report indicates that it is women who have been hit the hardest, especially women with school-age children or elder parents to care for and women on the lower economic scale or women of color. It is women on the front-line who have nursed patients back to health, checked us out at grocery stores, drug stores and other retailers, taken care of our isolated elders, served us meals to go, taught our children online and in person, and taken care of children in day care, often so a woman could go back to work.

We have watched our child care and elder care system fall apart, and with it, the ability of women to earn a living or be paid what they are really worth. Women make-up the majority of service and hospitality workers, but the safety net provided by Florida unemployment was inadequate and unworkable. The Florida Legislature and the Governor have refused to authorize Medicaid expansion, which would not only provide affordable healthcare to millions of Floridians but help to reduce medical debt.

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Women Have Clout?
 
While the number of women in the workforce has declined due to the pandemic, women still make up half of the national electorate. Why don’t we have more political clout? Why don’t we have more women in the State Legislature and Congress? Women have made huge strides at the city and county level, especially in Broward County, with our all-women school board standing up against the Governor to protect our children. You Rock Ladies!

I believe women do have political clout when we vote, but perhaps we aren’t voting or being as supportive of women becoming candidates or supporting those who do become candidates? Are we afraid to get our hands dirty in politics?

In Florida, we have Ruth’s List on the left and Maggie’s List on the right, but we also have the Womens Foundation of Florida with their nonpartisan “Women on the Run” program. Some women simply want to be leaders in their community, not the next president of the United States, which is perfectly acceptable, as we know it is the decisions at the local level that often affect us the most. However, women still have to learn how to become political leaders!

The exact dates for the fall “Women on the Run” program has not been announced but it will be starting in September. The program takes place over six weeks. It kicks off with a week of Zoom workshops followed by weekly workshops that delve deeper into key areas. The trainers include current and former elected officials and seasoned campaign experts. Check out recent graduates from previous “Women on the Run” programs; you will recognize familiar elected officials from Broward County!

Certifying the 19th Amendment
 
Back to why August 26 is Women’s Equality Day: it was on August 26, 1920 that U.S. Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby certified the Susan B. Anthony Amendment, making it the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It had passed Congress in 1919 and been ratified by 3/4 (36) of the states, with Tennessee being the last on August 18, 1920. With Colby’s signature, women finally had the right to vote!

Fifty years later in 1971, New York Rep. Bella Abzug introduced a resolution to proclaim August 26 as Women’s Equality Day. As with most things related to women’s rights, however, it wasn’t until two years later that Congress passed the resolution stating August 26 would be designated as Women's Equality Day and that "the President is authorized and requested to issue a proclamation in commemoration of that day in 1920 on which the women in America were first guaranteed the right to vote."

In the League, we know that passage of the 19th amendment did not bring equal voting rights to all women, but it was the culmination of a 72-year struggle to obtain this initial right to vote. That is worth celebrating on Women’s Equality Day!