On August 26th, 1920, a proclamation was signed by the U.S. Secretary of State, giving women the right to vote. This became the 19th Amendment. This day became known as Women’s Equality Day. As we all know this did not include women of color. But it was a start in women having more rights in this country in which they lived. At the time, there were groups of women of all races who fought the good fight together to get this done. This unity helped in having many more rights happen as the years went on including reproductive rights and positions in government. Now, here we are in 2025, so much has happened. Considering it’s been over 100 years since this time, not enough grace has been extended to women. Even though, we contribute so much to this society and make up large numbers of the population.
Here are some facts…
- As of January 2025, there are only 151 women members of the U.S. Congress out of 535 members. In all aspects of politics including state and local elected positions, women hold less than 40% of the seats in all areas.
- There has only been one woman elected to be Vice President and that was Kamala Harris (2021-2024). There has yet to be a woman, President.
- Of the six women who served on the Supreme Court, only one of them was elected prior to 1993.
- As of 2020, Women make up 50.9% of the population compared to 49.1% of men. It is expected that by 2027, there will be a 2-3% decrease in the women population in ages below 60 years. But a greater ratio of women in ages above 60 years.
- As of 2024, women earn 83.2% of men’s pay as there are even inequities when there is a similar experience and education backgrounds.
- Women are generally more educated than men, holding more bachelor and higher degrees. As of 2024, 47% of women compared to 37% of men hold college degrees.
So, in reflection of this day, there is still a fight to true equality. With reproductive rights being at the forefront of politics once again in 2025, this alone tells the story. My hope is that as a group we do our best to unite to increase our power in this country and beyond because there are still many countries where women have little to no rights.