The White House is declaring Wednesday Women’s Equality Day to mark 95 years since women won the right to vote under the 19th Amendment.
According to the presidential proclamation released Monday by the White House Press office, the holiday celebrates America’s efforts towards gender equality in the social, political, and economic spheres.
“From day one, my Administration has carried forward the torch of gender equality, working tirelessly to ensure that all of America's daughters have the same rights as her sons,” President Obama announced in his statement. “When women succeed, America succeeds.”
Obama’s declaration champions The Affordable Care Act for ensuring “vital health services for women” and the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault to combat sexual assault at universities. But the president says more progress needs to be made on these fronts and others, including on the issue of equal pay.
Every president has proclaimed Aug. 26 Women’s Equality Day since 1972, a year after U.S. representative Bella Abzug introduced and helped pass the bill in Congress.
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