Before 1920, American women were not allowed to vote in most local and state elections, and none held that right in national elections. In fact, the country’s foundational value that “all men are created equal” did not fully apply to women or people of color in most areas of life. Women who worked outside the home could not expect equal pay (still an issue today), nor could they borrow money from a bank, or seek higher education without discrimination.
Women’s Equality Day celebrates the anniversary of the 19th Amendment’s certification on August 26, 1920. After that, all women who were U.S. citizens achieved the right to vote* and hold public office. It marked the culmination of a 72-year struggle that began with the work of activists like Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Sojourner Truth, and Susan B. Anthony and blossomed into a suffrage movement that enlisted thousands of women who put their lives on the line in pursuit of equal rights.
Of course, the passage of the 19th Amendment was just the beginning. From achievements in business, politics, science, and every walk of life, women are closer to realizing the promise of equal rights. But challenges remain, from achieving equal pay in the workplace to ending discrimination and abuse. There is much work to do, and today we celebrate one of the milestones in a list of many that help create better lives for the women of tomorrow.
*For African American women, the guarantees of the 19th Amendment were not immediately realized, particularly in the Jim Crow south. Race-based violence, intimidation, and electoral disenfranchisement suppressed African American voters until the Civil Rights Movement and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Even today, African American women and men encounter barriers to voting like unfair voter-ID laws and policies that limit the number of polling places in communities of color.