Empowering Women
Did you know that every year, August 26th is known as National Women’s Equality Day? It might seem like there’s a day arbitrarily set to commemorate a random thing every day of the year now (e.g., National Donut Day, National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day, etc.). While we won’t complain about an excuse to go out for donuts, let’s not let these arbitrary “National” days deter us from observing those that are important and worth acknowledging. National Women’s Equality Day is one of those days that we think is absolutely worth observing, even if it means just talking about gender equality with our kids.
National Women’s Equality Day was actually designated by Congress in 1971 and was set to commemorate the certification of the 19th amendment on August 26, 1920. If you’re a little rusty on your U.S. History, we’ve got you! The 19th amendment gave women the right to vote, 72 years after women first met at Seneca Falls to launch the suffrage movement. Progress sure moves slowly sometimes, but the persistence of the suffragettes along with the undeniable importance of women in the World War I effort finally gave the amendment enough traction to gain approval from ¾ of our 50 state legislatures.
Nowadays, it's easy to take for granted that we women (50% of the population) have the right to vote. Can you imagine being told that your voice shouldn’t be counted? The other aim of National Women’s Equality Day is to bring attention to areas where women’s equality can still be improved upon, such as employment practices, healthcare, and education, to name just a few.
As small business owners and mothers, we are all for promoting women’s equality through the way we raise our kids and run our businesses. In honor of National Women’s Equality Day, we plan to:
Teach our kids about the history of the women’s rights movement or learn more about a trailblazing woman and discuss how they broke barriers (e.g. Amelia Earhart, Sally Ride)
Visit a women-owned local business
Reach out to our lady friends and make sure they’re registered to vote
Slip an encouraging note in their lunchbox or backpack today (e.g., “Girls can do anything!”)
Here’s hoping that through our collective efforts, our kids will grow up in a world where they think it’s absolutely unbelievable that women once made less money than men for doing the same work. Happy National Women’s Equality Day!