One hundred and one years ago today, the world celebrated the first International Women’s Day. First established in 1911, the day was meant as a general celebration of respect, appreciation, and love towards women – but also as a celebration of women’s economic, political and social achievements. Since the first IWD, this country has seen a lot of change. In 1920, ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment gave women across the country the right to vote in political elections for the first time. In 1973, the landmark Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade formally declared that a woman could choose for herself whether to have an abortion without government intervention. And in 2009, I voted with my colleagues to pass the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to ensure that women who were discriminated against with unfair wages would be able to bring their employers to justice. None of these positive changes would have happened without the commitment and dedication of the women who fought for their rights, and for those of future generations of girls.
We have accomplished a lot in the past 100 years, but there is still much to be done. Women still do not receive equal pay for equal work. More than half of uneducated children around the world are girls. One in four girls will be sexually violated by the time they turn 18. And women’s rights are constantly under attack by a House majority that continually tries to undermine a woman’s privacy and freedom to choose. These are all egregious atrocities that we must work to fix. This International Women’s Day, let us resolve to continue pushing for equal rights and respect for all women.
Watch my video message for Women’s History Month below: