| National Women's History Museum |
Women’s history is largely missing from textbooks, memorials, museum exhibits and many other venues. In contrast, men have hundreds of years of written and available history to reflect upon and use for inspiration. Of the 210 statues in the United States Capitol, only nine are of female leaders. Less than five percent of the 2,400 national historic landmarks chronicle women's achievement and according to a survey of 18 history textbooks, only 10% were dedicated to women.
This is why I have introduced the National Women’s History Museum Act which directs the General Services Administration (GSA) to house a National Women’s History Museum in one of their properties in Washington DC. NWHM must pay fair market value for the property and reasonable timeframes are included for the transfer of the property and for construction to begin. NWHM will be built and maintained with private funds.
The museums and memorials in our nation’s Capitol demonstrate what we value. We have museums dedicated to flight, postage stamps, law enforcement and many other important people and issues of interest, but not to women. This bill would provide women, comprising 53% of our population, a long overdue home on our National Mall to honor their many contributions that are the very fabric of our country.
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