Senator Boxer: Celebrating Women's Suffrage   

Friday, August 26, 2011  

Dear Friend:

On this date in 1920, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution became law.  The Amendment states simply: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of sex.”  With fewer than 30 words, a new era of American history was ushered in.

When I first entered the Senate in 1993, the number of women Senators tripled - from two to six.  That year alone, we passed legislation that dealt with women’s health, domestic violence, education funding, environmental protections, and deficit reduction.  And our country has only become better for that.

Today there are a record 17 women in the Senate, and we’ve made more progress in recent years.  In 2009 we passed the Lilly Ledbetter Act, ensuring that women could access equal pay.  Last year we passed landmark healthcare reform that prevents insurance companies from considering pregnancy, or just being female, as a preexisting condition.  And just this month, the Department of Health and Human Services announced guidelines requiring new health insurance plans to cover women’s preventive services such as contraceptives, annual well-woman checkups, and domestic violence screenings without charging a co-pay or deductible.

Of course, we still have a long way to go.  In the workplace, women still make only about 77 cents for each dollar earned by men in comparable jobs.  In corporate boardrooms and executive offices, women still bump into the glass ceiling.  And in Congress and state legislatures across our country, women’s health and women’s rights are under constant attack.

One of my favorite statues in the U.S. Capitol depicts three heroes of the suffragette movement: Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Lucretia Mott.  The sculptor, Adelaide Johnson, left the statue unfinished in acknowledgement of everything we have yet to achieve, from equal representation and equal pay to finally electing our first female President.

As we recall the giants of women’s suffrage, we should rededicate ourselves to their noble goal: ensuring that full equality is the rule in our country, not the exception.  There is no better way to honor the brave women who came before us and to create even more opportunities for those who come next.

Sincerely,