Celebrating women's suffrage

In 1848, a group of fearless women gathered in Seneca Falls, N.Y., where they declared women’s fundamental equality with men and set out to secure our voting rights. In August 1920, after nearly 70 years and several generations of work, the suffragists faced a final difficult battle in Tennessee.

They had already won passage of the 19th Amendment in Congress and secured ratification of that amendment by 35 states; Tennessee’s ratification, if they could succeed, would give them the crucial number required to add the amendment to the Constitution and guarantee American women the right to vote.


In the Tennessee House, the vote was close. In fact, it was tied, deadlocked. Then, on the third round of voting, the youngest state legislator changed his mind. He had just received a letter from his mother, urging him to do the right thing.

And so, on Aug. 18, 1920 — 90 years ago today — women won the right to vote and make our voices heard in government. In the nine decades since, women have made great strides in America. A higher percentage of us vote than men, and a majority of us vote Democratic. Approximately three-fourths of the women in the U.S. Senate, U.S. House and state legislatures are Democrats as well. And as we all know, the speaker of the House, third in line to the presidency, is Nancy Pelosi. Our college attendance is equal to men's, and we are now presidents of great universities, we have joined the work force in record numbers, and we work as doctors, soldiers and plumbers as well as teachers, nurses and owners of our own small businesses — and so do our husbands and brothers. We have closed many of the gaps between women and men. But there is still a long way to go to secure full equality — and that is why President Barack Obama and the Democratic Party fight to level the playing field for women.

Although women continue to earn less than men do — just 78 cents on the dollar, on average — Obama took immediate action to close that gap. The very first bill the president signed after taking office was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which protects women against pay discrimination and helps to ensure women receive equal pay for equal work.

In addition, Obama has championed flexible work policies like paid sick leave because he believes women should not have to choose between keeping their jobs and caring for loved ones. Through a White House Forum on Workplace Flexibility and through the creation of a White House Council on Women and Girls, the president is working to better identify and address the challenges faced by women in the workplace.

At the same time, the president and his Democratic partners in Congress have enacted broad-based legislation that not only is helping America overall but also is giving particular benefits to women.

The recovery act, which has saved or created more than 2.5 million jobs across America, also contains provisions that are specifically targeted to help working women and families. For example, the act authorizes billions of dollars in new funding for Head Start and other child care programs and calls for unemployment insurance reforms that encourage states to cover part-time workers and individuals who have recently re-entered the work force, categories that include millions of women.

Similarly, the Affordable Care Act is a historic leap forward — for every American, but particularly for women. Under the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies will be prevented from imposing lifetime limits on coverage for women. They will no longer be able to drop coverage for women when they get sick or pregnant. They will no longer be able to charge women exorbitant out-of-pocket deductibles or co-payments. And they will no longer be able to charge women more simply because of their gender.

These are but a few examples of how we continue the fight for equality in our country. On this 90th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, it is important to give thanks for how far we have come and to continue to move forward together. So I hope you’ll join me in offering your support for the president and Democrats in Congress as they to work to open new doors of opportunity for women and men alike. And I hope you will open your hearts to the plight of so many of our sisters around the world who do not share the freedoms we enjoy because of the hard work of our foremothers, those heroic suffragists, almost a century ago.

Alice Germond is secretary of the Democratic National Committee.

This article tagged under: Anniversaries

Recovery Act