Tim Kaine Statement on Women's Equality Day

Statement

Today, Tim Kaine released the following statement on Women's Equality Day and the ratification of the 19th Amendement giving women voting rights:

"Today, we mark the 92nd anniversary of women's suffrage and reflect on the transition our nation has made over nearly a century. From our boardrooms to our battlefields, and our courts of law to our halls of Congress, women continue to play pivotal roles in shaping the direction of our country.

"As Governor, I worked to level the playing field and expand opportunities for women. I'm proud to have dramatically increased state contracts to small, minority, and women-owned businesses and made it easier for women entrepreneurs to start businesses through Virginia's Business One Stop portal. We brought Virginia's infant mortality rate to the lowest level in the Commonwealth's history, invested in education and children's health care, and embraced important achievements like the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. My administration strengthened protections to ensure that sexual abuse and domestic violence survivors had the resources they needed to recover. These and other accomplishments from my term as Governor were made possible with the leadership of four truly talented women who served in my cabinet and countless others who led agencies across our state government.

"Every opportunity to celebrate progress is also an opportunity to re-dedicate ourselves to the cause. Recently, we've seen troubling attempts to roll back women's rights, overrule women's own health care choices, and maintain old ways of doing business that allowed women to receive a lower salary than their male counterparts. Efforts to roll back the important progress we've made are not only bad for women, they're bad for Virginia's economy and our nation's economy. As a U.S. Senator, I'll fight attempts to legislate health care choices that should be left up to women and families, I'll strengthen protections to ensure women receive equal pay, and I'll focus on the issues that matter most to all Virginians -- strengthening our economy, responsibly reducing our deficit, investing in education and infrastructure, and renewing a spirit of compromise in our politics."

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