Congresswoman Clarke's Statement on Women's Equality Day

Statement

Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke released the following statement to commemorate Women's Equality Day, celebrated on the Ninety-Fourth Anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment, which established that the right of women to vote.

Congresswoman Bella Abzug of New York in 1971 introduced the bill authorizing a proclamation by the President of the United States in honor of Women's Equality Day.

"Much has been achieved since the enactment of the Nineteenth Amendment. Today, there are eighty-two women in the House of Representatives and twenty women in the Senate -- more than at any time in the history of the United States. But our work must continue. In 2014, women on average earn only seventy-seven cents for every dollar earned by a man. Policies such as universal early childhood education and paid maternity and paternity leave -- which would substantially reduce the difference in pay for men and women -- have not been enacted by Congress. We cannot as a nation succeed in the Twenty-First Century unless we develop the capacities of every individual person," said Congresswoman Clarke, who has worked to eliminate disparities by expanding early childhood education and allowing the victims of pay discrimination to reclaim their unpaid wages.

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