This year marks the 42nd Women’s Equality Day Published Aug. 21, 2013 By Airman 1st Class Joshua Edwards 17th Training Wing Public Affairs GOODFELLOW AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- This Aug. 26 marks the 42nd Women's Equality Day across the United States. U.S. Congress designated Aug. 26 as Women's Equality Day in 1971, when Representative Bella Abzug proposed the bill naming the day to coincide with a nationwide women's strike for equality. August is also the month when Congress ratified the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which guaranteed the right for women to vote. "The product of profound struggle and fierce hope, the 19th Amendment reaffirmed what we have always known: that America is a place where anything is possible and where each of us is entitled to the full pursuit of our own happiness," said President Barack Obama, in the 2012 Women's Equality Day Presidential Proclamation. "We also know that the defiant, can-do spirit that moved millions to seek suffrage is what runs through the veins of American history. It remains the wellspring of all our progress. And nearly a century after the battle for women's franchise was won, a new generation of young women stands ready to carry that spirit forward and bring us closer to a world where there are no limits on how big our children can dream or how high they can reach." Today, people continue the fight when it comes to women's equality. Fighting for equal pay, combat jobs and leadership roles in the military, politics and corporate America. The Defense Department has also taken a step forward to include the Jan. 24 decision allowing women into combat positions for the military.
