THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
COUNTY OF SAN MATEO, STATE OF CALIFORNIA

PROCLAMATION DESIGNATING AUGUST 26, 2011, AS

Women’s Equality Day

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WHEREAS, since 1971, the date of August 26 has been set aside nationally to commemorate the 1920 ratification of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution, to recognize and guarantee women their voting rights, and to highlight women’s continuing efforts toward full equality; and

   

WHEREAS, universal suffrage was the culmination of a massive, peaceful civil rights movement, with roots in the July 1848 Seneca Falls Convention, the first women’s rights convention in the United States and often credited as the birthplace of feminism; and

   

WHEREAS, over the past 90 years, women have made significant strides towards equality, including the Equality Pay Act of 1963 that promised wage equality; the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that outlawed gender-based employment discrimination; and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 that assured American women equal opportunities in educational and athletic programs; and

   

WHEREAS, as of 2011, six women hold federal cabinet-level positions, including US Secretary of State and three women sit on the US Supreme Court. In the California State Legislature, 22 women are in the Assembly and 12 in the state Senate, totaling 28.3 percent of the 120 seats available; and

   

WHEREAS, despite historic changes in laws and attitudes, true equality remains elusive. Women comprise approximately just 17 percent of the 112th US Congress and less than 24 percent of all seats in the 50 state legislatures. Additionally, as of 2011, four states (Delaware, Iowa, Mississippi and Vermont) have never elected a woman to Congress. In the private sector, just a dozen Fortune 500 CEOs are women, and many still have zero female board members; and women still make less than 80 percent of what men make for the same type of work; and

   

WHEREAS, Women’s Equality Day is an opportunity for everyone to remember and to teach youth that the rights and privileges women enjoy today were hard-won and that such progress requires protection and vigilance, both at the ballot box and by continuing to work for true equality at all levels.

   

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Supervisors of the County of San Mateo, State of California, hereby designates August 26, 2011, as Women’s Equality Day in recognition of the importance of continued efforts to improve the status of women in San Mateo County, across California, the United States and around the world.

   

Dated: AUGUST 26, 2011

   
 

SUPERVISORS:

  
   

CAROLE GROOM, PRESIDENT

   

DAVE PINE

   


DON HORSLEY

   


ROSE JACOBS GIBSON

   


ADRIENNE J. TISSIER

     

Attest:

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Deputy Clerk of the Board of Supervisors