Expresssing Sense of Congress with Respect to Commemoration of Women Suffragists
EXPRESSING SENSE OF CONGRESS WITH RESPECT TO COMMEMORATION OF WOMEN SUFFRAGISTS -- (Extensions of Remarks - July 27, 2005)
SPEECH OF
HON. JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY
OF ILLINOIS
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MONDAY, JULY 25, 2005
Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.J. Res. 59, which honors and commemorates the contributions of women suffragists who fought for and won the right of women to vote in the United States.
The women's suffrage movement began with women speaking out for women's rights when their efforts to participate equally with men in the great reform movements of the mid-1800s--including antislavery and temperance--were rebuffed. These early feminists demanded a wide range of changes in women's social, moral, legal, educational, and economic status.
Although women in this country now have the right to vote, we must look back at the efforts of these pioneers and apply their passion to the continued fight for women's equality today.
Since 1920, when the Nineteenth Amendment finally granted women the right to vote, women have made great strides. Women have voted at a slightly higher rate than men in every Presidential election since 1964. What is even more encouraging is that more and more women are seeking elected office. For 20 years after Jeanette Rankin of Montana was elected to Congress in November 1916, the number of women in Federal office following each election never exceeded 9. I am proud to say that that number has dramatically increased since then. In 1980, women comprised 4 percent of the Congress. In 1990, 6 percent. Currently, in the 109th Congress, there are 83 women serving--69 in the House of Representatives and 14 in the Senate--over 15 percent of the Congress.
We have come a long way, but we still have a long way to go. So today, as we honor the women who fought for the rights so many of us today enjoy, we recommit ourselves to the ongoing fight for equality for women and all who are oppressed in this country and around the world.
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