Officially, Women's Equality Day exists to celebrate and remember the passage of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing women the right to vote. Unofficially, it serves as a reminder of how important the ability to vote ranks in America.

Why It’s Important

The ability to vote represents the true power of American democracy: everybody gets to decide on a proposed action or law, and the wishes of the majority of those voters serve as directives to our elected officials on how to proceed. In many ways, the constitutional right to vote also serves as the true meaning of equality, as the vote of a poor person has the same worth as the vote of a wealthy person. 

The appeal of an action being the best decision because a majority supports that action appears in almost every argument, and voting serves as a physical demonstration of that idea.

Prior to 1920, every woman in America lacked that right. In contemporary terms, that meant more than half the population of the United States had no legal say in any of the decisions being made on their behalf. And just like most amendments to the Constitution, the people and organizations that sought the right for women’s votes had to fight an uphill battle to make sure their right to vote was constitutionally protected. 

While many rights and privileges granted to U.S. citizens get debated on a regular basis, such as Freedom of Speech and the Right to Bear Arms, the right to vote and to have that vote counted and credited has been receiving more attention in the last six years. Many people have become more concerned with their vote being counted, or being denied the ability to vote, and they have responded to pointing to the laws solidifying that guarantee.

An Argument for Respect

While Women’s Equality Day refers specifically to the right to vote for women, the name also serves as a call for equality over a broader spectrum of society. To this day, women still have to fight for respect and recognition in multiple areas, making the notion of equality both a celebration of a great victory and a goal to be accomplished.

Contemporary women still face multiple challenges in areas including employment choices, payment, and lifestyle. Even in the 21st century, many critics continue to view the concept of a single mother as a negative, hold women to stricter social standards than men, and insist that outdated social rules continue to be observed. 

As such, Woman’s Equality Day can serve as a beacon of hope: if such a great accomplishment could occur more than 100 years ago, even greater accomplishments can still be attained. 

How To Celebrate

The best way to observe Woman’s Equality Day includes registering to vote and taking the time to learn more about specific voting issues that could directly impact women.

For example, if a proposed law on your local voting district aims to restrict access to women’s healthcare, take the time to find out who wrote the law, what will it do, and how it could impact the women in your life.

Remember to exercise your right to vote, and remember all the women who made it possible.