Women’s Equality Day

August 26 celebrates Women's Equality Day. This day we commemorate the struggles of women to be heard and those who fiercely advocate for women's statutory right to vote. Since 1920, the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees all American women the right to vote and legally recognizes women as equal citizens.

While women in some states could vote before 1920, there were many women, particularly those of color, who were blocked from voting even after the 19th Amendment was ratified. Native American, Asian, and African American women didn't receive the right to vote until after the 1920s. Finally, the 1965 Voting Rights Act barred racial discrimination at the polls and granted full legal right to vote, granting all American women the right the vote.

Women's Equality Day grants an opportunity to honor the pioneering suffragists who persisted through decades of struggle to win all American women the right to vote. This day also celebrates advocates and everyday heroes who continue the long march for equality.