August 30, 2024 - The New Jersey Department of Children and Families Celebrates Women’s Equality Day and 50 Years of the NJ Division on Women

The celebration was held during the Alice Paul Institute's Women's Equality Day Festival and featured a panel discussion by women leaders on the status of gender equality in New Jersey

August 30, 2024
Contact: NJ DCF Office of Communications, [email protected]

LAUREL, N.J. - Coinciding with Women's Equality Day, the New Jersey Department of Children and Families (NJ DCF), in partnership with the Alice Paul Institute, celebrated the Division on Women's (DOW) 50-Year Anniversary last week during the Institute's Women's Equality Day Festival. The festival included a variety of activities throughout the day, including a panel discussion titled "Women's Movement in New Jersey: Trajectory Over the Last 50 Years and the Road Ahead," during which prominent New Jersey women leaders explored the history of the women's movement in the state and the work toward gender equality.

In 1973, the United States Congress passed legislation officially recognizing August 26 as Women's Equality Day and commemorating the 1920 certification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which gave certain women the right to vote.

A year later, on August 26, 1974, then-New Jersey Governor Brendan Byrne signed legislation that formally established the DOW.

"As we celebrate Women's Equality Day and recognize all the sacrifices and contributions made by generations of women across our country, we envision a better future for all women and young girls based on decisions and investments we are making today," said First Lady Tammy Murphy. "For 50 years, the NJ Division on Women has worked to support and advance women in our state in many different areas from education to child care to health care and beyond. I am eager to support the Division's next 50 years as we work together to uplift future generations of women and young girls across New Jersey."

"Celebrating our DOW's 50th Anniversary and Women's Equality Day together with our partners at the Alice Paul Institute is of special significance," said DCF Commissioner Christine Norbut Beyer. "It's an opportunity to reflect back on the extraordinary work performed over the last five decades at DOW in support of women and young girls-the many lives touched, inspired, strengthened, and lifted up, and the progress women have made in every sector of society, while recognizing the many greats like suffragist Alice Paul, who helped pave the way toward women's equality and upon whose shoulders we stand today."

As an integral part of NJ DCF, DOW's mission is to create, promote, and expand the rights and opportunities of all women in New Jersey. The Division works to elevate women's issues, women's empowerment, and women's equality to ensure the needs of all women are recognized and supported. Services provided by DOW have adapted and continued to grow over the years to meet the needs of women and their families, including the recent inclusion of culturally specific services for survivors of domestic and sexual violence and the adoption of evidence-based supportive housing for families in need of temporary shelter due to intimate partner violence.

In 2023, DOW served more than 60,000 individuals who sought domestic and sexual violence supports, and tens of thousands more accessed culturally specific services, including employment assistance, personal and life skills training, financial planning and childcare referrals.

"We've made gains in every area imaginable, including more equitable - but not yet equal - wages, better work-life balance, and fairer political representation. We have achieved hard-won progress and excelled in so many arenas, including the business world, politics, technology and research, medicine, and athletics," said DOW Director Anna Martinez. "In less than a lifetime, we have shattered so many glass ceilings, but there is so much more work to do."

"Thanks to the Governor and support from the legislature, the DOW has been able to remain laser-focused on providing safe, dignified homes for survivors of domestic violence to re-establish themselves, engage in healing, and rebuild their lives," added Anna Martinez.

For more information about DCF/DOW programs, services, and supports for victims of domestic violence and sexual violence visit https://www.nj.gov/dcf/women/index.html. If you or someone you know is in an unsafe situation and needs immediate help, call the Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-572-SAFE (7233).

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