Women’s Equality Day

While our fight for gender equality may be far from over — this year marks the 100th anniversary of women winning the right to vote! On this day we celebrate the day by honoring its importance, the women who fought for us to have this right, and use our voice to speak up for gender equality today.

The 19th Amendment gave U.S. women the right to vote nationally on August 18, 1920, and Women’s Equality Day is celebrated on August 26th each year.

Why the date difference?

When a constitutional amendment has been ratified it’s not official until it has been certified by the correct government official. In 1920, that official was U.S. Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby. On August 26, 1920, Colby signed a proclamation behind closed doors at 8 a.m. at his own house in Washington, D.C, ending a struggle for the vote that started a century earlier.