International Women's Day (IWD) celebrated on March 8th was originally called International Working Women's Day. The earliest Women’s Day observance in the USA was held on February 28th 1909 in New York in remembrance of the 1908 strike of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. Every year there’s a theme & this year it’s “Choose To Challenge” declaring that we all must choose to challenge & call out gender bias & inequality. We can all choose to seek out & celebrate women's achievements. Collectively, we can all help create an inclusive world. From challenge comes change so let's all choose to challenge. First on the agenda in this country is to pass the Equality Act first introduced by U.S. Representatives Bella Abzug (D-NY) in 1974 & still 47 years later has not become the law of land nationally where protections against discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation & marital status in federally assisted programs, housing sales, rentals, financing & brokerage services remains. Though the undated version has been reintroduced & passed once again by Congress it still has not been voted upon by the U.S. Senate. In the meantime for women equal pay is not yet equal. A woman makes 77 cents on a dollar & women of color make 67 cents. President Biden & Vice President Harris are vocal defenders of the Equality Act issuing a statement from the White House stating, “Every person should be treated with dignity & respect & this bill represents a critical step toward ensuring that America lives up to our foundational values of equality & freedom for all." So let’s take the challenge & pass the Equally Act.
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