WHEREAS, Women’s Equality Day is observed on August 26, the date the Nineteenth Amendment was certified (1919), guaranteeing women the right to vote in the United States; and

WHEREAS, the Wyoming Territory was first in the nation to extend voting rights to women in December 1869; however, the Utah Territory was the first to cast ballots, with Seraph Young, a Utah school teacher, being the first woman to vote during a municipal election on February 14, 1870; and

WHEREAS, women represented in every state, cultural, ethnic, and religious group worked tirelessly to secure women’s right to vote, and

WHEREAS, despite the efforts and outcome of those groundbreaking activists, women continue the work to gain full rights and privileges – public or private, legal, or institutional – as citizens of the United States; and

WHEREAS, when evaluating workplace environment, education, health, and political empowerment, Utah has been named the worst state for women’s equality for the fourth year in a row; and

WHEREAS, Utah’s female representation in the state legislature has ranked in the bottom half of the United States since 1977, and, currently, women make up 24% of the 104-member legislative body; and

WHEREAS, since at least 1989, Utah has had one of the broadest gender wage gaps in the nation, with women earning 70.2% of what men make and women of color earning even less – notably Black women who earn 52.6% of white men’s pay; and

WHEREAS, to both honor the accomplishments and build upon the work of the Women’s Equality Day activists, Salt Lake City will continue to push for greater citywide equity, promote a culture that values and supports women in the workplace and collaborate on future legislation designed to narrow the wage gap, create more accessible and affordable childcare, and incentivize businesses to reexamine diversity ratios and inequalities.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Erin Mendenhall, Mayor of Salt Lake City, proclaim August 26, 2021, as:

Women’s Equality Day in Salt Lake City

To view an electronic copy of the signed proclamation, click here.