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 schoolteacher, 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, according to Wallet Hub’s annual Best and Worst States For Women report, released on August 22, 2022, when evaluating workplace environment, education, health, and political empowerment, Utah ranks last (50th) in the Nation; and
WHEREAS, a Utah Women & Leadership Project briefing from February 2022 revealed that none of Utah’s congressional seats are held by women, women make up only 26% (27 of 104) of the Utah Legislature, and of the 252 municipalities in the state, only 60 (23.8%) have women mayors.
WHEREAS, since at least 1989, Utah has had one of the broadest gender wage gaps in the Nation, with women earning 69.1% of what men make, according to a 2022 study published by Business.org, and women of color earn even less – notably Latina women who face the widest wage gap earning 49 cents for every dollar a white Utah man makes; and
WHEREAS, to both honor the accomplishments and build upon the work of the Women’s Equality Day activists, Salt Lake City remains diligent in pushing for greater citywide equity, promoting a culture that values and supports women in the workplace, collaborating on future legislation designed to narrow the wage gap, creating more accessible and affordable childcare, and incentivizing businesses to reexamine diversity ratios and inequalities.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Erin Mendenhall, Mayor of Salt Lake City, proclaim August 26, 2022, as:
Women’s Equality Day in Salt Lake City
To view an electronic copy of the signed proclamation, click here.