Women’s Equality Day 2007 Once again this year the NWHP joined a coalition of California women’s organizations to stage of Women’s Equality Day Parade in Sacramento. . This year the parade program was followed by a slide presentation on the strategies of Woman Suffrage Movement by Robert Cooney, author of Winning the Vote: the Triumph of the Woman Suffrage Movement. Bob’s presentation was an amazing tribute to the creative, brilliant strategies of the movement as well as to the tenacity of working for 72 years to win the right to vote. My participation in Women’s Equality Day was different from previous years in that I spent a day at Fort Irwin in Southern California.

Although I have spoken at many hundreds of national, federal, and community gatherings, this year was the first time I had the opportunity to speak to about 250 military personal. From the posters that decorated the facility to the introduction by the Commanding Officer to the program which included soldiers portraying some of the most famous women’s right activists, I was very impressed by the preparation, understanding, and respect for the importance of Women’s Equality Day.

It seems that often the federal government does more programs for Women’s Equality Day than women’s organizations or the schools. Since next year is an election year, we are hoping that we’ll be able to launch an early campaign to encourage more programs, parades, and special events throughout country to recognize Women’s Equality Day and the importance of women winning the right to vote.