Today is the 101st Anniversary of Women’s Right to Vote. The 19th Amendment is often thought of as the one that gave women the right to vote, but the fact is that it did not deliver on that promise.
Native Americans did not gain the right to vote until the Snyder Act of 1924. Even then, some Western states, including Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, didn’t grant Native Americans the right to vote until the 1940s and ‘50s. It wasn’t until the Cable Act of 1922 that women were allowed to keep their citizenship — and gain the right to vote. In Puerto Rico, literate women won the right to vote in 1929, but it wasn’t until 1935 that all women were given that right. And Asian American immigrant women were denied the right to vote until 1952 when the Immigration and Nationality Act allowed them to become citizens.
Although women are half the population, the 120 women in the House of Representatives are less than 25% of that legislative body. 25 of the 100 seats in the U.S. Senate are held by women. Of the governors of the 50 states, only 8 are women — less than 18%. Women of color hold just a fraction of those seats.
With all this in mind, let’s take today as a learning opportunity. While we have achievements to be grateful for, it took too long to get here, and there is much progress still to be made. Do your part by participating in your right — register to vote today!
Source: history.com, nbcnews.com, nps.gov