August 26, 2025
DocID #51941v1
City Council
DATE: August 26, 2025
TO: Mayor Martinez and Members of the City Council
FROM:
Vice Mayor Cesar Zepeda
Subject:
Proclamation recognizing August 26, 2025, as Women’s
Equality Day
FINANCIAL IMPACT: None
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
None
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
August 26 th marks the annual, national observation of Women’s Equality Day. It is a day celebrating the
importance of the women’s suffrage movement and the
work to secure and expand equal rights. The nineteenth amendment, which granted women the right to vote , was
adopted to the United States Constitution in 1920 . It
prohibited states from depriving citizens of the United States of the right to vote based on gender. National
Women’s Equality Day not only commemorates these
achievements but also underscores the importance of
continued advocacy to achieve true gender equality.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
PROCLAMATION recognizing August 26, 2025, as
Women’s Equality Day , which celebrates the importance
of the women’s suffrage movement and the work to secure and expand equal rights and underscores the importance
of continued advocacy to achieve true gender e quality - Vice Mayor Cesar Zepeda (510-620-6593).
AGENDA
REPORT
August 26, 2025
DocID #51941v1
DISCUSSION:
At the behest of Rep. Bella Abzug (D-NY), in 1971 and passed in 1973, the U.S. Congress designated August 26 as “Women’s Equality Day.” The date was selected to commemorate the 1920 certification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which granted women the right to vote. This was the culmination of a massive, peaceful civil rights movement by women that had its formal beginnings in 1848 at the world’s first women’s rights conven tion, in Seneca Falls, New York. The observance of Women’s Equality Day not only commemorates the passage of the 19th Amendment but also calls attention to women’s continuing efforts toward full equality.
Despite significant progress made since the 19th Amendment, today Women’s Equality Day serves as a vital forc e functioning for the work that remains to be done to achieve gender equality both in the United States and abroad. Women make up half the global population, but continue to face disparities in pay, representation, and opportunities.
Women’s Equality Day serves as a poignant reminder that the pursuit of gender equality is an ongoing global priority, while commemorating the achievements of women and all those who have supported th em in their efforts. By continuing to promote the rights and empowerment of all women and girls, we can move closer to a world where gender equality is not just an aspiration but a reality.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – Proclamation