CITY OF SEBASTOPOL
Proclamation
Proclaiming August 26, 2024 as Women’s Equality Day in the City of Sebastopol Whereas, America is the only Nation in the world based on an idea — the idea that all people are created equal and deserve to be treated equally throughout their lives.; and Whereas, on August 26, 2024, we mark the 104th anniversary of the enactment of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution which secured the right to vote for women; and Whereas, in 1976, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors established one of the first Commissions on the Status of Women in the State of California with the purpose of promoting “equal rights and opportunities that enhance the quality of life for all women and girls” and addressing “issues of discrimination and prejudice that negatively affect women in Sonoma County”; and Whereas, women now constitute nearly 50 percent of our workforce, the majority of the students in our colleges and graduate schools, and an increasing number of primary breadwinners; and Whereas, in 2023-2024, Sonoma County women working full time earned 86% of what men earned and those women working in agriculture and service areas earned even less; and Whereas, even with the gains women have made, work remains to be done in many areas that directly impact equal pay for equal work including access to quality affordable childcare, affordable housing and comprehensive healthcare for women, including reproductive and mental health care; and
Whereas, the mandate for Womens Equality Day in 2024 is to “invest in women and girls to accelerate the progress” of our country.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, THAT I, Mayor Diana Gardner Rich, on behalf of the entire City Council, join Sonoma County and proclaims August 26, 2024 as WOMENS EQUALITY DAY, marking the 104th anniversary of the enactment of the 19th Amendment, celebrating the achievements of women and recommitting to gender equality in the City of Sebastopol, including equal pay for equal work, and accelerating the overall progress of women and girls; and IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and the Great Seal of the City of Sebastopol this 6th day of August, 2024.
----------------------------------------------------------- Diana Gardner Rich, Mayor
DRAFT