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Victoria Gordon, Georgia College & State University’s Coverdell Visiting Scholar, worked to have a proclamation for Women’s Equality Day announced at Tuesday’s city council meeting.
“This is a time to honor the many women and men who fought for decades for women’s suffrage. They persevered and were persistent,” said Gordon. “So, each year we recognize that hard work and the outcome-the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment on Aug. 26.”
Due to the influence of Rep. Bella Abzug in 1971, U.S. Congress designated Aug. 26 as “Women’s Equality Day,” in 1973. Women’s Equality Day celebrates the certification of the Nineteenth Amendment and the importance of women’s work for democracy.
“For me personally, it is a day to honor my great, great aunt Mildred Susan Garrett McFaden, who fought for women’s suffrage both in the U.S. and abroad. It is a way to connect family history and to remind my children and grandchildren that no matter how small our efforts may seem, we can make a difference,” said Gordon.
Gordon also emphasized that the proclamation will “hit the ground running” to get GCSU students involved in recognizing the importance of women and politics. She further stated that this act will help to set the tone for the upcoming programming that will be available to the community in the next three months.
“To celebrate Women’s Equality Day, I would encourage everyone to have a conversation with a young person. Remind them that the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified in 1920 and that we celebrate the woman’s right to vote on Aug. 26 of each year,” said Gordon. “I would also remind everyone to register to vote and to exercise that right to vote.”
As a woman working in local government, Gordon has faced her own struggles as a woman.
“As a woman in higher education, I felt a sense of duty not only to work hard, but to become tenured and promoted to the rank of full professor in order to set a good example for the women in my institution,” said Gordon. “Even if men and women start out in academia on equal footing in terms of pay, etc. at the assistant professor level, often research has shown that women fall behind their male counterparts at the associate and full professor level.”
While Gordon expressed some concerns of women’s equality being set back, she encourages any woman who feels as if they are not equal to stay on the journey and remember that setting an example for younger women is important.
“I think it is not so much that men and women are not “equal” in the workplace, but that their pay, benefits, working conditions and workloads are not equal. Keep working, stay on the path; the journey is long and difficult, but we are making important strides,” said Gordon. “Never lose sight of the accomplishments.”
At the beginning of the City Council meeting, the proclamation was read to Gordon and her students who will be learning about women and politics as part of their curriculum this semester. Mayor Mary Parham-Copelan welcomed the group to the podium with her to hear the reading of the proclamation.
“Whereas the city of Milledgeville joins the United States Congress, in setting aside this historically significant day to celebrate the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, and the positive trajectory that women’s voting rights set for our nation towards understanding the importance of women’s equity and our democracy,” read Bo Danuser, city clerk, from the proclamation. “And whereas the city of Milledgeville is commemorating Women’s Equity Day, as a day of celebrating the importance of the suffrage movement, and the works of securing and expanding equal rights for women today.”
The proclamation encourages citizens of Milledgeville to highlight the value of women in society by working towards economic, social and traditional equality, partnering to celebrate the progress that has been made in women’s rights, and proactively addressing the challenges that remain.
Parham-Copelan expressed gratitude to Gordon and her students for their research in women in politics and encouraged them to continue their learning journey by being involved with their community.
In other news, the council closed this meeting by unanimously approving a resolution to authorize an agreement with Simonton Engineering to provide the engineering for stormwater projects on Woodview Drive, Sinclair Dam Road, Long Acre and Sussex Drive.