On March 8, 2026, International Women's Day was held to uphold women's achievements. On November 2, 2026, a local action to protect our Feminine future was held. Were you aware of those events? I was not. Did I miss something important or have women's issues faded?
Are younger women even aware of the first distinct Women's Movement late in the 19th century to the early 20th once famous. Do they recognize the importance of the Seneca Falls Convention, or do they know about the huge marches for the right to vote.
The second wave was in the 1960s to the 1980s. Betty Friedan's book, The Feminine Mistique was important, but other issues were also important, involving race, classes, and sexuality. Ms. magazine was started by co-founder Gloria Steinem and others whose magazine addressed modern women, unlike women's magazines that focused on domestic issues like cooking and housekeeping. Ms. was a hit when it started in 1971, but it was sold by the original founders in 1987, having somehow lost its initial impact.
Does a Woman's Movement equivalent to those movements exist today? From 2010 to the present has a digital movement, or more accurately, Digital Movements with Global reach displaced anything from the past? Maybe the answer is Yes and No. Certainly, the internet offers a far greater reach than early efforts. Thousands of women around the world can be reached in a few hours. Yet, there is still room for using small more personal activities.
I also believe history is an important asset. For that reason, I believe it is important to be introduced to women of the past and their achievements. One such woman is Frances Willard, who was born September 28, 1839. She was an educator, reformer, founder of the World Woman's Christian Temperance Union, and leader of the national Prohibition Party. Although it might seem that her focus was on Temperance, she declared her role as a "Do Everything" job. Political issues were important to her, as were Women's rights. She wanted the vote, she wanted schools to include the battle against alcohol, she wanted the age of marriage for girls to be raised. I am sure that there were many other things she wanted in her Do everything life. Even when women did not have the vote, she did not hesitate to involve herself into politics. When she died the Temperence Union focused once again on temperance, but she was not forgotten. She became the first woman to receive the honor of having her likeness in the USA Congress Statuary Hall. .
I can only imagine what Frances Willard would think if she could wake up this morning and catch the news. I woke up early, and as of then at least ten women have been elected to serve as State Chief Executives, and votes were still being counted. Illinois became the first state with two women of color in the Senate at the same time, and Minnesota became the first state to elect a Native American to the Senate.
We should never take for granted what Sojouner Truth, Lucretia Moot, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Susan B. Anthony, and countless others did to give the women of today not only the opportunity to hold their offices, but especially the right to vote!
