Working for Equality During Women's History Month

Did you know that March is officially Women's History Month? While we think women's history should be observed every month of the year, an official date in March is a great way to celebrate the many incredible women who have worked for equality and justice all over the world. Women have made huge contributions to science, literature, education, agriculture, and more. In the past century alone, women have won the right to vote, access to birth control and safe, legal abortions, and serve in public office. But Women's History Month also gives us a chance to recognize the challenges that women still face in society today.

For instance, the wage gap still hovers around 75 cents and in November, the Senate blocked the Paycheck Fairness Act that would protect women from sex-based pay discrimination in the workplace. In 2010, the United States ranked nineteenth in the Global Gender Gap Report, behind Sri Lanka, the Phillippines, and most European countries.

Another sad fact is that rape and sexual assault are still rampant. In the U.S. alone, a woman is raped every 6 minutes. These crimes are widely unreported and unsolved;  94% of rapists won't even spend time in jail. What's more, our culture still holds a victim-blaming attitude towards sexual assault victims.

And, as we have seen and reported on frequently in the past few months, women's health care today faces some of the most extreme threats in history. Anti-choice legislation and extremist groups are aiming to strip women of their access to affordable health care and impose strong restrictions on abortion services at state and federal levels.

We should celebrate the accomplishments and progress women everywhere have made, but it is obvious that there is still a lot of work to be done. This is just one more reason why Planned Parenthood is so grateful for all of the supporters we have online and in our communities. Thank you for joining us in the fight to protect women's health care everywhere, every day. While we are relieved and excited that the Senate voted against HR1 defunding Planned Parenthood, we know the fight isn't over yet.

Click here to find out more about how you can stand with Planned Parenthood!

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