R 141
2019 -- S 0525
Enacted 03/07/2019

S E N A T E   R E S O L U T I O N
RECOGNIZING MARCH 8, 2019, AS "INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY" IN THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

Introduced By: Senators Nesselbush, Quezada, Crowley, Lawson, and Gallo
Date Introduced: March 07, 2019

     WHEREAS, International Women's Day has been observed since the early 1900s, at a
time when women's oppression and inequality were causing women to become more vocal,
active, and demanding of change; and
     WHEREAS, The first National Women's Day was observed in the United States on
February 28, 1909, in honor of the 1908 garment worker's strike in New York City, where women
protested and demanded shorter hours, better pay, and voting rights; and
     WHEREAS, The first countries to honor International Women's Day in 1911 were
Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland, where together more than one million women and
men attended International Women's Day rallies campaigning for women's rights to work, vote,
hold public office, and to end discrimination in general; and
     WHEREAS, In 1977, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed, once and for all,
throughout the world, March 8th as International Women's Day, a day that is celebrated in the
United States and the world; and
     WHEREAS, International Women's Day has, since then and more recently, assumed
even larger national and international dimensions for women in developed and developing
countries alike; and
     WHEREAS, The United Nations has declared the 2019 theme for the International
Women's Day celebration to be #BalancedForBetter, demanding more balanced government,
boardrooms, courtrooms, pay parity and wealth. Gender balance is essential if our state, our
nation and our world are to thrive; and
     WHEREAS, Gender parity unfortunately remains elusive with white women earning
approximately 82 cents for every man's dollar, and with women of color faring even worse; and
     WHEREAS, Gender parity is further elusive, with sexual harassment and gender violence
remaining pervasive problems, as demonstrated by the sweeping #MeToo and #TimesUp
Movements; and
     WHEREAS, Although those statistics can be daunting and dim, there are nonetheless
numerous bright spots which we recognize and celebrate today. One of those bright spots is that
Rhode Island has not one, not two, not three and not four, but five female University and/or
College Presidents, and for that reason, the Rhode Island General Assembly has chosen "Women
in Higher Education," as this year's theme for International Women's Day; and
     WHEREAS, Those five female Presidents are Christina Paxson, President of Brown
University; Dr. Meghan Hughes, President of the Community College of Rhode Island; Mim L.
Runey, Chancellor of Johnson and Wales University; Rosanne Somerson, President of the Rhode
Island School of Design; and Dr. Jane Gerety, RSM, President of Salve Regina University; now,
therefore be it
     RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
hereby recognizes these five prestigious, smart, elite and distinguished women who have blazed
educational trails and broken glass ceilings to land at the top of their institutions. This Rhode
Island Senate encourages all citizens to celebrate and pay tribute to the contributions of these
women, and all women, nationally and in the State of Rhode Island; and be it further
     RESOLVED, That this Senate hereby recognizes March 8, 2019, as "International
Women's Day" in the State of Rhode Island; and be it further
     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to
transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to the first woman Governor of the State of Rhode
Island, the Honorable Gina Raimondo.
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LC002083
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