Women’s Lib
(or the 19th Amendment Celebration)
From The Pen Woman, Fall 2020
By Nancy B. Burke
Editor’s note: Last winter, a committee of 12 Greenwich Pen Women met to discuss submissions for the 100th anniversary celebration of the 19th Amendment — following an inspiring talk by Greenwich resident Coline Jenkins, the great-great granddaughter of suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Greenwich Branch member Nancy B. Burke wrote this essay for the group (and has since revised it).
On Aug. 26, 2020, the descendants of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Sojourner Truth will unveil Meredith Bergmann’s statue portraying these three suffragists in Central Park to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment — the right for American women of any race or color to vote.
Fifty years after this amendment passed, the women’s rights movement had gained momentum and was dubbed “Women’s Lib.” But not until the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974 did women throughout the country gain the right to apply for their own credit cards.
Even today, women struggle to achieve parity with their male counterparts at work. Although women have made significant progress toward equality, there continue to be deeper issues relating to one’s upbringing, education, career, marriage, and personal ambition.
Upbringing:
What we teach our children has a lasting impact. We can teach our sons and daughters how to excel academically, compete in athletics, handle finances, hold a good job, co-parent, cook, clean, etc.
Education:
In the United States, today’s women of the 21st century can apply to schools and colleges that once only admitted men. As recently as 50 years ago, this was usually not the case. Women were not admitted to the Ivy League colleges and instead attended single-sex colleges or co-ed universities.
Until the latter part of the 20th century, it was unusual for female college graduates to become lawyers, doctors, or business women. Societal expectations in the early 20th century were for women to get married and start a family after (or before) graduation.
Career:
Today’s women can apply for jobs in what were once predominantly male fields, such as law, medicine, business, technology, engineering, etc. In the 1970s, Citibank and other banks began to offer training programs for college-educated women who wanted to enter their ranks. Gradually, there became less of a stigma for men or women to work as peers and to change jobs or careers.
Marriage:
Today’s women tend to marry men who share job and family responsibilities. The marriage vows “to love and to cherish” have replaced men asking women “to love and obey.” And it’s as important for a female to have a job and access to a credit card as it is for a man.
Trying to hold a job while raising children is hard work for working mothers, and during the COVID-19 quarantines this year, childcare has placed an extra burden on young working mothers — making it even more necessary for men and women to share parenting and household tasks while relying on extra help from grandparents and caretakers.
Personal ambition:
Today’s women are advised to explore careers that are fulfilling and profitable for them as they lead healthy lives in peaceful coexistence with men.
As we watch the ceremony for the installation of three suffragists in Central Park this August, we will be reminded of how far women in this country have come and how far we still have to go.
As Elizabeth Cady Stanton (the great-great grandmother of Greenwich resident Coline Jenkins) said: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal.”