Fiscal Note
No appropriation required.
Title
Designating March 2017 as Women’s History Month in the city of Madison.
Body
WHEREAS, American women of every race, class, and ethnic background have made historic contributions to the growth and strength of our country in countless recorded and unrecorded ways; and,
WHEREAS, American women have played and continue to play a critical economic, cultural, and social role in every sphere of the life in our country by constituting a significant portion of the labor force working inside and outside of the home; and,
WHEREAS, American women have played a unique role throughout the history of the United States by providing the majority of the volunteer labor force; and,
WHEREAS, American women were particularly important in the establishment of early charitable, philanthropic, and cultural institutions; and,
WHEREAS, American women of every race, class, and ethnic background served as early leaders in the forefront of every major progressive social change movement; and,
WHEREAS, American women have been leaders, not only in securing their own rights of suffrage and equal opportunity, but also in the abolitionist movement, the emancipation movement, the industrial labor movement, the civil rights movement, and other movements, especially the peace movement, which create a more fair and just society for all; and,
WHEREAS, despite these contributions, the role of American women in history has been consistently overlooked and undervalued, in the literature, teaching, and study of American history, and,
WHEREAS, National Women’s History Month 2017 Theme is “Honoring Trailblazing Women in Labor and Business”, honoring women who have successfully challenged the role of women in both business and the paid labor force; and,
WHEREAS, facing stark inequalities in the workplace (lower wages, poor working conditions, and limited opportunities), they fought to make the workplace a less hostile environment for women and as labor and business leaders and innovators they defied the social mores of their times by demonstrating women’s ability to create organizations and establish their own businesses that paved the way for better working conditions and wages for themselves and other women; and,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Mayor and Madison Common Council designate March 2017 as "Women's History Month" in the city of Madison.