2025 -- S 0597

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025

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S E N A T E   R E S O L U T I O N

RECOGNIZING MARCH 8, 2025, AS "INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY", AND THE

MONTH OF MARCH AS "WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH", IN THE STATE OF RHODE

ISLAND

     Introduced By: Senators Urso, Ujifusa, Felag, Tikoian, LaMountain, Euer, E Morgan,
Lawson, Rogers, and Paolino

     Date Introduced: March 04, 2025

     Referred To: Recommended for Immediate Consideration

     WHEREAS, International Women’s Day is a global observance of the social, economic,

cultural and political achievements of women, marking a call to action to accelerate gender

equality, and to honor the contributions of women worldwide; and

     WHEREAS, International Women’s Day was launched in Western Europe in 1911, as a

day to rally for the rights of women to work, to vote, to be trained and to hold public office, and

to end discrimination against women; and

     WHEREAS, International Women’s Day was recognized by the United Nations in 1975,

and has since become an annual occasion to uplift and empower women and girls, to honor their

achievements and to safeguard their futures, to promote and lobby for women’s equality and

rights, and to showcase organizations that prioritize the well-being of women; and

     WHEREAS, In 2025, we celebrate the 114th observance of International Women’s Day,

adopting the annual theme “Accelerate Action,” and a call to step forward in solidarity to help

accelerate equality for the 4 billion women and girls in the world, 170 million of whom comprise

half the population of the United States; and

     WHEREAS, In 2025, we continue the fight for equal pay for women in the United States,

to end discrimination, violence, and oppression against women and girls worldwide, to pursue

policies that protect the health and human rights of women, and to promote the participation of

women in every aspect of government, business, the U.S. Military, society and community; and

     WHEREAS, The State of Rhode Island, one of the original 13 colonies, founded on

principles of diversity and soul liberty, the first to declare independence from Great Britain, and

the birthplace of American Industry, counts among its earliest settlers two independent woman,

Mary Dyer and Anne Hutchinson, key figures in the history of religious tolerance in the New

World; and,

     WHEREAS, Prior to European contact, the land to become known as Rhode Island was

home to three powerful 17th century female sachems of the Indigenous Tribes: Weetamoo of the

Pocasset Wampanoag, Awashonks of the Sakonnet, and Quaiapen of the Narragansett; and,

     WHEREAS, Throughout our history, the State of Rhode Island has been enriched by the

legacies of many of its female citizens, among them:

     (1) In the 18th century, Hannah Wilkinson Slater of Pawtucket, the wife of Samuel

Slater, who was granted the first U.S. Patent awarded to a woman in the United States for her

invention of 2-ply cotton sewing thread, thereby launching the thread manufacturing industry in

Pawtucket, and who co-founded the first Sunday School in America, and founded a Beneficent

Society for Women in Rhode Island; and

     (2) In the 19th century, Kady Brownell of Providence, who served as color bearer under

Colonel Ambrose Burnside in the 1st Rhode Island Infantry in the Civil War, participating in the

First Battle of Bull Run in 1861, and reenlisting into the 5th RI Infantry at the Battle of New Bern

in 1862, and who was the only female ever to receive discharge papers from the Union Army; and

     (3) In the 20th century, Isabelle Florence Ahearn O’Neill of Woonsocket, the first woman

to serve in the Rhode Island General Assembly, having been elected to the House in 1922, and

the Senate in 1930, the first women to hold a leadership position in this Chamber, who

championed the hiring of women in law enforcement, prohibiting gender discrimination in the

teaching profession, formally recognizing women’s cosmetology professions, and protecting

women through the creation of life estates in the homes of their husbands; and

     WHEREAS, The theme for 2025 Women’s History Month is “Moving Forward

Together! Women Educating & Inspiring Generations,” which beckons us to carry forward the

lessons and experiences of the women who came before us and who serve as examples of the

potential of women to serve their communities with dignity, intellect and resolve, earning the

respect of all citizens; and

     WHEREAS, Women’s History Month was recognized in 1987, having advanced from

the original national celebration of Women’s History Week, so declared by Congress in March

1981; and

     WHEREAS, The Rhode Island State Senate, with 17 women among its 38 current

members, desires to carry forward these traditions, and to encourage all citizens to learn about the

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contributions of women to the history of our state and nation, and to encourage those who seek to

make their own history as leaders who chart a path forward for the betterment of all citizens; now,

therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island hereby recognizes March 8,

2025 as “International Women’s Day” and the month of March as “Women’s History Month” 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 Honorable Daniel J. McKee, Governor of

the State of Rhode Island.

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