R 126

2019 -- H 5821 Enacted 03/07/2019

H O U S 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: Representatives Fogarty, Tanzi, Walsh, Ajello, and Donovan

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 House of Representatives 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 House of Representatives 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 House 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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LC002082

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