August 26th – 97th Anniversary of Women in the United States Winning the Vote 

August Women’s History Events 

• August 6, 1965 – The Voting Rights Act outlaws the discriminatory literacy tests that had been used to prevent African Americans from voting. Suffrage is finally fully extended to African American women 

• August 8, 1969 – Executive order 11478 issued by President Nixon requires each federal department and agency to establish and maintain an affirmative action program of equal employment opportunity for civilian employees and applicants 

• August 9 – International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples (United Nations observed) 

• August 10, 1993 – Ruth Bader Ginsburg is sworn in as the second woman and 107th Justice to serve on the US Supreme Court 

• August 12, 1972 – Wendy Rue founds the National Association for Female Executives (NAFE), the largest businesswomen’s organization in the United States 

• August 19 – World Humanitarian Day (United Nations observed) 

• August 21 - International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism (United Nationals observed) 

• August 22 - International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief (United Nationals observed) 

• August 26, 1920 – The 19th Amendment of the US Constitution is ratified granting women the right to vote 

• August 26, 1970 – Betty Friedan leads a nationwide protest called the “Women’s Strike for Equality” in New York City on the fiftieth anniversary of women’s suffrage 

• August 26, 1971 – The first Women’s Equality Day, initiated by Representative Bella Abzug, is established by Presidential Proclamation and reaffirmed annually 

• August 28, 1963 – More than 250,000 gather for a march on Washington, DC, and listen to Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech 

 

“March Again for Equal Rights” broadside, circa August 1977, Box V:314, National Woman’s Party Records, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress  

(Source: https://blogs.loc.gov/manuscripts/2022/08/from-suffrage-day-towomens-equality-day/)  

Upcoming Dates in Women’s History to Note for September: 

• September is Latina/Chicano Heritage Month. 

• September 2^nd is Labor Day. 

• September 18^th International Equity Pay Day. 

• September 19^th International Day of Peace.