As an early proponent of equal pay for equal work and the right of women to vote, Susan B. Anthony and others involved in the women’s suffrage movement, paved the way for women’s rights. We celebrate Susan B. Anthony Day on February 15, the day of her birth. Although she was not able to see her dream of women being given the right to vote before her death in 1906, her work contributed to the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920 that gave women that right. After having met William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass, she became an abolition activist and spoke openly against slavery. Beginning in 1851, she and Elizabeth Cady Stanton worked for over 50 years for women’s rights and, in particular, the right for women to vote.
After the passing by Congress of the 15th Amendment, giving African American men the right to vote, Anthony and Stanton opposed the fact that this amendment did not include giving women the right to vote and formed the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA). This opposition to the new law and the creation of the NWSA created a division in the women’s rights movement with others who supported the passing of the amendment forming the American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA). The motto of The Revolution, a newspaper started by the NWSA, was “Men, their rights, and nothing more: women, their rights, and nothing less.” In dedication to her beliefs, Anthony faced arrest in 1872 for attempting to vote in the presidential election.
Susan B. Anthony helped make the fight for women’s rights a prominent message that continues today. Women still face discriminations such as pregnancy and parenting, violence against women, and equal pay to men for equal work. Currently, the ACLU shows that women make 78 cents for every dollar earned by men with Black women earning only 64 cents and Latinas earning only 54 cents, clearly indicating that there is still work to be done.
Take Action:
- Eventbrite: Susan B. Anthony’s Birthday Spotlight Featuring Women’s Rights Scholar
- Eventbrite: Virtual Teacher Workshop: Expanding Roles of Women
- Five You Should Know: African American Suffragists
- Smithsonian: Votes for Women
- Attach the Susan B. Anthony design elements to your email signature and/or use it in your social media
For additional education and personal development related to diversity, equity and inclusion, the following resources are available: DEI Education and Resources, DEI & Antiracism Resourcesfrom the UNC Libraries, the Education Equity Toolkit from the Colorado Department of Higher Education, and the UNITE workshops for faculty, staff, and students.
