Congress Recognizes Women’s History Month

House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer and the rest of the US House of Representatives are celebrating Women’s History Month by commemorating the contribution of women to Congress and the country.

Early in March, Congressman Hoyer (D-Md., 5th) released a statement recognizing Women’s History Month. In the statement, he said there is much to be celebrated.

“This year, the 116th Congress convened with women representing 102 districts across the country in the House and with 25 women serving in the Senate, the most ever in our nation’s history,” House Majority Leader Hoyer said. “But that is still less than a quarter of the Congress. A century after women’s right to vote was enshrined in our Constitution, we still have much progress to make toward full equality.”

According to WomenHistoryMonth.gov, Women’s History Month was first established as a national celebration in 1981 when Congress passed Pub. L. 97-28, asking the president to proclaim the week that started March 7, 1982, as “Women’s History Week.” The website says that over the following five years, the week was annually commemorated. It was expanded to a month-long celebration in 1987, when Congress passed Pub. L. 100-9.

Mr. Hoyer said the House continues to work to expand opportunities for women and to fight discrimination and exclusion.

“As House majority leader, I look forward to working with the Democratic Women’s Working Group and our colleagues in the House to take action to help ensure equal pay for equal work, affordable access to women’s health care, and investments in educational opportunities for the advancement of women and girls in STEM and other underrepresented fields,” he said.

Congress will reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, work to empower women around the world, and promote gender equality, the congressman said.

“In doing so, we look for inspiration from the many American women who have been trailblazers and agents of change, including the courageous suffragists who endured torture and ostracism but persisted in the fight to secure the right to vote in 1919,” Mr. Hoyer said.

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For more information about House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, visit his Leader Page.