Most of us are familiar with the battle cry on this artwork. What’s not as well known is who said it: Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906), women’s suffrage pioneer, in the mid-1800s. Her entire statement was, “I do not demand equal pay for any woman save those who do equal work in value.”

Prior to the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920, which gave women the right to vote, American women were deemed the weaker sex and expected to be “ladylike” while accepting lower wages than a man for the same job. Today, equality between pay and work continues to be imbalanced and without federal regulation.

This artwork honors the countless women who fought to change centuries of bias and discrimination toward women and applauds their efforts to reshape societal practices that denied them their rights to own property, enter into contracts, sign legal documents, open bank accounts on their own, obtain equal education to their male counterparts, and control what happened to their wages and their children. Their bravery and tenacity greatly contributed to our current freedoms.

In 1923, Alice Paul (1885-1977) of the National Woman’s Party proposed a national amendment to safeguard worker’s rights. - the Equal Rights Amendment (then known as the Lucretia Mott Amendment). In 1972, the ERA passed the Senate and the House., but it’s final hurdle of ratification by thirty-eight states within seven years fell short by only three states.

The fight for women’s rights continues, as both women and men are committed to this amendment becoming law.