By Erica Jackson
America Celebrates the 90th Anniversary of Women’s Suffrage
It’s hard to believe that prior to the adoption of the 19th amendment of the Constitution in 1920 many women in America were not permitted to vote or hold office. After all, today, women, according the the US Census Bureau, vote more often than their male counterparts. There are also more women holding congressional office than any other time in American history — there are 76 women serving in Congress and 17 that hold Senate seats. Yet, despite the strides made by women, many local women leaders say there is still much work to be done.
“Women have come a long way over the years, but true equality is still not quite there” said Suffolk County Legislator Kate Browing, who is one of only three women legislators currently serving on the 18-member legislature. “We have strong female leaders in government, the military service and in the science field to name a few, however they do not always gain the respect to their male counterparts. For every dollar a man makes, a women makes approximately 75 cents. Young women need to be encouraged to explore careers outside the fields they were traditionally steered towards. Much progress has been made, but more needs to be done.”
Vivian Viloria-Fisher, who serves as the Suffolk County Legislature’s deputy presiding officer, agreed with her colleague: “We as women must be models of leadership to our next generation. I do not believe that we have enough representation by women in our halls of government at this point. Having the right to suffrage for three generations or more, we are not at the point we should be. We should have much better representation.”That is, she pointed out, especially so in Suffolk County where women outnumber men.
According to Deanna Marshall, director of Suffolk County’s office of Women’s Services, women constitute over 51 percent of the population in Suffolk County.
“There is still much more to do,” said Marshall, “When you think about it, 90 years is only one lifetime — obviously, a very long lifetime – but there are women alive today who were born into an America where no women had this country’s guarantee that she could vote. Look at what’s changed since this amendment was finally passed, women not only vote, but are getting elected and appointed to high-level offices in government. Think about how many decades our suffragists lobbied and marched and worked to get it done. Maybe that will encourage us to keep working to do women’s work.”
“We have some challenges ahead of us,” said Angie Carpenter, who currently serves as Suffolk County’s treasurer. She previously sat on the Suffolk County Legislature as one of four women leaders at the time. “I was a business owner for many years and I never felt a bit inhibited because of my gender, but in politics there is room for improvement. We don’t have as many women elected officials. Look at the demographics of the county. More than half are women and yet we only have three women legislators. In its hay-day, I was one of four. But focusing on the anniversary of our right to vote will hopefully wake some people up and provide an opportunity to look at our representation in government. Women bring something unique to the table. They are up to the task.”
“Women achieve more and more each year,” said Joyce Rosenthal, president of the Smithtown League of Women Voters, an organization that encourages everyone to vote. “but we have not reached complete equality. The glass ceiling is still in place and women can only rise to a certain point.”
Theresa Knox, who sits on the Smithtown Central School District School board, agrees and remembers pondering as a child, why women couldn’t serve as say, Pope. “Women’s suffrage was the first important step for half the population to been seen as full citizens. I wish more men and women would exercise that important right to vote on a regular basis. People died for this right.”
And making young women aware of the importance of voting is something that Shari Lee Sugarman, president of the Suffolk County Women’s Bar Association hopes to do. “It is very important that women vote and our organization is dedicated to bringing women forward and teaching them the importance of the political process. We want to teach our children the importance of women voting and how it can help to get more women voted on the bench.”
Aside from thinking about all that needs to be done in the United States, Lisa Renee Pomerantz, lawyer and chair of the Suffolk County Women’s Business Enterprise Coalition, reminded to keep in mind “that there are counties where women are still denied the right to vote and obtain education and participate fully as citizens.” She said, “There are so many countries where nobody has the right to vote.”
And while many agree that so much needs to be done, Lynda LaCour, owner of SmithtownMomstown.com said we should always remember what the women before us have done. She said, “It is unbelievable to me that at one time women did not have the right to vote in this country. At SmithtownMomstown.com we meet women who are essential leaders in our community. Without the right to vote, these women would never have had the opportunities they have today to be leaders in our community, businesses, government, education and many other fields. We should all take a moment to reflect on the strong women who fought the difficult fight for all of us.”