The rights of women from voting to employment and other rights are being celebrated today. It was on this date 94 years ago that the right for women to vote in the U-S was made official. Retired educator and businesswoman Marilyn Bero is on the Board of the National Women’s Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls. She wonders if younger women realize the struggles their fore-mothers fought through.
"It’s certainly in the lives of the women we induct, you can certainly see that struggle. What they had to do, women who went into certain professions and may have used just an initial, or maybe just getting into college, and they couldn’t do it if they had to use their (full) name.”
Bero says the Hall of Fame is important in telling those stories. She also expresses some disappointment that women aren’t further along. She says even 94 years later, society still has barriers and bad attitudes.
“You have this student that’s going through that’s really bright in math and science but she’s a woman. Do we have those mentors that are encouraging these people? I think there still is some stigma of what they can and cannot do. Look at the struggle in the military. If you look at everything there’s still a huge amount of struggle. My fear is that our young women don’t realize that.”
STATE REFORMS STALL
New York State was unable to pass a group of 10 bills this past year called the Women’s Equality Agenda. An abortion rights provision in the package derailed Governor Cuomo’s efforts…who demanded an all-or-nothing victory. Bero argues it might have been useful to pass any of the measures that dealt with pay equity, mother’s rights, sexual harassment and job discrimination.
FEDERAL EFFORTS FOR WOMEN'S RIGHTS STILL ON AGENDA
Bero adds Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Representative Nancy Pelosi have both come through Seneca Falls to push for a federal Equal Rights Amendment and Pay Equity Bill.
