SENATE RESOLUTION

                         1997-8631

By Senators Swanson, Kohl, Fairley, Franklin, Spanel, Benton, Thibaudeau, Long, Jacobsen, Winsley, Wojahn, Patterson, McAuliffe, Sheldon, Hale, Deccio, Hochstatter, Swecker, Wood  and Rasmussen

      WHEREAS, Women of every age, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, economic status, occupation, and degree of ability or disability have made considerable contributions to the growth and development of our communities, states, country, and nations around the world; and 

      WHEREAS, Women have played a critical role in the social, cultural, and spiritual development of communities around the globe; and

      WHEREAS, Women of all backgrounds have constituted significant portions of the labor force, whether working outside or inside the home, whether paid or as a volunteer and have played a critical role in the nurturing of our children; and

      WHEREAS, Women have served as leaders of progressive, social movements to secure individual rights and freedoms; and

      WHEREAS, Women have been largely unrecognized and undervalued for their historical and contemporary scientific, governmental, literary, and artistic accomplishments; and

      WHEREAS, Women continue to experience day-to-day discrimination and continue to be victims of violence around the globe; and

      WHEREAS, Women continue to lead efforts to eliminate discrimination and violence against all people and to promote equality, security and peace; and

      WHEREAS, Washington State has always been a champion of women=s rights and a national leader in promoting progress for women, having been one of the first states to grant suffrage to women, having the highest proportion of women legislators of any state legislature in the history of the United States; and

      WHEREAS, 1997 is the 87^th anniversary of women=s suffrage in Washington State and the 77^th anniversary of women=s suffrage in the United States; and

      WHEREAS, The United States of America as a world leader recognized the critical role of women in America by establishing March as National Women=s History Month; and

      WHEREAS, The United Nations has proclaimed March 8 to be International Women=s Day since 1975; and

      WHEREAS, The 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing brought together over 47,000 women and men from 189 countries who unanimously agreed that inequalities between women and men persist around the world with serious consequences to the well-being of all people.

      NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Washington State Senate honors and celebrates the women of our state, country, and the world, and recognizes March 8^th as International Women=s Day and March as National Women=s History Month.

I, Mike O=Connell, Secretary of the Senate,

do hereby certify that this is a true and

correct copy of Senate Resolution 1997-8631,

adopted by the Senate March 7, 1997.

MIKE O=CONNELL

Secretary of the Senate