SENATE RESOLUTION

8770

By Senators Kohl-Welles and B. Sheldon

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

     WHEREAS, Women have been largely unrecognized and undervalued for their historical and contemporary scientific, governmental, athletic, 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, Washington State has 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, and having the highest proportion of women legislators of any state legislature in the history of the United States; and

     WHEREAS, 2002 is the ninety-second anniversary of women=s suffrage in Washington State and the 82^nd 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, 2002 is the seventh anniversary of the 1995 World Conference on Women in Beijing, which brought together more than 47,000 women and men from one hundred eighty-nine countries who unanimously agreed that inequalities between women and men create serious consequences for 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 as International Women=s Day and that March is National Women=s History Month.

I, Tony M. Cook, Secretary of the Senate,

do hereby certify that this is a true and

correct copy of Senate Resolution 8770,

adopted by the Senate February 28, 2002.

TONY M. COOK

Secretary of the Senate