Gender equality 100 years after the 19th amendment

On August 26, 1920, the 19th amendment was adopted to the U.S. Constitution, granting some – though not all – American women the right to vote. 100 years later, relative equality at the ballot box has not been matched by equity in business, politics, the military, family life, and even retirement.

On August 24, as part of 19A: The Brookings Gender Equality Series, Brookings hosted a webinar to examine the state of gender equality today and what needs to be done to achieve full equality for women in our society.

Tina Tchen, CEO of TIME’S UP Foundation and former executive director of the White House Council on Women and Girls offered keynote remarks, followed by a conversation with Madeleine Albright, the first woman to serve as U.S. secretary of state. Susan Ware, who serves as the honorary women’s suffrage centennial historian at the Radcliffe Institute’s Schlesinger Library at Harvard, provided a brief historical overview of the women’s suffrage movement. Then, Brookings experts Camille Busette, Elaine Kamarck, Isabel Sawhill, and Makada Henry-Nickie convened a panel discussion to examine how gender equality has evolved since the amendment’s passage and what public reforms could address gender-based inequalities that persist today.

Viewers can submit questions for speakers by emailing events@brookings.edu or via Twitter @BrookingsInst by using #19A.