USAA’s Post

It is the duty of younger men to seek truth. It is the duty of older men to speak truth. It is the duty of all men to defend truth. It is the duty of younger women to seek truth. It is the duty of older women to speak truth. It is the duty of all women to defend truth.

Today was a major day in history for equality. August 26th, otherwise known as #WomensEqualityDay, marks the anniversary of the adoption of the 19th Amendment, which granted women in the United States the right to vote. It reminds us of the hurdles overcome by the heroic women who faced violence and discrimination to propel the women’s movement forward. However, what you may not know is that only white women won the right to vote that day. Almost all Black and Brown women were excluded, and many didn’t gain the right to vote until the Voting Rights Act in 1956. The right to vote is fundamental in the fight for equity. When some women have fewer rights and access, we cannot call ourselves equal, and we cannot celebrate equality. And we aren’t done fighting for #EquityForAll. We’re still fighting for #FairWages, workplaces that are safe and free from discrimination, #PaidLeave, access to quality and affordable education, and so much more. But together, we have the power with our vote to create the change we need by showing up at the polls. Stay ready! Make sure you are registered to vote: www.vote.org. Even if you’ve registered in the past, check your status to ensure you’re still registered. Want to go one step further? Sign up to become a poll worker for the next election and help ensure we have safe, fair, efficient elections for all: https://lnkd.in/giQUEiPX

Today is Women's Equality Day. It's a day to celebrate women's right to vote, and the perfect time for a recent American history lesson. Not all women were able to vote when the 19th Amendment passed in 1920. Immigration policies, discriminatory practices, state law restrictions, and more, kept women of color from voting until these years: 1920: White Women 1952: Asian Women 1962: Native Women 1965: Black Women 1975: Latino Women 1975 was just 48 years ago … and there are still barriers that prevent Black and brown women from voting. It’s also worth noting that women weren't GIVEN the right to vote. Women WON that right. They marched, fought, went to jail, and starved for it. Maybe that's why women are registered to vote in higher numbers than men. Or, why women have voted at higher rates than men in every presidential election since 1980. We can't take it for granted. We are also realizing more and more each day, that if we want policies that benefit us (and society) like access to healthcare, childcare, affirmative action, and equal pay, we are going to have to lead the fight ourselves. That fight starts at the ballot box. 🗳️ #womenshealth #womensequalityday

🤔 Did you know that only 66 Members of the last Parliament identified as Black, Asian and Minority ethnic, and only five have a self-declared disability? Women are 51% of the population but only 35% of MPs in the last Parliament. We think the next Parliament should better reflect the diversity of the people it hopes to represent. And that change starts with how the people who stand for election are chosen. Political parties make those choices before we get a chance to vote for them during an election. We want those choices to be more transparent so we can find out if it is truly representative of our country. Enacting Section 106 of the Equality Act would shine a light on candidate diversity, enabling parties to be held to account and pushing them to deliver better representation. Find out more 👇 https://lnkd.in/eXtBRwJU (Centenary Action)

Today is #NationalWomensEqualityDay, a time to commemorate the 19th Amendment to the Constitution granting women the right to vote and call attention to women’s continuing efforts toward full equality. Learn more about the history and significance of this day: https://bit.ly/3JOvdmD

On this day, 6th February 1918 - a pivotal moment in British history as voting rights are granted to women... ... over 30, who owned a property, or whose husband did. 👩🔧 In 1919, 52% of the population of England and Wales were female. 👩💼 Putting this into perspective, 55% of Park Avenue Recruitment are female, and 100 years ago only 2 of us would have been able to vote. Food for thought for a dreary Tuesday and a reminder to celebrate how far we have come in a relatively short space of time, and the achievements of activists who made this historic bill in 1918 possible. However there's still a long way to go for representation else where- I couldn't find 2024 stats, but in 2022 Women in Local Government reported that despite making up 78% of the local government workforce, women account for only 17% of local authority leaders and 33% of council chief executives. What is it about the system as it stands that means women aren't being appointed to leadership positions for our communities? #womeninleadership #localauthority #localgovernment

We don’t want more crisis accomodation. Stop building it! We do not want to be forced into refuges because police and family courts refuse to protect. Hold perpetrators accountable! Legislate that police have a duty of care to investigate domestic violence and to charge perpetrators. Remove all police with a track record of ignoring reported violence and protecting male perpetrators. Stop banks discriminating against single mothers, we have established years worth of inflated weekly rent payments proving we have the means to repay home loans but arbitrary, discriminatory banking laws stop women from securing loans (enabling a ready supply of tenants for property investors). Establish a similar first home buyers scheme for women who’ve been financially decimated by revenge debt and unethical family lawyers and family court judges. Make revenge debt a crime. Hold banks accountable for enabling financial abuse and credit fraud crimes. Encourage landlords to sell to their single mum tenants by making these sales capital gains tax exempt. Provide financial supports and mortgage relief for women to stay in our own homes. The first tactic of the perpetrator is to make her homeless to force her back into the relationship or to win custody thus removing his child support obligations. Provide free legal support for all victims of domestic violence including for family courts. No one should have to pay for protection from abuse. Shut down the family court pathway for abusers to continue to harm and control and the avenue for unethical lawyers who’ve monetised domestic violence. Establish community justice centres where domestic violence and trauma informed professionals identify the person using violence as early as possible. A space where victim survivors can report domestic, family and sexual violence safely (not police stations). Police are the wrong profession to diagnose domestic violence. Police are failing and violent men are murdering their intimate partners because they can due to police inaction and misconduct. These actions will show that the government is truely listening. #HowDareShe be heard!

Older persons don’t see themselves as rights holders according to research we published today. Only 35% are aware that they are ‘rights holders’ on the basis of their age. Almost 40% of older people feel they have been treated unfairly due to their age. 88% feel that government does not take enough notice of their needs. These stark findings are from our new report ‘Rights and Duty: the voice of older persons as rights holders’. The research gathered insights from 302 older people across Ireland. “Almost three quarters of the older persons who responded to this survey felt that ageism is present in society in general. And the low level of older persons who are aware that they are rights holders compromises their ability to address this ageism,” said Mary Harkin, Policy & Research Manager with Age & Opportunity. Of the respondents to the research survey 72% were unaware of the Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty, although a significant proportion understood its principles. The Duty charges all public bodies in Ireland with responsibility to promote equality, prevent discrimination and protect the human rights of their employees, customers, service users and everyone affected by their policies and plans. “It’s so important that all of us – society, legislators and communities – approach issues related to ageing in the context of human rights. All people should enjoy the right to participate equally in society,” said Sinéad Gibney, Chief Commissioner, Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission. “IHREC was delighted to fund, through our grant programme, the excellent work that Age & Opportunity has done in showing legislators and the wider public some of the challenges faced by older people, particularly during the Covid-19 crisis, as they try to access their human rights. It’s imperative that further work is done to inform and upskill older people about the extent and exercise of their rights, particularly under the Public Sector Duty.” https://lnkd.in/eFrv4UZb #humanrights Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Age Friendly Ireland The Alzheimer Society of Ireland Age Action Ireland Karen Horgan Bryony May Sean Moynihan Denise Charlton Andy Heffernan Maurice O'Connell

#OTD in 1917 some Ontarian women gained the right to vote. It was the first piece of legislation that started the path for women’s voices to be included in Ontario elections. The Trust works toward expanding the narrative so that women are better represented in Ontario’s heritage. Explore articles related to women’s suffrage and history in #HeritageMatters, including articles on Black women’s history of voting rights, Canada’s first elected woman chief and the fight for women’s reproductive rights. https://lnkd.in/exPqupG9

🤔 Did you know that only 66 Members of the last Parliament identified as Black, Asian and Minority ethnic, and only five have a self-declared disability? Women are 51% of the population but only 35% of MPs in the last Parliament. We think the next Parliament should better reflect the diversity of the people it hopes to represent. And that change starts with how the people who stand for election are chosen. Political parties make those choices before we get a chance to vote for them during an election. We want those choices to be more transparent so we can find out if it is truly representative of our country. Enacting Section 106 of the Equality Act would shine a light on candidate diversity, enabling parties to be held to account and pushing them to deliver better representation. Find out more 👇 https://lnkd.in/eEVmm7nH (Centenary Action)