Enlarge Janice Valder, Lea Tolbert and Bettie Ann Hayes at the Women's Equality Day Program

Posted: August 26th, 2010 Tonya Jameson

The Women’s equality movement could use a cause celebré. It needs another Hillary Clinton to rally pantsuit-wearing professional women. It needs another Sarah Palin to rally folksy stay-at-home-moms.  
              
I came to this realization while covering the Women’s Equality Day: Celebrating Women: Past, Present and Future event hosted by The Mecklenburg County Women’s Advisory Board at the Levine Museum of the New South on Monday. The event drew more than 75 women of all ages eager to celebrate and reflect on the advances women have made. They also discussed the hurdles women still face.
           
“We’re not there yet, but we’ve certainly made huge strides,” said Sally McMillan, history professor at Davidson College.
           
We know the strides--women hold public offices, they’re CEOs of major companies and they’re a majority of our college graduates. We also know the challenges--they’re victims of domestic violence, they don’t receive equal pay and many can’t afford childcare.
           
The problem is the hurdles aren’t polarizing enough. McMillan admits it's tough getting her students at Davidson to be interested in women’s history and women’s struggle for equality. The problem is that the struggle for women’s equality is simply history for today’s younger generation. They can’t relate to the struggles of their foremothers. It easy to see a Clinton, a Palin or even an Oprah and feel disconnected from the fight that opened the door for them.
           
Affordable daycare, stiffer domestic violence penalties and equal pay seem more like part of the everyday life than a cause for protest. The Women’s Equality event at the Levine was an important reminder that these issues shouldn’t be accepted as part the daily routine. They are reasons for today's women to fight and protest so their daughters can benefit from the gains they've made.

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