It was a mere ninety-five years ago today when women were first given the opportunity to vote. Just ninety-five years ago women were first accepted as full citizens and participants in our democracy. On August 26th, 1920 the 19th amendment to the Constitution, enshrining women’s right to vote, was enacted. Yet, despite having the vote for ninety-five years, women are still not full and equal participants in our society.

Women still earn less than men for equal work. Women’s health issues, when they differ from those of men, are given short shrift. Women are victims of gender violence, whether as recipients of domestic violence, being abused by those they most love and trust, or as victims of trafficking and being involuntarily forced into menial work, whether as prostitution or sweat shops. Men are discouraged from taking family leave, leaving family responsibilities to women and therefore women get penalized for looking after children and aging parents.

New York City for CEDAW is working to enact a women’s bill of rights for New York City, based on the articles of CEDAW. The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is an internationally-negotiated treaty ratified by 187 out of 193 United Nations member states that defines an international consensus on what constitutes discrimination against women. New York City for CEDAW’s proposal would institute a City Task Force with a mandate for conducting gender analyses, based upon the first 17 articles of CEDAW, to assess the City workforce, the City budget and City agency programs and then obligate the City to correct problems discovered.

NYC for CEDAW is a grass roots coalition that is working to enforce a gender-awareness on all laws and actions of the City of New York based upon the internationally agreed-upon consensus of CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women).