2017 Assembly Joint Resolution 14
ENROLLED JOINT RESOLUTION
Relating to: proclaiming March 2017 as women's history month.
Whereas, American women of every race, class, and ethnic background have made historic contributions to the growth and strength of our nation in countless recorded and unrecorded ways; and
Whereas, American women have played, and continue to play, a critical economic, cultural, and social role in every sphere of life and constitute a significant portion of the labor force working inside and outside the home; and
Whereas, American women have played a unique role throughout the history of the nation by providing the majority of the volunteer labor force; and
Whereas, American women were particularly important in the establishment of early philanthropic and cultural institutions in our nation; and
Whereas, American women have been leaders, not only in securing their own rights of suffrage and equal opportunity, but also in the abolitionist movement, the emancipation movement, the industrial labor movement, the civil rights movement, and the peace movement, all of which have created a fairer and more just society for all; and
Whereas, in 1925 not one but three women were the first female assemblymen to be elected to the Wisconsin legislature; and
Whereas, Assemblyman Mildred Barber, a Republican teacher, Assemblyman Helen Brooks, a Republican teacher, and Assemblyman Helen Thompson, a Republican teacher and hotel keeper, paved the way for other female leaders to hold legislative positions in Wisconsin; and
Whereas, Democrat Marcia P. Coggs was elected to the state assembly in 1977, becoming the first African American woman to serve in the assembly; and
Whereas, Democrat Gwen Moore, elected in 1992, became the first African American woman elected to the state senate; and
Whereas, in 2014 Representative Pat Strachota became the first woman to serve as assembly majority leader; and
Whereas, in 1985 Senator Susan Engeleiter became the first Republican woman to be senate minority leader, and she was the youngest woman ever elected to the Wisconsin legislature; and
Whereas, in 2003 Senator Mary Panzer became the first Republican woman to be senate majority leader, and in 2005 Senator Judith Robson became the first Democratic woman to be senate minority leader and in 2007 became the first Democratic woman to be senate majority leader, making them the highest ranking women legislators; and
Whereas, Margaret Farrow was the first Republican woman to be lieutenant governor and Barbara Lawton was the first Democratic woman to be lieutenant governor in Wisconsin's history; and
Whereas, in 1996 Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson became the first woman to serve as chief justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court; and
Whereas, Tammy Baldwin became the first woman in the history of Wisconsin to be elected to the United States Senate and the first openly LGBTQ person to serve in the United States Senate; and
Whereas, the role of American women continues to evolve and their positive contributions to our culture, society, and government continue to grow and inspire future generations; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the assembly, the senate concurring, That the month of March 2017 shall be designated as “Women's History Month."
