Happy Women’s Equality Day! Here are four ways you can celebrate today:

Learn about the history of Suffrage:

On August 26, 1920 – 99 years ago today – the 19^th Amendment was adopted into the United States Constitution. On paper, the 19^th Amendment gave all American women the right to vote but the reality was far more complicated. From the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, to the signing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, to the creation of this very holiday, to the ongoing fight against voter suppression— Women’s Equality Day is the perfect time to learn more about the long and continuing fight for voting rights for all women in the US.

Encourage a woman you know to run for office:

Women make up over half of the US population, but only 23.7% of Congress. The representation numbers are even lower for women of color, who make up just 9% of Congress. A representative democracy needs women on both sides of the aisle – and that means encouraging the women in your life to run for office, or running yourself! A great place to start: BLFF’s newly updated Keys to Elected Office: The Essential Guide for Women, or She Should Run’s Ask a Woman to Run tool.

Appreciate women’s contributions:

Today is all about honoring and lifting up people who identify as women. That can mean shopping at women owned businesses, picking up a book by a female author, or simply telling a woman in your life that you appreciate her and the work she does.

Volunteer

Volunteer with a local or international organization advancing women’s rights. This could look like phone banking or campaigning for a local woman politician in your area, working at the polls, or staffing an event or conference for a women’s organization.

Support Women Owned Businesses

Put together a list of locally owned women businesses to visit on August 26^th or over the weekend. You can also ask friends and coworkers for recommendations of their favorite women-owned businesses either online or in your local area.

Host a Women in Leadership Panel

While some progress has been made with women in leadership, there is still work to be done for women to reach equality on so many levels. Host a panel of women in leadership to learn their stories of how they achieved their level of success. Share the knowledge so that the next generation can go even further.

Organize a Collection Drive

Shelters for women are regularly in need of feminine hygiene products or women’s clothing. Organizing a collection drive to provide for people in need!