Naval District Washington (NDW) hosted a virtual command Women’s Equality Day observance, featuring guest speaker U.S. Navy Veteran Tresté Loving, onboard Washington Navy Yard Aug. 19, 2022.
Established in 1971 Women's Equality Day is celebrated in the United States on August 26 to commemorate the 1920 adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which prohibits the states and the federal government from denying the right to vote to citizens of the United States on the basis of sex.
“Women’s Equality Day commemorates the success of the women’s suffrage movement in 1920,” said Rear Adm, Nancy Lacore, Commandant, Naval District Washington. “Imagine what this scene would look like to women of 1919 -- a woman is commandant, the NDW executive director, is a woman and our guest of honor, a woman. It was truly not long ago that this would have been impossible.”
During the observance, Loving presented a historical look at Women’s equality in the United States and in the Navy, and shared her experiences in and out of uniform, to include writing the Department of the Navy’s first diversity and inclusion instruction.
“Things have changed dramatically over the years and while things are not perfect, we have come a long way,” said Loving. “The opportunities available to women today are amazing to see, but it is important to remember where we come from, and to remind our younger Sailors both male and female, that life wasn’t always the way it is today.”
During her presentation, Loving pointed out that while women in some states could already vote before 1920, women in some states—particularly those of color—were blocked from voting after ratification. The voting rights of Native American women were not recognized until 1924. For Chinese-American women, it was 1943, and for Japanese and other Asian-American women it was 1952. African-American women were quite active in the women’s suffrage movement of the early 19th century, but they remained barred from voting for decades after their white counterparts. It wasn’t until passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965, that African-American women were granted the right to vote.
Today’s observance was made possible by NDW’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility committee as part of a year-long series to bring the community and connection within the command by recognizing the strengths of its personnel. NDW delivers effective and efficient shore readiness through its assigned installations to enable tenant mission execution around the globe. It coordinates of foreign diplomatic representation and world-class Navy ceremonial resources for high-level events and National-level events interests within the National Capital Region (NCR) and beyond. And, it serves as a proactive and anticipatory component to Joint Task Force NCR and a willing partner to all local, state, and Federal agencies within the Region. For more information in NDW, visit https://www.facebook.com/NavDistWashhttps://ndw.cnic.navy.mil/