Brooklyn Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte-Hermelyn, chair of the Brooklyn Democratic Party and chair of the Task Force on Women’s Issues and the Minority and Women-owned Business Subcommittee in State Assembly, on Tuesday commemorated Women’s History Month.
“As we acknowledge and commemorate our ancestors’ achievements and progress this Women’s History Month, we must continue to demand health care and economic equity,” said Bichotte-Hermelyn, the daughter of Haitian immigrants, who represents the 42nd Assembly District in Brooklyn.
“Women have made important gains, but with voting and reproductive rights under attack, and with the Black maternal health crisis at a breaking point, women stand to lose many of the freedoms we have fought so hard to get,” she added. “In New York, I am continuing to promote an agenda that puts women on an equal playing field.
“We need to achieve equal pay, and we won’t stop there: we need to see more women in the C-suite, in the boardroom, and in the highest ranks of leadership positions in every sector,” Bichotte-Hermelyn continued.
“Advancing diversity in businesses and in the workplace is imperative to helping women and girls to achieve their dreams,” she said. “This is especially critical for women of color, who, too, often lose ground to others even as they climb the corporate ladder.”
Bichotte-Hermelyn said Women’s History Month “provides an opportunity to honor women and girls who have shaped our progress as a nation.
“This year, it is more critical than ever that we take a step back and reflect on the achievements of women past and present,” she said, stating that the formation of Women’s History Month dates back to the first International Women’s Day celebration in February 1911.
She noted that International Women’s Day would later be celebrated annually on March 8.
In 1980, President Jimmy Carter issued a proclamation officially declaring the second week of March Women’s History Week.
In 1987, the week-long celebration was extended to a month.
Bichotte-Hermelyn said the 2022 Women’s History theme, “Providing Healing, Promoting Hope,” is “both a tribute to the ceaseless work of caregivers and frontline workers during this ongoing pandemic and also a recognition of the thousands of ways that women of all cultures have provided both healing and hope throughout history.”
She said suffragists helped pass the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, and later the Voting Rights Act, “so that no American could be denied a vote on the basis of sex or race.
“Today, we honor and recognize these landmark achievements as we continue the pursuit of true equality,” the assembly woman said.
