House Committee Approves International Women’s Day Resolution

On February 15, the House Foreign Affairs Committee approved, by voice vote, a resolution (H. Res. 149) supporting the goals of International Women’s Day.

Authored by Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), the resolution contains a number of findings, including:

women worldwide are participating in the world of diplomacy and politics, contributing to the growth of economies, and improving the quality of the lives of their families, communities and nations;
women leaders have recently made significant strides, including the 2007 election of Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi as the first female Speaker of the House of Representatives, the 2006 election of Michelle Bachelet as the first female president of Chile, the 2006 election of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as the first female president in Africa’s history, and the 2005 election of Angela Merkel as the first female chancellor of Germany, who will also serve as the second woman to chair a G8 summit beginning in 2007;
of the 1.3 billion people living in poverty around the world, 70 percent are women and children; and
according to the United States Agency for International Development, two-thirds of the 876 million illiterate individuals worldwide are women, two-thirds of the 125 million school-aged children who are not attending school worldwide are girls, and girls are less likely to complete school than boys.During the committee’s consideration of the bill, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) applauded the resolution and noted that women living in poor conditions negatively affect children and lasting efforts for peace worldwide.