The suffragettes didn’t only achieve something for women. Through their efforts, our country became a stronger democracy by extending the full opportunity for women to be counted and to take part in the political process. The passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920 enabled women to directly participate in selecting our country’s leaders.
It paved the way for women to take part on equal terms, including by serving as leaders themselves. None of us singled out today would be here without the extraordinary efforts of those who secured the vote for women.