'We haven't reached equality.' Here are 4 ways everyone can fight for women's rights

Each year on Women's Equality Day, people celebrate the history of the suffragist movement in the United States and honor those who helped pave the way for the passage of the 19th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which after decades of fighting, gave some women the right to vote.

However, while "recognition of where we've come from is very important," the fight for women's equality is far from over, Victoria Gordon, a retired professor at the University of Western Kentucky told The Courier Journal.

"We celebrate those who came before, those who are on the path, on the journey. And it's still something that we're pursuing. It's really important to celebrate because we have made so many strides, (but) yes, we've backslid sometimes," Gordon said. "But if we don't keep getting up every day and working … we're not going to make important strides."

Gordon has made it her life's work to educate others about the battle for women's equality. She taught a Women in Politics course at Western Kentucky University, wrote a book "Maternity Leave: Policy and Practice," and is currently the Coverdell Visiting Scholar at Georgia College in Milledgeville, Georgia working on issues related to the 19th Amendment, which was ratified in 1920. And although thereare still steps to take for women to be fully equal, like fixing the gender pay gapand the lack of women in positions of authority and power, Gordon said we need to celebrate the steps that have already been taken.

"I really encourage people to not just celebrate Women's Equality Day on major anniversaries like we did in ... 2020 with the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, but it's really important to recognize that (women's equality)... every year," Gordon said.

Related:Celebrate Women's Equality Day by visiting these 8 women's suffrage sites in Louisville

From further education to exercising your right to vote, here are four things Gordon and others say everyone can do to continue to fight for women's equality:

Have respectful conversations and listen to others

Gordon said something that is often missing in the fight for women's equality is both listening to other people's opinions and respecting them.

"We need to have respectful conversations and dialogue on difficult issues. And I think sometimes we are too ingrained in our particular party or political position that we can't have meaningful discussions about things that ... are important, that make a difference," Gordon said.

Isabella De la Torre Gonzalez, a 17-year-old Latina born in the United States to Cuban parents, said having her voice heard during those difficult conversations is the most important part of the fight for female equality.

"I think that the first step is that they give us our voices. The biggest resource is giving us the attention and the help we may need," De la Torre Gonzalez told The Courier Journal in Spanish.

She also said women, and those who identify as women,should be involved in any conversations about policies, programs or procedures that will ultimately impact their lives.

"Listening to us. That is important because who else can tell men or to the government or other people ... who else is going to tell them what we need if it's not us?" she said.

Related:Remembering Black suffragists: Louisville teen gets Nugent House added to National Register

Consider how equality 'maximizes' a community's potential

Gretchen Hunt, the executive director of the Louisville Office for Women,which focuses on advancing the status of women in our community through education, advocacy and legislation, said people need to change their mindset and think about gender equality in all aspects of lifeand consider how policies impact women on a daily basis.

Hunt said the first thing people need to do is ask how gender equality can be applied in all aspects of life and how that equality benefits everybody. Things like sexism, racism and economic inequality impact everyone, regardless of gender.

"When you make other people more equal, you're actually maximizing the potential of the whole community," she said.

Exercise your right to vote on issues big and small

One of the most important waysto continue the fight for equality is for people to exercise their right to vote, Gordon said, something our ancestors fought to achieve for decades.

And although white women were given the right to vote following the passage of the 19th Amendment more than 100 years ago, Gordon hesitates to use the word "given" because women fought for that right. The 19th Amendment was passed in 1920, but the fight for women's right to vote started in 1848 at the world's first women's right convention held in Seneca Falls, New York, according to the National Women's History Alliance.

The 19th Amendment establishes that "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation," according to the U.S. Congress.

Voting in elections on issues that directly impact your life or the life of those you care about is vital to the continued fight for women's equality. According to U.S. Census data, a higher share of women (68.4%) than men (65.0%) turned out to vote in the 2020 election. Voter turnout was highest among those ages 65 to 74 at 76%, while the percentage was lowest among those ages 18 to 24 at 51.4%.

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the passing of the 19th Amendment in 2020, Marsha Weinstein, co-president of the National Collaborative for Women's History Sites, and others started the Votes Women's Trail, which is made up of a database and roadside markers across the U.S. of historic sites of the suffrage movement. She said the first marker was placed in Louisville in honor of Susan Look Avery who founded the Louisville Suffrage Association and the Woman's Club of Louisville.

With the overturning of Roe V. Wade, where the U.S. Supreme Court officially reversed the constitutional right to abortion, upheld for nearly a half-century, women's rights took a step back, Weinstein said.

But the fight shouldn't end.

BackgroundAbortion ends in Kentucky as Supreme Court strikes down Roe v. Wade due to trigger law

Advocate for continued education of women's rights and other topics

"I mean, this thing about taking away a woman's ability to get abortions, that is really going backward... The only thing I can say that might be good coming from it is that maybe people are going to come out and vote and speak for their rights," Weinstein told The Courier Journal.

Sylvia Coffey, leader of the Women's Suffrage Centennial Chorus, based in Frankfort, said continued education is needed to help people understand how decisions like overturning Roe v. Wade can impact the entire populace, regardless of gender.

"Education is totally missing," Coffey said of the history taught inschools. While she believes many people are not ignoring equity issues on purpose,a lack ofconcern may have to do with the fact that many people "really don't know their history. And until you know your history ... you can't look back and say, 'Oh, this has happened before.' And you can see what worked before and what needs to be done now."

More:Roe's fall is making Illinois an abortion haven for red-state women to residents' chagrin

Women are not equal because they cannot make decisions about their own bodies now that Roe V. Wade has been overturned, Coffey added.

"We are celebrating Women's Equality Day. But here's the thing, we haven't reached equality, especially with this law being turned over. We have lost ground," she said.

Still, Coffey as well as Weinstein, Hunt and Gordon, are hopeful and each believes these actions can help lead to women's equality.

"Women are nurturers ... and they give us a different perspective and give us a balance. [For] equality, we just keep striving for it. And we celebrate Women's Equality Day to remind us that we are still striving. ... It reminds us to be appreciative of what we have gained and willing to work for what we still need to gain," Coffey said.

To celebrate Women's Equality Day, the Louisville Office for Women is holding an event called "Lyft Every Voice." It will take place at the Filson Historical Society, 1310 S 3rd St., on Saturday, Aug. 27 from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Hunt said the event will spotlight Black women, who did not get a right to vote until 1965 when the Civil Rights Act was passed.

To achieve women's equality, "you have to have recognition and change from society as a whole. ... I don't think we're there yet. I wish that we were. But I'm not sure that we are," Gordon said. "But I think it behooves all of us to get up every day and work toward a better world so that our daughters or granddaughters don't have to struggle with these kinds of issues ... a decade from now or a century from now. That we really make a conscientious effort to change."

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Reach Ana Rocío Álvarez Bríñez at abrinez@gannett.com; follow her on Twitter at @SoyAnaAlvarez

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Women's Equality Day: 4 ways everyone can fight for women's rights