The United States joined people around the globe in honoring women and celebrating their contributions.
“On March 8, the United States join[ed] people around the globe in honoring women and celebrating their contributions toward building a more peaceful, just, and prosperous world,” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said recently in Washington DC.
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International Women's Day
“The State Department, which has been led by strong, smart, and remarkably capable diplomats from Madeleine Albright to Condoleezza Rice and my predecessor Hillary Rodham Clinton, stands as a lasting example of the powerful change that determined women can make and sustain on behalf of America in the modern world.”
It is a too often untold global success story that so much of the political, economic, and social progress of the last few decades could never have been imaginable without the leadership and courage of strong women.
“Over the past year alone, we’ve celebrated the landmark ascendance of women to the presidencies of Malawi and South Korea, and here in the United States, we saw the unprecedented election of 20 women to the U.S. Senate,” Secretary Kerry said.
“That milestone was particularly meaningful to me, as someone who was sworn in to serve in the United States Senate in 1985, joined by my two teenage daughters and struck by the fact that I had twice as many daughters as there were women in the Senate.”
"In far too many places, women continue to be excluded from the ballot box and political leadership."
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry
Today, with 20 women senators, the U.S. Senate is a stronger and more representative place.
“Around the globe, whether [women] are creating and embracing new opportunities for education and entrepreneurship in Afghanistan, working for democratic reform in Burma, or advancing human rights in the Middle East and North Africa, more women are finding their voices, lifting up communities and nations, and paving the way for future generations to live a better life,” Secretary Kerry said.
“Yet . . . in far too many places, women continue to be excluded from the ballot box and political leadership, and from land ownership and credit markets. In far too many places, girls are still kept home from school or are forced into early marriage. Too many women are being silenced, abused, or subjected to violence simply because of their gender.”
Many women are risking their lives in the pursuit of justice. Their courage is inspiring many to continue to work toward a world where every woman can live free of violence and pursue her fullest potential.
“The United States,” Secretary Kerry said, “remains committed to working with partners around the world to ensure that . . . vital progress [for women] continues.”
