Women won the right to vote 86 years ago

Can you imagine being put in jail (and worse) because you wanted the right to vote? If you've not read much women's history, you probably have no idea what suffering the suffragists (women who fought for the right to vote for women) went through back in the early 20th century. On August 26 the U.S. celebrates Women's Equality Day.

Got some cool facts from the YWCA email:

More women than men have voted in every election since 1964 (I wonder if the charm of John and Jackie Kennedy made politics seem more real and enticed women voters out in force?...)

Because women received the right to vote, they were able to voice their concern over and eventually gain:
* The right to own property
* Rights in child custody and divorce proceedings
* Reproductive rights
* The right to a discrimination-free workplace
* Title IX, ensuring equal educational opportunities for men and women
* The right to get a loan and receive credit without a male co-signer. (Women were not given this right until 1974 with the passage of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.)

* In the list of countries with parliaments, the U.S. ranks 67th in terms of the number of women who are members of the parliament. Rwanda, Nicaragua and Ethiopia each have more women than the United States.