SJR15: Joint Resolution Text

2021 - 2022 LEGISLATURE

2021 Senate JOINT RESOLUTION 15

March 16, 2021 - Introduced by Senators Johnson, Agard, Bernier, Bewley, Carpenter, Erpenbach, Larson, Pfaff, Ringhand, Roys, Smith, L. Taylor and Wirch, cosponsored by Representatives S. Rodriguez, Subeck, Sinicki, Hong, Stubbs, Anderson, Andraca, Baldeh, Billings, Bowen, Brostoff, Cabrera, Conley, Considine, Doyle, Drake, Emerson, Goyke, Haywood, Hebl, Hesselbein, Hintz, McGuire, B. Meyers, Milroy, Mursau, L. Myers, Neubauer, Ortiz-Velez, Pope, Riemer, Rozar, Shankland, Shelton, Snodgrass, Spreitzer, Vining, Vruwink and Moore Omokunde. Referred to Committee on Senate Organization.

SJR15,1,1 Relating to: proclaiming March 2021 as Women's History Month.

SJR15,1,4 Whereas, American women of every race, class, and ethnic background have made historic contributions to the growth and strength of our nation in countless recorded and unrecorded ways; and

SJR15,1,7 Whereas, American women have played, and continue to play, a critical economic, cultural, and social role in every sphere of life and constitute a significant portion of the labor force working inside and outside the home; and

SJR15,1,9 Whereas, American women have played a unique role throughout the history of the nation by providing the majority of the volunteer labor force; and

SJR15,1,11 Whereas, American women were particularly important in the establishment of early philanthropic and cultural institutions in our nation; and

SJR15,2,2 Whereas, American women have been leaders, not only in securing their own rights of suffrage and equal opportunity, but also in the abolitionist movement, the emancipation movement, the industrial labor movement, the civil rights movement, and the peace movement, all of which have created a fairer and more just society for all; and

SJR15,2,4 Whereas, in 1925, not one but three women were the first female assembly representatives to be elected to the Wisconsin Legislature; and

SJR15,2,8 Whereas, Assembly Representative Mildred Barber, a Republican teacher, Assembly Representative Helen Brooks, a Republican teacher, and Assembly Representative Helen Thompson, a Republican teacher and hotel keeper, paved the way for other female leaders to hold legislative positions in Wisconsin; and

SJR15,2,10 Whereas, Democrat Marcia P. Coggs was elected to the state assembly in 1977, becoming the first African American woman to serve in the assembly; and

SJR15,2,12 Whereas, Democrat JoCasta Zamarripa, elected in 2010, became the first Latina elected to the assembly; and

SJR15,2,14 Whereas, Democrat Francesca Hong, elected in 2020, became the first Asian American and Pacific Islander elected to the legislature; and

SJR15,2,16 Whereas, Democrat Kathryn Morrison, elected in 1974, became the first woman elected to the state senate; and

SJR15,2,18 Whereas, Democrat Gwen Moore, elected in 1992, became the first African American woman elected to the state senate; and

SJR15,2,20 Whereas, in 2014, Republican Pat Strachota became the first woman to serve as assembly majority leader; and

SJR15,2,23 Whereas, in 1985, Senator Susan Engeleiter became the first Republican woman to be senate minority leader, and she was the youngest woman ever elected to the Wisconsin Legislature; and

SJR15,3,3 Whereas, in 2003, Senator Mary Panzer became the first Republican woman to be senate majority leader, and in 2005, Senator Judith Robson became the first Democratic woman to be senate minority leader and, in 2007, became the first Democratic woman to be senate majority leader, making them the highest-ranking women legislators; and

SJR15,3,5 Whereas, in 1973, Barbara Thompson became the first woman to serve as superintendent of public instruction; and

SJR15,3,7 Whereas, in 1978, Democrat Vel Phillips became the first African American woman elected to statewide office as secretary of state; and

SJR15,3,9 Whereas, in 2019, Carolyn Stanford Taylor became the first African American woman to serve as superintendent of public instruction; and

SJR15,3,12 Whereas, Margaret Farrow was the first Republican woman to be lieutenant governor, and Barbara Lawton was the first Democratic woman to be lieutenant governor in Wisconsin's history; and

SJR15,3,14 Whereas, in 1996 Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson became the first woman to serve as chief justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court; and

SJR15,3,17 Whereas, Democrat Tammy Baldwin became the first woman in the history of Wisconsin to be elected to the United States Senate and the first openly LGBTQ person to serve in the United States Senate; and

SJR15,3,19 Whereas, in 2021, a total of 41 women took their seats in the state assembly and senate, the most ever in Wisconsin history; and

SJR15,3,22 Whereas, the role of American women continues to evolve and their positive contributions to our culture, society, and government continue to grow and inspire future generations; now, therefore, be it

SJR15,3,24 Resolved by the senate, the assembly concurring, That the month of March 2021 shall be designated as Women's History Month.

SJR15,3,25 (End)