It's been almost a century since the passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, granting women the right to vote. We owe this victory to the Women's Rights Movement, which began as early as the late 1840s. In 1971, the U.S. Congress designated August 26 as 'Women's Equality Day' to honor the legacy of the 19th Amendment, to promote gender equality, and to celebrate the strides that women have made in the U.S. and around the world. Today, many Federal agencies have policies in place to ensure the equal status of women. In recognition of Women's Equality Day, we'd like to share these and other resources with you and your loved ones.
Benefit Programs for Women and Children
Benefits.gov has information on programs from across 17 Federal agencies, specifically for women and children.
- The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). Administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA), provides food, nutrition education, and access to sources of healthcare, social services, and more at no cost to low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, postpartum women, and to infants and children up to age five.
- If you participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as the Food Stamp Program, then you are automatically eligible.
- For women who are Veterans, the Department of Veteran's Affairs (VA) offers the Women Health Care Benefits Program that provides comprehensive medical services for women including gender-specific health care, rehabilitation, primary care and more.
In addition to these programs, several initiatives exist to promote and preserve gender equality in the U.S. For example:
- The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has championed equal pay policies that aim to ensure women and other demographic groups have equal pay and employment opportunities in the workplace. You can check out the DOL Women's Bureau's 'Guide to Equal Pay Rights' on DOL's website. In the guide, you'll find information on policies such as the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, which set new, pro-equality terms for filing equal-pay lawsuits.
- The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) enforces statutes such as Title IX, or The Education Amendments of 1972, which ensure that no person, based on sex, is subject to exclusion or discrimination under any education program.
- The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has also published policy guidance on Promoting Gender Equality and Advancing the Status of Women and Girls, which advocates for global gender equality and advancement of women and girls.
Benefits.gov provides resources and access to benefits to all U.S. citizens, and as the world celebrates Women’s Equality Day, we collectively consider the importance of equality for all. We encourage you to take the Benefit Finder questionnaire, where you'll be matched with benefits relevant to your situation and can learn more about eligibility and the application process.
