Wisconsin 2025-2026 Regular Session

Wisconsin Senate Bill SR2 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	2025 - 2026 LEGISLATURE
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4	4	2025 SENATE RESOLUTION 2
5	5	March 21, 2025 - Introduced by Senators HESSELBEIN, CARPENTER, DASSLER-
6	6	ALFHEIM, DRAKE, HABUSH SINYKIN, L. JOHNSON, KEYESKI, LARSON, PFAFF,
7	7	RATCLIFF, ROYS, SMITH, SPREITZER, WALL and WIRCH. Referred to Committee
8	8	on Senate Organization.
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10	10	*AUTHORS SUBJECT TO CHANGE*
11	11	Relating to: proclaiming March 2025 and March 2026 as Women [s History
12	12	Months.
13	13	Whereas, American women of every race, class, and ethnic background have
14	14	made historic contributions to our nation in countless recorded and unrecorded
15	15	ways; and
16	16	Whereas, the Wisconsin Legislature granted property rights to married
17	17	women in 1850; and
18	18	Whereas, in 1869, the first women graduated from the University of
19	19	Wisconsin. That same year, the Wisconsin Legislature passed a law allowing
20	20	women to run for school boards and other elective school offices, though they could
21	21	not vote in school board elections until 1884; and
22	22	Whereas, in the campaign for Women[s Suffrage, Wisconsin produced notable
23	23	suffragists such as Olympia Brown of Racine, Clara Bewick Colby of Madison,
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38	38	Carrie Chapman Catt of Ripon, Jessie Jack Hooper of Oshkosh, Ada James of
39	39	Richland Center, and Belle Case La Follette of Baraboo; and
40	40	Whereas, Wisconsin is part of the original 36 states to ratify the 19th
41	41	Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which provides, XThe right of citizens of the
42	42	United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any
43	43	State on account of sex,Y and holds the distinction of being the first state to ratify,
44	44	on June 10, 1919, and formally certify its ratification papers in Washington, D.C.;
45	45	and
46	46	Whereas, in July 1921, after decades of campaigning by women for voting and
47	47	other rights, Wisconsin passed the nation[s first women[s equal rights law,
48	48	declaring XWomen shall have the same rights and privileges under the law as men,Y
49	49	including Xholding officeY—affirming women[s right to hold any public office; and
50	50	Whereas, a 1923 survey of Wisconsin cities and villages by the University of
51	51	Wisconsin[s Municipal Information Bureau identified more than 400 women in
52	52	public office, of whom approximately half sat on school and library boards and who
53	53	also included Wisconsin[s first female mayor, county supervisor, sheriff, nine
54	54	alderwomen, 12 village trustees, and dozens of clerks and treasurers; and
55	55	Whereas, in 1925, three women, Representatives Mildred Barber of Wausau,
56	56	Hellen Brooks of Coloma, and Helen Thompson of Park Falls, were the first female
57	57	assembly representatives to be elected to the Wisconsin Legislature; and
58	58	Whereas, Wisconsin amended its own constitution in 1934 to include women[s
59	59	suffrage; and
60	60	Whereas, in 1983, the Wisconsin Women[s Council became a permanent state
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85	85	agency governed by a bipartisan board appointed by the governor and legislative
86	86	leaders; and
87	87	Whereas, in 2025, a total of 44 women took their seats in the state assembly
88	88	and senate, the most ever in Wisconsin history; and
89	89	Whereas, the role of American women continues to evolve, and their positive
90	90	contributions to our culture, society, and government continue to grow and inspire
91	91	future generations; and
92	92	Whereas, throughout the history of the United States, whether in their homes,
93	93	in their workplaces, in schools, in the community, in the courts, or during wartime,
94	94	women have fought for themselves, their families, and all people of the United
95	95	States; and
96	96	Whereas, since the American Revolution, women have been vital to the
97	97	mission of the armed forces, with about 30,000 women veterans from Wisconsin
98	98	representing every branch of service; and
99	99	Whereas, American women have played and continue to play a critical
100	100	economic, cultural, and social role in every sphere of life and constitute a significant
101	101	portion of the labor force working inside and outside the home, with women now
102	102	representing approximately half of the workforce of the United States and owning
103	103	more than 12.4 million businesses; and
104	104	Whereas, according to U.S. Census Bureau data, women are at the helm of
105	105	about 18 percent of all employer firms located in Wisconsin; and
106	106	Whereas, the women of Wisconsin have been and continue to be leaders in the
107	107	forefront of international affairs, social change efforts, education, journalism,
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132	132	literature, art, film, technology, math, science, athletics, and other fields including
133	133	Golda Meir, who grew up in Milwaukee and was the Prime Minister of Israel from
134	134	1969 to 1974; Nobel Peace Prize winner and Liberian president Ellen Johnson
135	135	Sirleaf, who attended school in Madison and was the first female head of state of
136	136	any African country; Vel Phillips, a woman of many firsts, was the first Black
137	137	woman to graduate from the University of Wisconsin Law School, the first woman
138	138	alder elected to the Common Council of Milwaukee, the first woman judge in
139	139	Milwaukee County, the first African American to serve in Wisconsin[s judiciary,
140	140	and the first woman elected as Wisconsin[s secretary of state; Dickey Chapelle was
141	141	the first female American war correspondent to parachute with American troops
142	142	and the first killed covering combat; Electa XWuhwehweeheemeewY Quinney was
143	143	Wisconsin[s first public schoolteacher; Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the XLittle
144	144	HouseY book series, hailed from Pepin; Lorraine Hansberry, playwright for A
145	145	Raisin in the Sun was the first Black woman to have a play produced on Broadway;
146	146	Georgia O[Keeffe of Sun Prairie was a major American artist of the 20th century
147	147	who developed a unique approach to abstract painting that reflected the landscapes
148	148	around her; and Bonnie Blair is a world record-holding speed skater, a six-time
149	149	Olympic medalist, and one of the most decorated women in Winter Olympic history;
150	150	and
151	151	Whereas, despite the advancements of women in the United States, much
152	152	remains to be done to ensure that women realize their full potential as equal
153	153	members of society in the United States; and
154	154	Whereas, National Women[s History Month recognizes and spreads awareness
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179	179	of the importance of women in the history of Wisconsin and the United States; now,
180	180	therefore, be it
181	181	Resolved by the senate, That March 2025 and March 2026 shall be
182	182	designated as Women[s History Months.
183	183	(END)
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