News
Statement on White House Executive Order Calling for Greater Representation of Women's History in National Parks
Official Statment | March 28, 2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, the White House issued an Executive Order calling upon the federal government to take intentional steps towards more fully recognizing the role of women and girls in our historic and cultural sites, noting that women’s history is vastly and inexcusably underrepresented in our country’s National Parks. The Executive Order instructs the Secretary of the Interior to submit a report in 180 days that, among other things, identifies opportunities within sites of national importance to highlight important figures and chapters in women’s history.
THE FACTS ARE CLEAR
In 2023, Foundation Executive Director Anna Laymon testified in Congress before the Senate Energy Subcommittee on National Parks and the House Natural Resources Committee’s Subcommittee on Federal Lands. Director Laymon urged Congress to take action and pass the Women’s Suffrage National Monument Location Act (S.886/H.R. 1318), which authorizes the congressionally chartered Women’s Suffrage National Monument to be built on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
Director Laymon testified on the following facts:
2.3% of the 432 National Parks managed by the National Park Service commemorate some aspect of American women's history.
Less than 4% of the 3,000 designated National Historic Landmarks in the U.S. commemorate some aspect of American women's history.
In Washington, D.C. today, there are more public sculptures of mermaids than American born women, and more statues of dogs than First Ladies.
Of the 40 monuments, memorials, statues, and historic sites on the National Mall – the most visited National Park in the United States – 22 are dedicated to individual men, 10 to military history and veterans, three to foreign relations, two to private organizations, one to U.S. postal history, one to the history of the United States’ canals, and another to the history of horses on the Mall. Zero are dedicated to American women’s history.
The facts are clear and there can be no doubt: American women’s history is missing from our National Parks, and the National Mall is no exception.
THE SENATE MUST PASS S.886/H.R.1318 TODAY
The Women’s Suffrage National Monument Location Act was passed unanimously out of the House in November 2023. The bill is bipartisan, faces no public opposition, and is supported by leaders and organizations across the nation. The Women’s Suffrage National Monument is the only new memorial supported by the National Park Service for inclusion on the National Mall.
The House passed bill, H.R. 1318, is at the Senate desk, ready for approval by the Senate today. The Women’s Suffrage National Monument Location Act could be passed out of the Senate today and ready for the President’s signature tomorrow. We are one Senate action away from changing history. There is no reason to wait.
Women and girls across the U.S. deserve to have our contributions to democracy recognized in our federal monuments and memorials, and we urge Majority Leader Schumer and Minority Leader McConnell to act swiftly and pass H.R. 1318.
IT IS TIME FOR ACTION
The Foundation applauds the White House’s public commitment to fixing the inequity of representation in America’s National Parks. We are greatly encouraged by the Administration’s strong statement that the federal government can and must do better in its recognition and celebration of women’s contributions to this nation. It is time for action, and we stand ready to work with the President and Congress to pass the Women’s Suffrage National Monument Location Act and finally bring a monument dedicated to American women’s history to the National Mall.
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