Following is the statement of Democratic Party of Wisconsin Communications Director Melissa Baldauff commemorating Women’s Equality Day:
“Ninety-four years after women secured the fundamental right to vote, women still face barriers to equality.
“Here in Wisconsin, the commemoration of Women’s Equality Day brings a stark reminder of how far we’ve gone backwards under Scott Walker. Wisconsin was the first state to ratify the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote, and now we lead the nation in right-wing extremists who wish to literally turn back the clock on progress.
“From the attack on women’s access to reproductive health care and contraception to the gutting of the Pay Equity Enforcement Act, Scott Walker’s policies not only treat women like second-class citizens, but also take away the most fundamental rights and choices women need to fully participate in our society and make critical decisions about our lives.
“Contrary to what candidate for Congress Glenn Grothman — a standard-bearer for Scott Walker’s Republican Party — believes, it’s not acceptable for women to get paid less because, ‘money is more important for men.’
“And it’s not acceptable for elected officials to pass laws that shutter women’s healthcare clinics, interfere with the relationship between women and their doctors, and mandate medically-unnecessary transvaginal ultrasounds all in the name of a rigid and outdated ideology.
“That’s why women in November will come out to the polls and exercise our fundamental right to vote, and why we will elect new leaders who value women as equal partners in society.”
