Some holidays are easy to remember, and Women’s Equality Day, August 26th, is easy for me. It is the day before my birthday.

Since I joined BPW 40+ years ago and learned more about women’s history, I always start my birthday with a prayer of gratitude to the suffragists and the women who founded BPW.

The theme of the National Women’s History Alliance 2026 is Leading the Change: Women Shaping a Sustainable Future. Using this theme and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as inspiration for programs and projects, our clubs could have measurable impact on their communities.

With BPW’s consultancy status with the United Nations, we can further develop our involvement with the SDGs.

While we have made progress in Women’s equality, there are still limitations and restrictions that we need to conquer. Here are just a few numbers that show the continuing disparity and lack of equal treatment for women:

18 the number of countries where husbands can legally prevent their wives from working.

39 the number of countries where sons and daughters do not share equal inheritance rights.

23.7 the percentage of women represented in national parliaments.

6 the number of countries that give women equal work rights as men.

47 the percentage of the increased likelihood for women to suffer severe injuries in car crashes because safety features are designed for men.

13 the percentage of women globally who are agricultural landholders.

Be proactive: sponsor a Women’s Equality Day event, or partner with another organization with a similar mission.

It is an honor to serve as your Vice President of Advocacy for 2026-28.

With the Biennial Conference ending just a week ago as I write this, there is plenty of action happening to set committee meeting schedules, invite members to participate, and fill our calendars with events that will draw both members and non-members.

In addition to continuing work on the new, dedicated Advocacy Hub on our website (going live soon), the Advocacy Committee is working on position papers, conducting bill reviews, issuing alerts via NewMode (the platform we use to get our messages in front of legislators), and providing support to club and state advocacy committees.

If you are interested in serving on the committee, please email me at vpadvocacy@nfbpwc.org.

Barbara J. Davis
National VP Advocacy
2026-2028
vpadvocacy@nfbpwc.org