H. Res. 149

In the House of Representatives, U. S., 

March 6, 2007.

Whereas there are over 3,000,000,000 women in the world, 

representing 51 percent of the world’s population; 

Whereas women continue to play the prominent role in caring 

for families within the home as well as serving as economic earners; 

Whereas women worldwide are participating in the world of 

diplomacy and politics, contributing to the growth of 

economies, and improving the quality of the lives of their 

families, communities, and nations; 

Whereas women leaders have recently made significant 

strides, including the 2007 election of Congresswoman 

Nancy Pelosi as the first female Speaker of the House 

of Representatives, the 2006 election of Michelle Bachelet 

as the first female President of Chile, the 2006 election 

of Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf as the first female President in 

Africa’s history, and the 2005 election of Angela Merkel 

as the first female Chancellor of Germany, who will also 

serve as the second woman to chair a G8 summit beginning in 2007; 

Whereas women account for 80 percent of the world’s 70 million micro-borrowers, 75 percent of the 28,000 United 

States loans supporting small businesses in Afghanistan 
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are made to women, and 11 women are chief executive 

officers of Fortune 500 companies; 

Whereas in the United States, women are graduating from 

high school at higher rates and are earning bachelors degrees or higher degrees at greater rates than men, with 

88 percent of women between the ages of 25 and 29 having obtained a high school diploma and 31 percent of 

women between the ages of 25 and 29 earning a bachelors degree or higher; 

Whereas despite tremendous gains, women still face political 

and economic obstacles, struggle for basic rights, face the 

threat of discrimination, and are targets of violence all 

over the world; 

Whereas worldwide women remain vastly underrepresented in 

national and local assemblies, accounting on average for 

less than 10 percent of the seats in parliament, except for 

in East Asia where the figure is approximately 18 to 19 

percent, and in no developing region do women hold more 

than 8 percent of the ministerial positions; 

Whereas women work two-thirds of the world’s working hours 

and produce half of the world’s food, yet earn only 1 percent of the world’s income and own less than 1 percent 

of the world’s property; 

Whereas in the United States between 1995 and 2000, female managers earned less than their male counterparts 

in the 10 industries that employ the vast majority of all 

female employees; 

Whereas of the 1,300,000,000 people living in poverty around 

the world, 70 percent are women and children; 

Whereas according to the United States Agency for International Development, two-thirds of the 876,000,000 illit-
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erate individuals worldwide are women, two-thirds of the 

125,000,000 school-aged children who are not attending 

school worldwide are girls, and girls are less likely to 

complete school than boys; 

Whereas worldwide women account for half of all cases of 

HIV/AIDS, approximately 42,000,000 cases, and in 

countries with high HIV prevalence, young women are at 

a higher risk than young men of contracting HIV; 

Whereas globally, each year over 500,000 women die during 

childbirth and pregnancy; 

Whereas domestic violence causes more deaths and disability 

among women between ages 15 and 44 than cancer, malaria, traffic accidents, and war; 

Whereas worldwide, at least 1 out of every 3 women and girls 

has been beaten in her lifetime; 

Whereas according to the Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention, at least 1 out of every 6 women and girls in 

the United States has been sexually abused in her lifetime; 

Whereas worldwide, 130,000,000 girls and young women 

have been subjected to female genital mutilation and it 

is estimated that 10,000 girls are at risk of being subjected to this practice in the United States; 

Whereas according to the Congressional Research Service and 

the Department of State, illegal trafficking in women and 

children for forced labor, domestic servitude, or sexual 

exploitation involves between 1,000,000 and 2,000,000 

women and children each year, of whom 50,000 are 

transported into the United States; 

Whereas between 75 and 80 percent of the world’s 

27,000,000 refugees are women and children; 
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Whereas in times and places of conflict and war, women and 

girls continue to be the focus of extreme violence and intimidation and face tremendous obstacles to legal recourse and justice; 

Whereas March 8 has become known as International Women’s Day for the last century, and is a day on which people, often divided by ethnicity, language, culture, and income, come together to celebrate a common struggle for 

women’s equality, justice, and peace; and 

Whereas the people of the United States should be encouraged to participate in International Women’s Day: Now, 

therefore, be it 

Resolved, That the House of Representatives—

(1) supports the goals of International Women’s 

Day; 

(2) recognizes and honors the women in the United 

States and in other countries who have fought and continue to struggle for equality in the face of adversity; 

(3) reaffirms its commitment to ending discrimination and violence against women and girls, to ensuring 

the safety and welfare of women and girls, and to pursuing policies that guarantee the basic human rights of 

women and girls both in the United States and in other 

countries; and 

(4) encourages the President to—

(A) reaffirm his commitment to pursue policies 

to protect fundamental human rights and civil liberties, particularly those of women and girls; and 
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(B) issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to observe International 

Women’s Day with appropriate programs and activities. 

Attest:

Clerk.