III 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 376 

Supporting the goals of International Women’s Day. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 6, 2014 

Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself, Mr. KIRK, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. CARDIN, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. UDALL of Colorado, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, and Mr. BEGICH) submitted the following resolution; which was 

referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Supporting the goals of International Women’s Day. 

Whereas there are more than 3,500,000,000 women in the 

world today; 

Whereas women around the world participate in the political, 

social, and economic life of their communities, play a critical role in providing and caring for their families, contribute substantially to the growth of economies and the 

prevention of conflict, and, as both farmers and caregivers, play an important role in advancing food security 

for their communities; 

Whereas the advancement of women around the world is a 

foreign policy priority for the United States; 

Whereas, on November 15, 2013, Secretary of State John 

Kerry stated: ‘‘Creating opportunities for women is not 


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just the right thing to do. It’s also a strategic necessity. 

Societies where women are safe, where women are empowered to exercise their rights and to move their communities forward—these societies are more prosperous 

and more stable—not occasionally, but always.’’; 

Whereas, on December 19, 2011, the Obama Administration 

launched the first United States National Action Plan on 

Women, Peace, and Security (referred to in this preamble 

as the ‘‘National Action Plan’’) that included a comprehensive set of national commitments to advance the 

active participation of women in decisionmaking relating 

to matters of war and peace; 

Whereas the National Action Plan states: ‘‘Deadly conflicts 

can be more effectively avoided, and peace can be best 

forged and sustained, when women become equal partners in all aspects of peace-building and conflict prevention, when their lives are protected, their experiences considered, and their voices heard.’’; 

Whereas women remain underrepresented in conflict prevention and conflict resolution efforts, despite proven successes by women in conflict-affected regions in moderating violent extremism, countering terrorism, resolving 

disputes through non-violent mediation and negotiation, 

and stabilizing their societies by improving access to 

peace and security services, institutions, and decisionmaking venues; 

Whereas the ability of women to realize their full potential is 

critical to the ability of a country to achieve strong and 

lasting economic growth and political and social stability; 


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•SRES 376 IS 

Whereas according to the International Monetary Fund, ‘‘focusing on the needs and empowerment of women is one 

of the keys to human development’’; 

Whereas according to the Global Gender Gap Report 2013 

published by the World Economic Forum, ‘‘reducing gender inequality enhances productivity and economic 

growth’’; 

Whereas according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, two-thirds of the 

774,000,000 illiterate people in the world are female; 

Whereas according to the United States Agency for International Development, ‘‘educated women are less likely to 

marry early and more likely to have smaller and healthier 

families. They are also more likely to get a job and earn 

a higher wage.’’; 

Whereas according to the United Nations Children’s Fund, 

‘‘adolescent girls that attend school [are more likely to] 

delay marriage and childbearing, are less vulnerable to 

disease including HIV and AIDS, and [are more likely 

to] acquire information and skills that lead to increased 

earning power. Evidence shows that the return to a year 

of secondary education for girls correlates to a 25 percent 

increase in wages later in life.’’; 

Whereas according to the Food and Agriculture Organization 

of the United Nations, the majority of women living in 

rural areas of the developing world are heavily engaged 

in agricultural labor, yet they receive less credit, land, agricultural inputs, and training than their male counterparts; 

Whereas according to the World Bank, women own or partly 

own over one-third of small and medium-sized enterprises 


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in developing countries, and 40 percent of the global 

workforce is female, yet, women entrepreneurs and employers have disproportionately less access to capital and 

other financial services; 

Whereas despite strides in recent decades, women around the 

world continue to face significant obstacles in all aspects 

of their lives, including underrepresentation in all aspects 

of public life, denial of basic human rights, and discrimination; 

Whereas despite achievements by individual female leaders, 

women around the world are still vastly underrepresented 

in high-level positions and in national and local legislatures and governments and, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, women account for only 21.4 percent 

of national parliamentarians; 

Whereas 1 in 3 women around the world has experienced 

some form of gender-based violence, and 1 in 4 women 

has suffered abuse during pregnancy; 

Whereas according to UN Women, violence against women 

causes more death and disability for women and girls between the ages of 15 and 44 than cancer, war, traffic accidents, and malaria combined; 

Whereas, on August 10, 2012, President Obama announced 

the first interagency Strategy to Prevent and Respond to 

Gender-Based Violence Globally; 

Whereas violence against women and girls impedes progress 

in meeting many international global development goals, 

including efforts to stem maternal mortality and the 

spread of HIV/AIDS; 


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Whereas, on October 11, 2013, President Obama stated that 

the practice of child marriage was a ‘‘threat to fundamental human rights’’; 

Whereas according to the International Center for Research 

on Women, one-third of girls worldwide are married before the age of 18 and 1 in 9 girls are married before 

the age of 15; 

Whereas according to Save the Children, pregnancy-related 

complications are a leading cause of death among girls 

between the ages of 15 and 19 in developing countries; 

Whereas according to the United Nations Population Fund, 

women have access to fewer income-earning opportunities 

and tend to manage the household and partake in agricultural work, thus increasing their vulnerability to natural disasters and long-term changes in weather patterns; 

Whereas it is imperative to alleviate violence and discrimination against women and afford women every opportunity 

to be full and productive members of their communities; 

and 

Whereas March 8 is recognized each year as International 

Women’s Day, a global day to celebrate the economic, political, and social achievements of women past, present, 

and future, and a day to recognize the obstacles that 

women still face in the struggle for equal rights and opportunities: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) supports the goals of International Women’s 

3 Day; 

4 (2) recognizes that the empowerment of women 

5 is inextricably linked to the potential of countries to 


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1 generate economic growth, sustainable democracy, 

2 and inclusive security; 

3 (3) recognizes and honors the women in the 

4 United States and around the world who have 

5 worked throughout history to ensure that women are 

6 guaranteed equality and basic human rights; 

7 (4) reaffirms the commitment to ending dis8 crimination and violence against women and girls, to 

9 ensuring the safety and welfare of women and girls, 

10 to pursuing policies that guarantee the basic human 

11 rights of women and girls worldwide, and to pro12 moting meaningful and significant participation of 

13 women in all aspects of their societies and commu14 nities; and 

15 (5) encourages the people of the United States 

16 to observe International Women’s Day with appro17 priate programs and activities. 

Æ 


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