III 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 97 

Supporting the goals of International Women’s Day. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 4, 2015 

Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. KIRK, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mrs. 

BOXER, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. CARDIN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, and 

Mr. WHITEHOUSE) 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 have fundamental human 

rights, 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 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 September 24, 2014, President Barack Obama 

highlighted the United States support for the advanceVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:01 Mar 05, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR97.IS SR97

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ment of women, noting: ‘‘Where women are full participants in a country’s politics or economy, societies are 

more likely to succeed. And that’s why we support the 

participation of women in parliaments and peace processes, schools, and the economy.’’; 

Whereas women remain underrepresented in conflict prevention and conflict resolution efforts, despite proven success 

by women in conflict-affected regions in moderating violent extremism, countering terrorism, resolving disputes 

through nonviolent mediation and negotiation, and stabilizing societies by improving access to peace and security 

services, institutions, and decisionmaking venues; 

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 includes 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 the following: 

‘‘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 the National Action Plan requires the National Security Council staff to coordinate a comprehensive review 

of, and update to, the National Action Plan in 2015 with 

consultation from international partners and civil society 

organizations; 


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Whereas according to the Bureau of International Narcotics 

and Law Enforcement Affairs of the Department of 

State, women’s full and meaningful participation in security forces vastly enhances their effectiveness; 

Whereas the ability of women and girls 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; 

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

781,000,000 illiterate people in the world are female; 

Whereas according to the United States Agency for International Development, compared to uneducated women, 

‘‘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 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 United Nations Population Fund, 

women have access to fewer income-earning opportunities 

and are more likely to manage the household and engage 

in agricultural work, making women more vulnerable to 

economic insecurity caused by natural disasters and longterm changes in weather patterns; 


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Whereas according to the World Bank, women own or partly 

own more than one-third of small and medium-sized enterprises 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 compared to men; 

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 21.9 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 the World Health Organization, approximately 800 women die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth every day, with 99 percent of all maternal deaths occurring in developing countries; 

Whereas according to the United Nations Population Fund, 

more than 200,000,000 women and girls around the 

world would like to access family planning services but 

are unable to do so; 

Whereas according to data from the World Bank, women between the ages of 15 and 44 are at a greater risk of rape 


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and domestic violence than cancer, war, traffic accidents, 

and malaria combined; 

Whereas, on August 10, 2012, President Barack Obama announced the United States Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence Globally, the first interagency strategy to address gender-based violence around 

the world; 

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; 

Whereas, on October 11, 2013, President Barack 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 the World Health Organization, suicide 

is the leading cause of death for girls ages 15 to 19, followed by complications from pregnancy and childbirth; 

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; 

Whereas 2015 marks the 20th anniversary of the Fourth 

World Conference on Women, where 189 countries committed to the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action to integrate gender equality into all dimensions of 

society; 

Whereas 2015 marks the deadline for meeting the United 

Nations Millennium Development Goals, and progress toVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:01 Mar 05, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR97.IS SR97

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wards meeting the targets for gender equality and women’s empowerment remains uneven; 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 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 

6 generate economic growth, sustainable democracy, 

7 and inclusive security; 

8 (3) recognizes and honors individuals in the 

9 United States and around the world, including 

10 women who are human rights defenders, who have 

11 worked throughout history to ensure that women are 

12 guaranteed equality and basic human rights; 

13 (4) reaffirms the commitment to ending dis14 crimination and violence against women and girls, to 

15 ensuring the safety and welfare of women and girls, 

16 to pursuing policies that guarantee the basic human 

17 rights of women and girls worldwide, and to pro18 moting meaningful and significant participation of 


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1 women in all aspects of their societies and commu2 nities; 

3 (5) supports international calls for a ‘‘Post4 2015 Development Agenda’’ to include a stand-alone 

5 goal to achieve gender equality and women’s em6 powerment; and 

7 (6) encourages the people of the United States 

8 to observe International Women’s Day with appro9 priate programs and activities. 

Æ 


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