III 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 433 

Supporting the goals of ‘‘International Women’s Day’’. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 3, 2010 

Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself, Mr. CARDIN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, and Mrs. 

BOXER) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

Supporting the goals of ‘‘International Women’s Day’’. 

Whereas there are more than 3,300,000,000 women in the 

world; 

Whereas women around the world participate in the political, 

social, and economic life of their communities and play 

the predominant role in providing and caring for their 

families; 

Whereas women, as both farmers and caregivers, play a leading role in advancing food security for their families and 

communities; 

Whereas the ability of women to realize their full potential is 

critical to the ability of a nation to achieve strong and 

lasting economic growth and political stability; 


tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
2 

•SRES 433 IS 

Whereas according to the 2009 World Economic Forum 

Global Gender Gap Report, ‘‘[A] nation’s competitiveness 

depends significantly on whether and how it educates and 

utilizes its female talent. To maximize its competitiveness 

and development potential, each country should strive for 

gender equality—that is, to give women the same rights, 

responsibilities and opportunities as men.’’; 

Whereas, also according to the same report, ‘‘Every year of 

schooling increases a girl’s individual earning power by 

10% to 20%, while the return on secondary education is 

even higher, in the 15% to 25% range. Additionally, 

women reinvest 90% of their income back into the household, whereas men reinvest only 30% to 40%.’’; 

Whereas according to President Barack Obama, ‘‘Our daughters can contribute just as much to society as our sons, 

and our common prosperity will be advanced by allowing 

all humanity—men and women—to reach their full potential.’’; 

Whereas according to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham 

Clinton, ‘‘[I]nvesting in the potential of women to lift and 

lead their societies is one of the best investments we can 

make.’’; 

Whereas despite some achievements made by individual 

women leaders, women around the globe are still vastly 

underrepresented in high level positions and in national 

and local legislatures and governments and, according to 

the Inter-Parliamentary Union, account for only 18.7 

percent of national parliamentarians; 

Whereas although strides have been made in recent decades, 

women around the world continue to face significant obstacles in all aspects of their lives including discriminaVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:09 Mar 04, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR433.IS SR433

tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
3 

•SRES 433 IS 

tion, gender-based violence, and denial of basic human 

rights; 

Whereas women are responsible for 66 percent of the work 

done in the world, yet earn only 10 percent of the income 

earned in the world; 

Whereas women account for approximately 70 percent of individuals living in poverty world-wide; 

Whereas women account for 64 percent of the 774,000,000 

adults world-wide who lack basic literacy skills; 

Whereas girls account for 57 percent of the 72,000,000 primary school aged children in the world who do not attend 

school; 

Whereas in Sub-Saharan Africa only 17 percent of girls enroll in secondary school; 

Whereas women receive less than 10 percent of all available 

credit in Africa, own less than 2 percent of the land in 

the world, and account for only 15 percent of the agricultural extension agents in the world, yet produce the majority of the food crops in the world, including 70 percent 

of the food crops in Africa; 

Whereas women in developing countries are disproportionately affected by global climate change; 

Whereas according to the Joint United Nations Programme 

on HIV/AIDS, women account for 50 percent of HIV or 

AIDS infections worldwide, and nearly 60 percent of HIV 

infections in Sub-Saharan Africa; 

Whereas according the Department of State, 56 percent of all 

forced labor victims are women and girls; 


tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
4 

•SRES 433 IS 

Whereas according to the United Nations, 1 in 3 women in 

the world will be beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise 

abused in her lifetime; 

Whereas according to the International Center for Research 

on Women, there are more than 60,000,000 child brides 

in developing countries, some of whom are as young as 

7 years old; 

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; and 

Whereas, the United Nations theme for International Women’s Day 2010 is ‘‘Equal rights, equal opportunities: 

Progress for all’’: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) supports the goals of ‘‘International Wom3 en’s Day’’; 

4 (2) recognizes that the economic growth and 

5 empowerment of women is inextricably linked to the 

6 potential of nations to generate economic growth 

7 and sustainable democracy; 

8 (3) recognizes and honors the women in the 

9 United States and around the world who have 

10 worked throughout history to strive to ensure that 

11 women are guaranteed equality and basic human 

12 rights; 


tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
5 

•SRES 433 IS 

1 (4) reaffirms the commitment to end gender2 based discrimination in all forms, to end violence 

3 against women and girls worldwide; and 

4 (5) encourages the people of the United States 

5 to observe International Women’s Day with appro6 priate programs and activities. 

Æ 


tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS