Photo By Damien Salas | A competitor from the Women's Equality Day 5k run and 1-mile walk passes the finish...... read more read more
JOINT BASE MYER-HENDERSON HALL, Va. - The Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army, Directorate of Equal Employment Opportunity, celebrated Women’s Equality Day at the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., Aug. 27.
The day, first introduced in 1971 by Congress, recognizes Aug. 26 every year to commemorate the 1920 passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, giving women the right to vote.
“When you look across the country, the military has led the way many times for equality,” said Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Buchanan, commander of Joint Force Headquarters- National Capital Region and Military District of Washington, in an interview with the Pentagram. “Equal work for equal pay, we have that, but in many other places around the country, we don’t.”
The U.S. military gives women the same opportunities as men, but there is still a ways to go for the entire country, said Buchanan.
“The United States has come a long way since before the days when women had the right to vote,” said Buchanan. “Women play an absolutely critical role in our military and have been performing brilliantly over the last decade-plus in our years in conflict and perform critical roles throughout.”
Keynote speaker Tinisha Agramonte, assistant administrator, Diversity Inclusion and Civil Rights, U.S. Small Business Administration, gave a speech entitled “Let go, Lean In and Lift Up: Deprived Equality for Anyone is a Threat to Equality for Everyone.”
According to Agramonte, inclusiveness within the military is inherent when Soldiers live by their core values.
“The Army has made tremendous strides with being inclusive in not only women in the civilian corps, but also active duty Soldiers,” said Agramonte in an interview with the Pentagram. “A woman entering our U.S. military forces today needs to remember that she has already demonstrated courage by enlisting or being commissioned to come in and serve her country, and rely on that confidence and commitment to serve her throughout her military career.”
National Capital Region community members employed by the federal government attended the event in support of Agramonte and all women in the work place, including Teresa Bailey, architect of the Capitol, chief human capital officer, and friend of Agramonte.
“Women bring a lot to the table,” said Bailey. “Events like these highlight those contributions and efforts of women, while also looking at some of the challenges that we have to face as moms, as grandmothers, and achieving work-life balance and all of the other things we have to address as women in the workplace.”
JBM-HH celebrated Women’s Equality Day Aug. 22 with a 5k run hosted by Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation.
The annual run came before the change of command ceremony on Aug. 27, marking JBM-HH Command Sgt. Maj. Earlene Lavender’s final women’s equality race on the installation.
But despite leaving the installation, support for this race and all future races for the purpose of inclusion and diversity within the U.S. military is important to Lavender.
“I think it is important to acknowledge women’s accomplishments, and to let the world know we are not only equals in status, but also in giving back to our communities and country,” said Lavender. “I want to thank all of the women in the military who have accomplished so much before me and those who will accomplish more after me.”
| Date Taken: | 09.04.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 09.04.2014 10:47 |
| Story ID: | 141122 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE MYER-HENDERSON HALL, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 131 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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