This week marked the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the constitutional right to vote. On August 18, 1920, Tennessee voted in favor of the amendment and ratified the 19th Amendment. This historic centennial offers an unparalleled opportunity to commemorate a milestone of democracy and to explore its relevance to the issues of equal rights today.1 August also celebrates Women’s Equality Day. At the behest of Rep. Bella Abzug (D-NY), in 1971 and passed in 1973, the U.S. Congress designated August 26 as “Women’s Equality Day”, which not only commemorates the passage of the 19th Amendment, but also calls attention to women’s continuing efforts toward full equality.2 Today, more than 68 million women vote in elections because of the courageous suffragists who never gave up the fight for equality.3
Empowering women and promoting gender equality is among one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals set for 2030, and a priority for CCM as well. With the asset management industry reporting one of the lowest levels of representation among women, we are proud to report that 52 percent of the CCM team is comprised of women, 40 percent of the Board of Directors is comprised of women, and 26 percent of the firm is owned by women. Additionally, many of our investments have a positive impact on women and girls with one of our 18 impact themes being “Gender Lens”. Learn more about this impact theme in our whitepaper Gender Lens Investing: Opportunities in Fixed Income.
We are proud to recognize these important milestones and to continue advocating for gender equality in our industry and beyond.
1https://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/programs/19th-amendment-centennial/letter-from-judy/
2 https://nationalwomenshistoryalliance.org/resources/commemorations/womens-equality-day/
3 https://www.womensvote100.org/learn