Women's Equality Day is a day proclaimed each year by the United States President to commemorate the giving of the vote to women throughout the country on an equal basis to men.

Women in the United States were given the right to vote on August 26, 1920, when the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution was certified. The amendment was first introduced many years earlier in 1878. Every president has published a proclamation for Women's Equality Day since 1971 when legislation was first introduced in Congress by Bella Abzug. This resolution was passed designating August 26 of each year as Women's Equality Day.

Joint Resolution of Congress, 1971 Designating August 26 of each year as Women's Equality Day

Gender equality, also known as sex equality or sexual equality, is the goal of the equality of the genders, stemming from a belief in the injustice of myriad forms of gender inequality. This includes making women's rights equal to men's and also making men's rights equal to women's, as follows.

The movement towards gender equality, especially in Western countries, began with the suffragette movement of the late-19th century. Then there was a change in relation to women's property rights in marriage. (See for example, Married Women's Property Act 1882.) In the 1960s, a more general movement for gender equality developed based on women's liberation and feminism. The issue was women's rights. The idea was that women should have equal rights with men. However, actual changes in attitudes continued to focus on specific issues.

The movement resulted in anti-discrimination laws. Changes to attitudes to equality in education opportunities for boys and girls has also undergone a cultural shift. Some changes came about by adopting affirmative action policies. The change has also involved changes to social views, including "equal pay for equal work" as well as most occupations being equally available to men and women, in many countries. For example, many countries now permit women to serve in the armed forces, the police force and to be fire fighters. Also, an increasing number of women are active in politics and occupy high positions in business.