The 19th Amendment

The nineteenth amendment protects women's universal voting rights. Up until 1920, women could not vote, like men did. They could not participate in important political activities. They didn't have good pay jobs, even if they had one.

Since they started voting, women's situation have been greatly improved. Many women hold important positions in government and business. Female doctors are curing diseases for patients. Women engineers are building molecules and skyscrapers. Women astronauts, such as Tracy Dyson and Eileen Collins, have walked in space and commanded space shuttles. Linda Buck, a neuroscientist from Seattle, won the Nobel prize for medicine in 2004.

Even though women today live much better than in 1920, there are still many things to be done. Most women are not paid equally for the same jobs as men do. On average, women earn only 78 cents for every dollar men make. Men must be educated to treat women with respect because one in every four women experience domestic violence in her lifetime. I've also observed that girls are bullied more than boys. They can easily be hurt either verbally or physically. Girls often feel more vulnerable, especially when a group of bullies surround them.

In the future, I would like to see a female President in the White House. It could inspire other young women. I want to become a computer scientist, like Grace Hopper. The nineteenth amendment was the first step to make my dream possible.