每年的8月26日在美国被指定为妇女平等日。这一日期由众议员贝拉·阿布祖格（Bella Abzug，D）制定，始建于1971年，是为了纪念美国宪法第19修正案的通过，该修正案是美国宪法中的女性选举权修正案，该修正案赋予女性与男性同等的投票权。当许多妇女属于其他有投票障碍的群体（例如有色人种）时，她们仍然必须为投票权而斗争。

不太为人所知的是，这一天是为了纪念1970年妇女争取平等罢工，该罢工是在8月26日妇女选举权通过50周年之际举行的。

第一个呼吁妇女享有选举权的公共机构是《塞内卡福尔斯妇女权利公约》，在该公约上，关于选举权的决议比其他争取平等权利的决议更具争议性。第一份普选请愿书于1866年送交国会。

1919年6月4日，参议院批准了美国宪法第19条修正案，该修正案已送交各州批准。各州的通过进展迅速，田纳西州于1920年8月18日在其立法机构通过了批准提案。田纳西州回绝了推翻投票的企图后，通知联邦政府批准了该修正案。1920年8月26日，第19修正案被证明已批准。

20世纪70年代，随着所谓的第二次女权运动浪潮，8月26日再次成为一个重要的日子。1970年，在第19条修正案批准50周年之际，全国妇女组织组织了争取平等的妇女罢工，要求妇女停止工作一天，以强调工资和教育方面的不平等以及需要更多的托儿中心。妇女参加了90个城市的活动。大约5万人在纽约市游行，一些妇女占领了自由女神像。

为了纪念选举权的胜利，并再次致力于争取更多的妇女平等要求，纽约州国会议员贝拉·阿布祖格（Bella Abzug）提出了一项法案，在8月26日设立妇女平等日。她这样做是为了赞扬和支持那些继续为平等而工作的人。该法案要求总统每年宣布妇女平等日。

以下是1971年国会联合决议的文本，该决议指定每年8月26日为妇女平等日：

WHEREAS, the women of the United States have been treated as second-class citizens and have not been entitled the full rights and privileges, public or private, legal or institutional, which are available to male citizens of the United States; and WHEREAS, the women of the United States have united to assure that these rights and privileges are available to all citizens equally regardless of sex; and WHEREAS, the women of the United States have designated August 26, the anniversary date of the passage of the 19th Amendment, as symbol of the continued fight for equal rights: and WHEREAS, the women of United States are to be commended and supported in their organizations and activities, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that August 26th of each year is designated as Women’s Equality Day, and the President is authorized and requested to issue a proclamation annually in commemoration of that day in 1920, on which the women of America were first given the right to vote, and that day in 1970, on which a nationwide demonstration for women’s rights took place.

1994年，时任总统比尔·克林顿（Bill Clinton）发表的总统公告中引用了海伦·H·加德纳（Helen H.Gardener）的话，她在向国会请求通过第19条修正案时写道：“让我们要么停止在世界各国面前的共和国和‘法律面前人人平等’的伪装，要么让我们成为我们假装的共和国。”

2004年，时任总统乔治·W·布什宣布妇女平等日，他这样解释这个节日：

On Women's Equality Day, we recognize the hard work and perseverance of those who helped secure women's suffrage in the United States. With the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution in 1920, American women gained one of the most cherished rights and fundamental responsibilities of citizenship: the right to vote. The struggle for women's suffrage in America dates back to the founding of our country. The movement began in earnest at the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, when women drafted a Declaration of Sentiments proclaiming they had the same rights as men. In 1916, Jeannette Rankin of Montana became the first American woman elected to the United States House of Representatives, despite the fact that her fellow women would not be able to vote nationally for four more years.

2012年，美国总统巴拉克·奥巴马（Barack Obama）在宣布妇女平等日之际强调了《礼来·莱德贝特公平贸易法》：

On Women's Equality Day, we mark the anniversary of our Constitution's 19th Amendment, which secured the right to vote for America's women. The product of profound struggle and fierce hope, the 19th Amendment reaffirmed what we have always known: that America is a place where anything is possible and where each of us is entitled to the full pursuit of our own happiness. We also know that the defiant, can-do spirit that moved millions to seek suffrage is what runs through the veins of American history. It remains the wellspring of all our progress. And nearly a century after the battle for women's franchise was won, a new generation of young women stands ready to carry that spirit forward and bring us closer to a world where there are no limits on how big our children can dream or how high they can reach. To keep our Nation moving ahead, all Americans — men and women — must be able to help provide for their families and contribute fully to our economy.

那一年的宣言包括这样一句话：“我呼吁美国人民庆祝妇女的成就，并再次承诺在这个国家实现两性平等。”