--- title: Women's Equality Day 2017: Gloria Feldt on Resistance description: Find out what Gloria Feldt thinks women need to do on Women's Equality Day. canonical: https://time.com/4914953/gloria-feldt-womens-equality-day/ author: Gloria Feldt article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-08-25T17:30:45.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T09:05:51.526Z og:title: Gloria Feldt: Resistance Alone Won't Bring About Women's Equality og:description: 'Let's create some controversy' og:url: https://time.com/4914953/gloria-feldt-womens-equality-day/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltce3a47bcbab98dc7/6988db26656a3f5ff8bd16ed/womens-march-resistance.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2800 og:image:height: 1575 og:image:alt: Rally and March for Day Without Women Cause og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Gloria Feldt: Resistance Alone Won't Bring About Women's Equality twitter:description: 'Let's create some controversy' twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltce3a47bcbab98dc7/6988db26656a3f5ff8bd16ed/womens-march-resistance.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Gloria Feldt: Resistance Alone Won't Bring About Women's Equality > Sponsored content. 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Worth Your Time is TIME's culture newsletter, published Tuesdays and Saturdays to 40,000 subscribers as of August 2026. #### Who writes TIME's culture recommendations? Culture editor Eliza Berman writes Worth Your Time, drawing on TIME's critics and culture desk. #### Is Worth Your Time free? Yes. It is a free newsletter available at time.com/newsletters. by [Gloria Feldt](https://time.com/author/gloria-feldt/) ## Gloria Feldt Aug 25, 2017 5:30 PM UTC  WASHINGTON, DC-MAR 08: Today women and supporters held a rally march for The Day Without Women, an effort to highlight women's contribution to the economy and society, much like the Day Without Immigrants effort last month. They marched from Freedom Plaza to Lafayette Park. (Photo by Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post via Getty Images WASHINGTON, DC-MAR 08: Today women and supporters held a rally march for The Day Without Women, an effort to highlight women's contribution to the economy and society, much like the Day Without Immigrants effort last month. They marched from Freedom Plaza to Lafayette Park. (Photo by Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post via Getty Images The Washington Post—The Washington Post/Getty Images by [Gloria Feldt](https://time.com/author/gloria-feldt/) ## Gloria Feldt Aug 25, 2017 5:30 PM UTC When white supremacists and neo-Nazis [gathered in Charlottesville](http://time.com/4904270/will-nation-succeed-after-charlottesville/) earlier this month, [disdain for women](http://www.salon.com/2017/08/18/weeping-nazi-started-off-as-a-mens-rights-activist-which-is-no-huge-surprise/?source=newsletter) oozed out. Indeed, some have called misogyny the[ “gateway drug”](https://www.vox.com/culture/2016/12/14/13576192/alt-right-sexism-recruitment) to the [“alt-right”](http://time.com/4819638/southern-baptists-condemn-alt-right-white-supremacy/) agenda on full-out ugly display. I’m not surprised. Every year on Aug. 26, I write an article recognizing [Women’s Equality Day](http://www.nwhp.org/resources/commemorations/womens-equality-day/), a holiday [established in 1971](http://time.com/4459168/womens-equality-day-bella-abzug/) to commemorate the 1920 ratification of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. The message on Equality Day is always some version of “how far we’ve come yet how far we still have to go.” But that line of thinking assumes the trajectory toward [gender equality](http://motto.time.com/4509411/hillary-clinton-gender-equality-leadership/) goes in a straight line, and if we just keep working hard, it will inevitably arrive. But in politics, economics and movement building, no course ever continues with perfect predictability. And in 2017 — from [Charlottesville](https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/08/trump-charlottesville-nazis-confederate-monument/537195/) to [Seattle ](http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/downtown-protests/)— it’s blatantly clear there is no such thing as inevitable social progress. The nation is at a moral crossroads — and women’s roles and rights, as usual, sit squarely in the middle of such inflection points. During times of conflict, women [often see](http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/american-women-in-world-war-ii) their [rights pushed back](http://www.socialstudies.org/sites/default/files/publications/se/5905/590501.html), the canary in the coal mine on the arduous quest for parity. This year’s Women’s Equality Day is no different, arriving on two starkly divergent tracks hurling toward entirely different futures. One one side? Optimism, which is well justified by an escalating flow of [female firsts](http://time.com/watch-the-trailer-for-time-firsts/) and wave of quantum change seemingly leading forward toward [gender equality](http://time.com/4718281/young-people-gender-equality-home/). When it comes to politics, [Emily’s List ](http://motto.time.com/4820840/emilys-list-executive-director-women-office/?iid=sr-link1)— an influential organization that [aims](http://www.emilyslist.org/) to elect pro-abortion rights women — [announced](https://twitter.com/emilyslist/status/897973192777773057) that over 17,000 women have signed up with the organization to run for office. More women than ever are [starting businesses](https://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/28/why-women-entrepreneurs-will-be-economic-force-to-reckon-with-in-2017.html) and[ getting them funded](https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/apr/03/startup-like-a-girl-why-investors-should-pay-more-attention-to-female-entrepreneurs). The number of[ women holding corporate board seats](http://www.2020wob.com/companies/2020-gender-diversity-index) is steadily increasing (albeit with [setbacks](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/21/sunday-review/women-ceos-glass-ceiling.html?mcubz=0&%5Fr=0).) Women are now more [likely to graduate](http://time.com/4064665/women-college-degree/) from college than men. And many corporations are implementing [pay parity policies](https://www.forbes.com/sites/justcapital/2017/04/04/taking-the-lead-on-equal-pay-seven-companies-that-pay-women-fairly/#558b113e10b3) and making a public effort to [diversify their ranks](http://fortune.com/2016/12/05/diversity-inclusion-workplaces/). But on the flipside is an abyss too awful to contemplate, where [The Handmaid’s Tale ](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38447.The%5FHandmaid%5Fs%5FTale)turned real and the President of the United States frequently [reduces women](http://motto.time.com/4839415/donald-trump-mika-brzezinski-women-blood/) to their appearance. At worst, we’ve done away with generations of progress with new attacks on [reproductive rights](http://motto.time.com/4619534/reproductive-health-abortion-restrictions-2016/), a slew of [sexual harassment allegations](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/30/technology/women-entrepreneurs-speak-out-sexual-harassment.html?mcubz=0) across [industries](http://motto.time.com/4757734/timeline-sexual-harassment-allegations-fox-news/) and a persistent gender [pay gap](http://www.aauw.org/research/the-simple-truth-about-the-gender-pay-gap/), especially for [women of color](http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/07/01/racial-gender-wage-gaps-persist-in-u-s-despite-some-progress/). At best, we have to contend daily with the likes of [James Damore](http://time.com/4897909/google-diversity-memo-james-damore-wsj-op-ed/), the [former Google employee](http://time.com/4897909/google-diversity-memo-james-damore-wsj-op-ed/?iid=sr-link3) who wrote an anti-diversity manifesto that[ reeks of clueless privilege](http://fortune.com/2017/08/10/google-diversity-memo-goldieblox/?utm%5Fsource=fortune.com&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fcampaign=broadsheet&utm%5Fcontent=2017081112pm). This moment in time may feel unprecedented, with white supremacists and neo-Nazis marching in broad daylight. But as a long-time social justice activist, I know these sentiments have always lingered and long threatened to come out from under their rock to devour core American values of [liberty](http://time.com/4544961/statue-of-liberty-quick-history/) and [justice](http://time.com/tag/justice/) for all in favor of anarchic freedom for just the few. The cognitive dissonance is ear-splitting. It’s exhausting to those of us who have been fighting these battles for decades. It’s frightening to young women who were taught that gender issues were [long resolved](https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/07/everyday-sexism-in-a-post-feminist-world/533241/) and who grew up hearing that they could do anything they set their mind to — only to discover they’ll have to face virulent and discouraging pushback on their way there. But what we need to remember is time of great turmoil calls for bold moves. If the women’s movement does not change strategies, it is in the greatest danger of being slammed backward since World War II ended and[ Rosie the Riveter was sent home](https://hbr.org/1993/07/whatever-happened-to-rosie-the-riveter) to become June Cleaver. Self-righteous proclamations won’t bring change no matter how much money they raise from sympathetic supporters. Nor will buying [charity t-shirts](https://theoutline.com/post/1128/nevertheless-she-bought-a-shirt) or hashtagging #resist or marching — no matter how many [pink pussy hats](http://motto.time.com/4682936/missoni-pussy-hat-milan-fashion-week-2017/) appear. There is certainly a [time to march](http://time.com/4649891/protest-donald-trump/). I have both organized and joined many for civil rights and women’s rights. They are important shows of the potential power of the people — but they are just that: _potential_. Resistance alone is ultimately futile because it’s all defense. Progress requires a vibrant offense. On this Women’s Equality Day, we should heed[ Sojourner Truth’s wise words](http://www.azquotes.com/author/14828-Sojourner%5FTruth) from 150 years ago: “If women want any rights more than they got, why don’t they just take them, and not be talking about it.” [Truth’s story](http://www.pbs.org/thisfarbyfaith/people/sojourner%5Ftruth.html) inspired me to action as a young woman. She [famously](http://www.wesleyan.edu/mlk/posters/sojourner.html) said that she just walked away from slavery instead of running. She became a Methodist minister, a leading abolitionist and women’s rights advocate best known for her powerful “[Ain’t I A Woman](https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/sojtruth-woman.asp)” speech on the strength and power of women. “If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back, and get it right side up again,” she proclaimed. It’s time to take Truth’s words to heart and leverage the power of our gender. While we could alter the social climate if everyone who believes in an inclusive America would call out bigotry, it’s also true that the only sustainable social change comes from movements with a clear proactive agenda and a disciplined long-term strategy that defines the terms of the debate rather than reacting to it. And we need[ “woke” women](http://www.essence.com/culture/we-stay-woke#1124152) in powerful leadership roles in business and politics. But most important of all is that we must own the goal of full equality, assert the[ value we know we bring](https://qz.com/612086/huge-study-find-that-companies-with-more-women-leaders-are-more-profitable/) and[ take charge](http://www.taketheleadwomen.com/) across all sectors. Though 80% of Americans think (mistakenly) that[ the Constitution grants women equal rights](http://www.eracoalition.org/files/ERAPollingPressRelease.pdf) to men, we have yet to ratify the [Equal Rights Amendment](http://time.com/4487374/phyllis-schlafly-equal-rights-amendment/) despite almost [100 years](http://www.alicepaul.org/who-was-alice-paul/era-today/) of trying. It’s[ about time](http://knightpoliticalreporting.syr.edu/?civilhistoryessays=a-civil-rights-history-the-womens-movement) we actually make that happen. It’s time to stop pointing out studies and examples of women being treated unfairly without paying equal attention to the solutions. Again, I turn to Truth’s [winning strategy](http://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/sojournertruthstirring.html): “I am for keeping the thing going while things are stirring. Because if we wait till it is still, it will take a great while to get it going again.” That means no whining, no sniveling. We need to keep our eyes on the goal. We shouldn’t back away from controversy. In fact, let’s create some. This [Women’s Equality Day](http://fortune.com/2017/08/25/womens-equality-day-celebrates-19th-amendment/), we stand between two destinations in the heat of our country’s discontent. It’s time for women to lead courageously past injustice and torches and direct us toward the future where equality reigns for all. _Gloria Feldt is the co-founder and president of_ [_Take The Lead_](https://www.taketheleadwomen.com/about/) _and a bestselling author of four books. She is also the former president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America._ _Motto hosts provocative voices and influencers from various spheres. We welcome outside contributions. 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