Women
Women
Democrats shall ensure equitable treatment for women in education, employment, health care, civic and political participation, and in all other spheres of society. We recognize that violence against women and girls is a pandemic and we stand firm in the need for a societal shift away from violence, exploitation, exclusion, and harassment, including vigorous prosecution of perpetrators. Democrats support women’s rights to make their own decisions regarding their education, employment, opportunities, and body.
We Affirm
1. That all women, regardless of their gender identities, have the right to safety, security, peaceful existence, and
protection under the law; and
2. That effective reproductive health care is a human right; and
3. That reproductive health care is reproductive justice. A person’s health care choice is their personal decision; and
4. The responsibility to uplift women into leadership and support them as leaders, especially underrepresented
women, including Black, Indigenous, people of color, LGBTQ+, unmarried, young, and lower-income
individuals; and
5. That all women, regardless of their gender identities, have the fundamental right to live free of microaggressions,
abusive language, intimidation, and physical violence; and
6. That every case of violence against a missing and/or murdered Indigenous woman is a transgression against us all.
Their stories are our stories and must be shared widely until the cycle of violence is stopped.
We Will
1. Advocate for resources and options for birth control, reproductive health and family planning centers, safe
abortion care, comprehensive sex education, and school-based health care; and
2. Support ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guaranteeing equal rights for all people;
and
3. Fight to secure equal pay for women and against other factors that contribute to the wage gap to ensure women’s
economic independence and power, which will benefit all women and their families, particularly women of color
who are disproportionately impacted by discriminatory pay practices; and
4. Fight to end gender discrimination in all areas by combatting biases across economic, educational, political, and
social life that hold all women and girls back and limit their opportunities; and
5. Fight to end sex- and gender-discrimination so that a woman can achieve any goal or objective she may choose;
and
6. Call for our political leaders to set the precedent to address any form of sexual harassment and sexual violence
wherever it occurs, and to end non-disclosure agreements and “cooling off periods” that silence women and others
who have suffered sexual harassment and violence; and
7. Promote civility and speak out against sexism and other forms of intolerance that have entered our political
discourse; and
8. Promote adequately investigating and prosecuting all cases of violence against missing and murdered women,
including Indigenous women; and
9. Support state and federal legislation, including the right to sue after the end of their incarceration, to protect
women, including asylum seekers, non-citizens, and trans women, who are incarcerated and/or in custody, from
discrimination, sexual exploitation, and harassment; and
10. Demand funding to Planned Parenthood health centers, which provide critical health services to millions of
people, and encourage expansion of Planned Parenthood’s capabilities in rural areas; and
11. Demand the repeal of the Hyde Amendment, which bars the use of federal funds for abortion and impedes a
woman’s access to safe and legal health care; and
12. Ensure all women have full and equal access, within reasonable proximity, to comprehensive health care,
including “state of the art” reproductive health care services, cancer prevention, screening, and treatment; and
13. Strongly and unequivocally support women’s reproductive freedom, including a woman’s right to choose when to
have a child or end a pregnancy. Work to provide support during pregnancy and after the birth of a child,
including protections for women against pregnancy discrimination, and for affordable childcare, adoption and
social support services, behavioral health services; and
14. Fight to end the epidemic of violence against women and girls wherever it occurs, including in our homes, streets,
schools, military installations, detention facilities, institutions, and workplaces; and
15. Work to end human trafficking in all its forms; and
16. Support the Violence Against Women Act to provide law enforcement with the training, tools, and social and
financial support services needed to prevent violence and to protect survivors of violence; and
17. Support the leadership and work of Indigenous women and their communities to achieve justice for Missing and
Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives (MMIWR):
18. Develop law enforcement agreements between state/county/city agencies and tribal agencies to increase
communication and collaboration to address existing challenges; and
19. Increase investigatory and data collection capacities of law enforcement agencies to improve accountability and
analysis of the frequency, causes, and locations of MMIWR cases; and
20. Maintain tribal justice systems with adequate operational resources, training, and other technical support to
respond to incidents of MMIWR; and
21. Develop and provide tribal education and outreach services to share the narratives of the missing and murdered
Indigenous women, as well as those of the survivors of violence, and establish other preventive measures; and
22. Develop and provide shelters and housing and other support services to survivors of violence and their families in
currently underserved areas, such as border towns and rural areas; and
23. Take action to protect the rights of pregnant women in the workplace, including by requiring employers to make
reasonable accommodations for pregnant and breastfeeding workers and those who have recently given birth.
Enact paid sick days and universal paid family and medical leave, and bereavement leave for the loss of a
pregnancy; and
24. Stand in solidarity with survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, and other violence against women as they
assert their moral, civil, and legal rights to transform their conditions and thrive.
