Women's Equality Day 2026

On Wednesday, August 26, 2026, the Massachusetts Women’s History Center (MWHC) was once again honored to commemorate Women's Equality Day In the Public Garden in Boston near the Swan Boats! (Photos below!) Thank you to those who were able to join us, in-person and on Facebook Live!

                                     Thank you to this year's wonderful speakers:
Celia Canavan, Executive Director, League of Women Voters of Massachusetts
Dana Alas, Executive Director, Boston Mayor's Office of Women's Advancement
Judith Kalaora, Founder & Artistic Director, History At Play™, LLC,  re-enacting Deborah Sampson!
Lyn Paget, President, Swan Boats
Mary-Dith Tuitt and Georgina Arietta-Reutenik, MWHC Board of Directors
Danielle Kim, MA Women’s Hall of Fame (MWHOF) Selection Committee, and Fredie Kay, Chair, MA Women’s Hall of Fame (MWHOF) Selection Committee - Announcing the Historic Inductees of the MWHOF
Fredie Kay, Founder & President, Massachusetts Women's History Center - Emcee

                                   Massachusetts Women’s Hall of Fame (MWHOF)
                                  Historic Revolutionary Era Inductees Announced:
Abigail Adams: First Lady, Advisor, Writer
Daughters of Liberty: Patriotic Female Resistance Association
Enslaved Women of Massachusetts, names known and names once known: Robbed of Freedom, Committed to Liberty
Elizabeth Freeman: Freedom Suit Petitioner
Sarah Bradlee Fulton: Mother of the Boston Tea Party
Deborah Sampson: Patriot, Soldier, Lecturer
Jenny Slew: Successful Freedom Seeker
Lydia Taft: First Female Voter
Mercy Otis Warren: Revolutionary Poet, Playwright, Historian
Native American: Research in process
Phillis Wheatley Peters: First African-American Author
Stay tuned for the upcoming announcement of Living Women Inductees! 

THANK YOU: Boston Parks & Rec for providing us with a permit to hold the event;  Axie Breen for fabulous photos; Flashprint for the wonderful printed programs; and to Taylor Rentals for the chairs, tables etc.! Thanks to our wonderful volunteers Joanne Breeling, Jennifer Lynch, Nancy Rashap and Linda Sue Sohn, who were so helpful! Fredie was honored to Emcee the event!

                          About Women’s Equality Day 
Since 2011, the Massachusetts Women’s History Center (formerly Suffrage100MA) has been commemorating Women’s Equality in the Public Garden near the Swan Boats! Thanks to N.Y. Congresswoman Bella Abzug (1920 - 1998), Congress designated August 26th as “Women’s Equality Day” to commemorate the day the 19th Amendment was added to the Constitution, which prohibits denying U.S. citizens the right to vote on the basis of sex. While the 19th Amendment does not discriminate, other laws prevented many Americans from voting, including Black, Native American, and Asian American communities, who would not receive enfranchisement until after the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and other crucial legal victories. These laws are under attack today and we must be vigilant to protect voting rights for all citizens! 

                          About the Swan Boats
At the event, Swan Boats President, Lyn Paget shared the remarkable story of her grandmother, Julia Paget. Julia assumed full management of the Swan Boats after husband died suddenly while she was pregnant with their 4th child, just one year after he launched the first Swan Boat in 1877. The business community was NOT in favor of a woman owning a company and Lyn Paget has been researching the specific challenges Julia Paget faced while running the Swan Boats for thirty years(!), including having to obtain signatures supporting her efforts to run the Swan Boats!