Women Veterans Day is observed on June 12 in the United States, a date chosen to mark the anniversary of the

Women's Armed Services Integration Act Women's Armed Services Integration Act () is a United States law that enabled women to serve as permanent, regular members of the armed forces in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and the recently formed Air Force. Prior to this act, women, with the exc ...

. The date is not recognized nationally, but is recognized by a number of states, either through legislation or proclamation, and organizations. The stated goal of Women Veterans Day varies somewhat by state, but can generally be acknowledged as an effort to honor the work of women in the

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

and recognize the unique challenges that they have faced. The date was first recognized when the New York State Assembly declared June 12, 2008 to be Women Veterans’ Recognition Day.

National Recognition

While Women Veterans Day is currently only a state recognized commemoration, there is an effort to have the day recognized at a national level. U.S. Representative

Mikie Sherrill Rebecca Michelle "Mikie" Sherrill (; born January 19, 1972) is an American politician, former U.S. Navy helicopter pilot, attorney, and former federal prosecutor An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

introduced a resolution in both 2019 and 2020 to have June 12th officially recognized as "Women Veterans Appreciation Day." The purpose of the resolution is to address "the disparities in care, recognition and benefits that our women veterans receive" and to "highlight the growing presence of women in the Armed Forces and the National Guard; and pay respect to women veterans for their dutiful military service." In 2020, Senator

Cory Booker Cory Anthony Booker (born April 27, 1969) is an American politician and attorney who has served as the junior United States senator from New Jersey since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Booker is the first African-American U.S. sena ...

submitted a companion resolution in the U.S. Senate.

State Recognition

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

: Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 33 was filed with on June 23, 2015 and designated June 12, 2015 as Woman Veterans Day. The bill's goal was to "urge all citizens to join in celebrating the many contributions of women to our military forces." *

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

: First recognized June 12th as Women Veterans Day in 2020. *

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

: State Representative Patti Minter introduced House Bill 318 on in June 2020, calling on the state to designate the June 12th holiday. Governor

Andy Beshear Andrew Graham Beshear (born November 29, 1977) is an American attorney and politician who has served as the 63rd governor of Kentucky since December 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he is the son of the 61st governor of Kentucky, Steve B ...

first recognized the holiday by proclamation in 2020. *

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

: Governor

Gretchen Whitmer Gretchen Esther Whitmer (born August 23, 1971) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 49th governor of Michigan since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she served in the Michigan House of Representatives from 2001 to 2006 a ...

proclaimed June 12th as Women Veterans Recognition Day in 2019 in response to a Senate resolution. *

: In 2019, the acting Governor of New Jersey, Lt. Governor

Sheila Oliver Sheila Y. Oliver (born July 14, 1952) is an American politician serving as the second lieutenant governor of New Jersey since 2018. She previously served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2004 to 2018, where she represented the 34th legis ...

, signed legislation to designate the annual recognition of June 12th as “Women Veterans Appreciation Day." *

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

: The State Assembly declared June 12, 2008 Women Veterans’ Recognition Day. Section 168-A of New York State law designates that Women Veterans Recognition Day will be recognized every year on June 12th. *

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

: Senators, Sandra Williams and Frank Hoagland, both U.S. military veterans, introduced a bill in 2019 to designate June 12 as Woman Veterans Day. Governor

Mike DeWine Richard Michael DeWine (; born January 5, 1947) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 70th and current governor of Ohio. A member of the Republican Party, DeWine began his career as a prosecutor before being elected to the O ...

signed the bill into law on December 13, 2019 and the Ohio first celebrated the holiday on June 12, 2020. *

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

: Governor

Kate Brown Katherine Brown (born June 21, 1960) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 38th governor of Oregon since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, she served three terms as the state representative from the 13th district of the ...

declared June 12th, 2019 as Women Veterans Day for the first time in 2019. *

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

: On June 12, 2019, South Carolina First Lady Peggy McMaster publicly read a proclamation declaring that the state recognized the day as Women Veterans Day, and Governor

Henry McMaster Henry Dargan McMaster (born May 27, 1947) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 117th governor of South Carolina since January 24, 2017. He is a member of the Republican Party. McMaster worked for U.S. senator Strom Thurmond, i ...

issued another proclamation in 2020. *

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

: State Representative

Victoria Neave Victoria Neave Criado (born December 29, 1980) is an American attorney and a Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives for District 107 in Dallas County, Texas. In the general election held on November 8, 2016, she unseated Repu ...

introduced House Bill 2698, which called for the designation of June 12th as Women Veterans Day. Governor

Greg Abbott Gregory Wayne Abbott (born November 13, 1957) is an American politician, attorney, and former jurist serving as the 48th governor of Texas since 2015. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 50th Tex ...

signed it into law on June 9, 2017. *

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

: Governor Scott Walker signed a proclamation declaring June 12th, 2018 Women Veterans Day and Governor

Tony Evers Anthony Steven Evers (born November 5, 1951) is an American educator and politician serving as the 46th governor of Wisconsin since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as Wisconsin's Superintendent of Public Instruction from 200 ...

continues to sign such proclamations through June 2020.

References

{{reflist Veterans days 2008 establishments in the United States June observances