Then...
It took American women 72 years to get the right to vote. Susan B. Anthony, Lucretia Mott, and Soujouner Truth were the triggers for a movement that swept the nation, but it was Elizabeth Cady Stanton who gave the movement its voice. In 1848, Stanton declared that, in the eyes of the law, a married woman was "civilly dead" - without property rights, the most basic choices, or even access to her own children if she obtained a divorce. Educational opportunities beyond the most elementary did not exist. And American women weren't alone. As few as one hundred and fifty-two years ago, no country allowed a woman to vote.

When Congress did pass the amendment giving women the right to vote in 1920, the law changed but, in many cases, the culture didn't. The Great Depression, limited access to higher education, and the absence of birth control translated into continued economic dependence.

Economic opportunities peaked temporarily during World War II, when "Rosie the Riveter" took a high-paying job in industry or a defense factory. After the war, black women went back to domestic work, and white women to minimum wage jobs in the retail and service sectors. The 1960's swept away one system of belief and left another in its stead. American women rode the wave, and when it broke, they were on foreign shores, light-years away from the world into which they had been born.

...and now
Women own more than 50 percent of small businesses. They are applying to medical schools in record numbers, graduating from the nation's most prestigious law schools, and, just as importantly, going back to school to get degrees they never finished or to retool for new careers. Female athletes are bringing home the gold and silver, and young girls across the nation are learning not just that competition builds character and stamina, but that character and stamina build the kind of lives they want to live.

American women in the military are flying combat missions in hot spots around the world, keeping the peace in Bosnia, and in a strange twist of fate, guarding al Qaeda prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.

At U.S. Customs, a record of achievement triggered by the personal courage of a lighthouse keeper more than a century ago now includes the accomplishments of women who have managed to move past the distinction of being "the first" in their field to being the best in the agency. There are thousands of women working for Customs on the frontlines, securing the nation's borders, inspecting millions of tons of inbound cargo, and processing hundreds of thousands of foreign nationals into a country on high-alert for terrorist activity.

When the World Trade Center collapses, women from Customs and other law enforcement agencies join the rescue and recovery efforts. They work at the Fresh Kills landfill, sifting through the rubble for personal effects and human remains. These same women are writing other stories as well, using the resources they've earned to reach out to their communities. A Customs inspector adopts a severely disabled child. A woman in Human Resources "sponsors" a child in India - in addition to the desire to help, she also has the means. Together, they write the next chapter in women's history.

"Sustaining the American Spirit is an apt theme for the 2002 celebration of Women's History month," says Linda Batts, Special Assistant to the Commissioner for Equal Employment Opportunity. "For American women, and particularly for women in law enforcement, the 'American Spirit' - the commitment to civil liberties and equal opportunity - continues to shape their choices and support their dreams. Most importantly, in the West, where we have seen our own pasts flicker briefly in the cultural mirror the Taliban has held up to the world, we have chosen which side we support, which version of history we claim. In 2002, women's history is the nation’s history as well."

"The challenge now," she adds, "is to support the effort at Customs to recruit more talented women for law enforcement positions and for jobs throughout the service."