Equality for women important to Virginia

Those who meet the standards and graduate from the Army’s challenging Ranger School earn the right to wear the prestigious Ranger tab.

On August 21, 2015, two female Soldiers made history. Captain Kristen Griest and First Lieutenant Shaye Haver became the first women to earn the honor and joined a long line of outstanding Soldiers.

This is a proud day for anyone who has donned a uniform. I served 20 years in the U.S. military; the majority of which was in the Army and I stand taller today knowing that we have moved a bit closer to true equality. I firmly believe that any soldier capable of performing the mission should be given the opportunity to do so.

As significant an achievement as this is earning the Ranger tab is, Griest and Haver will not be assigned combat roles in the 75th Ranger Regiment. The Combat Exclusion Policy was rescinded in January 2013, but the services have until January 2016 to implement changes and request exclusions.

It has been said that there is no desire to send women into combat because of the political consequences of female soldiers coming home in body bags. This is a bogus argument.

As a matter of course, women serve in combat zones, come into harm’s way, and even sometimes lose their lives as a result. Let us allow those who are ready, willing, and able to serve to do so in the manner that they choose and break this last glass ceiling.

Meanwhile, back on the home front, the wage gap persists in our country. Regardless of ethnicity, women make, on average, less than men for the same work.

This must change. In the private as well as the public sector, women serve in more leadership roles today than they did 20 years ago, but still not in proportion to the population. So while there’s progress, we still have a long way to go.

And here in the great Commonwealth of Virginia, we are ranked the eighth worst in the country for gender equality. We can do better.

As we celebrated women’s right to vote on Equality Day on August 26, we should recommit ourselves to continue the fight for equality in pay, in representation in our government, and in our boardrooms.

We all need to work for equality for women and we need Richmond to pick up the mantle to pull Virginia into the place where we can lead the country in gender equality. A Commonwealth in which women and girls have equal opportunity, have representation in the General Assembly and own and run businesses will attract the best and the brightest to our state, attract businesses, and make this Commonwealth the leader it should be. That is the Virginia I want to live in.

We should celebrate steps toward equality, not fight them. I have two daughters and look forward to the day when equal pay for equal work is a reality and when prospective employees are chosen based on their qualifications alone. When I get to Richmond, I will fight to put an end to discriminatory practices so that every Virginian has true equality of opportunity.

-Don Shaw is a Democrat running against Republican Bob Marshall for the 13th District Virginia House of Delegates seat.