you've come a long way, baby

Yesterday was an historic day in women's history, as Representative Nancy Pelosi became the first women ever to serve as Speaker of the House. And it just doesn't seem entirely insane to think that we could have a woman president in the near future, maybe even in a couple of years.

But, as we celebrate and pat ourselves on the back, let's hope that, with more women in positions of power, maybe women as a whole can benefit.
Don't forget:

• Only two Fortune 500 companies have women CEOs or presidents and 90 do not have ANY women as corporate officers.

• More than half of all women worldwide report being physically abused by an intimate partner at some point in their lives.

• In the United States, more than twice as many women are killed by their husbands or boyfriends as are murdered by strangers.
  

• Almost one-third of all women worldwide report being the victim of sexual violence by an intimate partner at some point in their lives.

• The number of women and girls living with HIV is currently increasing in every region of the world.

• In the United States, women still only make 77 cents for every dollar our male counterparts make.

Around the world, women are being raped as a weapon of war; they are being beaten and killed in the name of honor; they are being mutilated in the name of tradition; they are being trafficked; they are being denied education, jobs and economic independence; and they are being prevented from making decisions about their bodies.

Welcome, Madame Speaker. We all have work to be done.