President Obama Announced a National Monument For Women's Equality and It's Wonderful

On a day known as Equal Pay Day, President Obama announced a new national monument in Washington DC — the Belmont-Paul Women's Equality National Monument.

The building is located on Capitol Hill and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1974 for its significance in the women's rights movement in the 20th century. Here, Alice Paul — the founder of the National Woman's Party (NWP) in 1917 — wrote the Equal Rights Amendment and fought for it to pass Congress. The building is also named for suffragist Alva Belmont, who was an NWP president. Visitors can find a museum and library filled with archives associated with the movement.

"I want young girls and boys to come here — 10, 20, 100 years from now — to know that women fought for equality; it was not just given to them," said Obama in a speech at the monument. "I want them to come here and be astonished that there was ever a time that women could not vote. I want them to be astonished that there was ever a time when women earned less than men for doing the same work."

Equal Pay Day is a day to recognize that women get paid less than their male counterparts. Obama addressed this issue further, saying, "If we truly value fairness, then America should be a level playing field where everyone who works hard gets a chance to succeed. And that's good for America."

This is the second national monument to honor women's history, after the Harriet Tubman National Monument in Cambridge, MD, which was announced by Obama in 2013. To help keep the new Belmont-Paul Women's Equality National Monument in shape for future generations, philanthropist David M. Rubenstein donated $1 million to the National Park Foundation for its repair. Google also announced that it will create a virtual tour of the monument through its Expeditions program in order for students to tour the historic builing no matter where they are.