Earlier this week, I proclaimed August 26th as Women’s Equality Day in Michigan, commemorating the 106th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which granted women the right to vote.
Michigan women are tough. We work hard. We get stuff done. And we don’t back down from a challenge. Michigan women lead companies, classrooms, and coalitions.
While we should celebrate how far we have come in the fight for women’s rights, we cannot lose sight of the fact that those hard-won freedoms face real threats today. Amid ongoing attacks on reproductive rights in states across the country and the scaling back of equal opportunity at the federal level, we must continue to build a more equal and just Michigan where everyone can thrive.
In Michigan, we believe in every person's fundamental right to equal opportunity. Whether it's protecting reproductive freedom, expanding access to affordable child care and education, lowering costs for working families, or creating economic opportunity for young people, we will continue breaking down barriers that have prevented women from reaching their full potential.
Together, let's celebrate our progress and keep working towards an even better future where everyone can thrive.
 Winning Woman Award
This week I was honored to receive the inaugural Winning Woman Award from the Michigan Women’s Commission. I want to thank not only the commission for their generosity but also Michigan women across our state. This award belongs to you too. We’ve been listening, learning, and taking action because of you. You remind us that when we work together, progress happens and women thrive.
Standing Up for Reproductive Rights
Over the last few years, we’ve made a lot of progress to protect the fundamental right of every Michigan woman to make her own decisions about her own body. We believe that it should be up to her and her family to decide when, how, or if she wants to start a family in Michigan.
In November 2022, Michiganders voted overwhelmingly to pass Proposal 3, which enshrined the right to reproductive freedom in the Michigan constitution. After that, we followed suit, repealing an extreme 1931 law that banned abortions without exceptions for rape or incest and criminalized doctors and nurses for doing their jobs. I signed the Reproductive Health Act, repealing TRAP laws and enacting commonsense changes to protect reproductive health and freedom. We also passed a law hindering employers from discriminating against women because they’ve had an abortion.
In 2024, I signed the Michigan Family Protection Act, a package of commonsense, long-overdue changes to repeal Michigan’s ban on surrogacy, protect families formed by IVF, and ensure LGBTQ+ parents are treated equally under the law. I announced a new program, Take Control of Your Birth Control, to ensure Michiganders have access to free contraception which will lower the cost of family planning and keep people healthy. I also repealed the tax on essential menstrual products, saving families an estimated $4,800 over a lifetime.
I will keep fighting like hell to protect reproductive freedom in Michigan.
Fighting for Women Across Michigan
Since I took office, we’ve made record, bipartisan investments to help Michigan women save money, learn more, and earn more. To save busy working moms time and money, we started feeding all 1.4 million public school students free breakfast and lunch at school. We made pre-K free for all, giving every child a strong academic foundation while saving parents $14,000 a year, per kid. I also signed a law that quintupled the Michigan Working Families Tax Credit to give over 700,000 working families an average tax refund of $3,150.
To help young women get on paths to good-paying, in-demand jobs, we made community college tuition-free for all high school graduates at their local community college. We also offer any Michigander 21 and older the opportunity to earn an associate’s degree or skills certificate tuition-free with the Michigan Reconnect program. We have expanded apprenticeships too, because we want every young person to be able to earn more money so they can provide for themselves and their family.
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