NYC Is Making a Push for Monuments Honoring Women

New York officials just launched a new effort to put up more monuments honoring women’s contributions to the city.

The city’s first lady, Chirlane McCray, alongside the department of cultural affairs are asking the public for help in nominating women to be honored. On Wednesday McCray kicked off her project She Built NYC, which will tackle the lack of public monuments dedicated to women. “Truth is, we cannot tell the story of New York City without recognizing the invaluable contributions of women of all races and those outside the gender binary,” McCray said.

Any walking tour of the five boroughs raises a big question: Where are all the women statues? #SheBuiltNYC https://t.co/L9SZVqvCYX

— Chirlane McCray (@NYCFirstLady) June 20, 2018

Research shows there are only five statues of women across the five boroughs of New York: Joan of Arc, Golda Meir, Gertrude Stein, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Harriet Tubman. Consequently, 90% of the city’s public monuments depict and honor men.

The city has committed to commission at least one monument on public land as well as a $10 million budget to make its selection of monuments more diverse.

Nominations will be accepted until August 1 and the city plans to announce the decision in January 2019.