History can be interesting, but it doesn’t always focus on just one gender. But March in 1987 was a whole month in honor of history, “Women’s History Month,” and I think one of the best things about it is that it’s not race-specific, but celebrates women and history that should be taught by everyone .
Timeline History of Women’s Rights
1769 — The laws of the early American colonies were based on English common law, which said: “By marriage husband and wife are legally one person. The woman’s existence and legal existence are suspended during the marriage, or at least incorporated into the husband’s Legal existence, under the shelter and protection of her husband, she can do anything.”
1777 — All states have passed laws disfranchising women from voting.
1833 — Oberlin College opens, the first co-educational institution to admit women and African Americans.
1848 — In Seneca Falls, 300 women and men signed a manifesto calling for an end to discrimination against women.
1848 – New York passed the Married Women’s Property Act. For the first time, a woman is no longer automatically responsible for her husband’s debts; she can sign contracts herself; she can collect rent or inherit herself; and she can sue on her own behalf. For economic purposes, she becomes an individual.
1870 — The 15th Amendment is ratified, stating that “the United States or any State shall not deny or deprive citizens of the United States of the right to vote on account of race, color, or former conditions of servitude.” African Americans can now vote, but women may not.
1872 — Victoria Woodhull becomes the first woman to run for President of the United States. She got very few votes.
1890 — Wyoming becomes the first state to give women the right to vote in state elections.
1900 — To date, every state has passed legislation modeled on New York’s Married Women’s Property Act (1848), granting married women some control over their property and income.
1918 — Margaret Sanger won a lawsuit in New York to allow doctors to advise married patients to use birth control for health purposes.
1920 — The 19th Amendment is ratified, giving women the right to vote. It declares: “Nothing in the United States or in any State shall deny or limit the right to vote to citizens of the United States on account of sex.”
1922 — Suffragette and activist Rebecca Felton is named the first female U.S. senator. At 87, she has only served two days.
1923 —The National Woman’s Party Proposes a Constitutional Amendment: “The equal rights of men and women shall be enjoyed by men and women throughout the United States, and in every place subject to its jurisdiction. Congress shall have power to pass appropriate legislation to enforce this article.” it didn’t pass.
1932 — Hattie Wyatt Caraway of Arkansas becomes the first woman elected to the U.S. Senator.
1933 — Secretary of Labor Francis Perkins was the first woman to serve in the President’s cabinet under Franklin D. Roosevelt.
1934 — Lettie Pate Whitehead becomes the first American woman to serve on the board of The Coca-Cola Company.
1936 — Establish judicial approval for medicinal birth control.
1937 — U.S. Supreme Court upholds Washington state minimum wage law for women
1963 — The Equal Pay Act was passed, promising equal pay for equal work, regardless of the worker’s race, color, religion, national origin or gender.
1964 — The Civil Rights Act was passed, prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin or sex.
1965 — In Griswold v. Connecticut, the Supreme Court struck down the last state law barring married couples from prescribing or using contraceptives.
1969 — In Bowe v. Colgate-Palmolive Company, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that physically fit women can work in jobs previously reserved only for men.
1969 — Shirley Chisholm of New York becomes the first African-American woman in Congress. Her motto is “Unbought and unbossed”. She served fourteen years in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The 1970s became one of the most important decades in women’s history;
1971 — In Phillips v. Martin Marietta Corporation, the US Supreme Court ruled that it was unlawful for private employers to refuse to hire women with preschool children.
1972 — Title IX of the Education Amendments prohibits sex discrimination in all aspects of access to federally supported educational programs.
1972 — In Eisenstadt v. Baird, the Supreme Court ruled that the right to privacy includes the right of unmarried people to use contraceptives.
1972 — Katharine Graham becomes first woman to become CEO of Fortune 500 company (Washington Post).
1973 — In Roe v. Wade, U.S. Supreme Court declares constitutional protection of women’s right to end early pregnancy, making abortion legal in U.S. 2022 overturned
1974 — Congress prohibits sex-based housing discrimination and credit discrimination against women.
1974 – The Women’s Educational Equity Act funds the development of non-sexist teaching materials and demonstration projects to encourage full educational opportunities for girls and women.
1974 — The Equal Credit Opportunity Act was passed.It scrapped the practice of banks requiring single, widowed or divorced women to bring a man to sign any credit application
1974 — Cleveland Board of Education v. LaFleur found it unlawful to force pregnant women to take maternity leave on the assumption that they are unable to work in their physical condition.
1975 — In Taylor v. Louisiana, the court denied states the right to exclude women from juries.
1978 – The Pregnancy Discrimination Act prohibits discrimination against women on the grounds of pregnancy, childbirth or related medical problems.
1981 — Sandra Day O’Connor was appointed the first female justice of the United States Supreme Court.
1984 – In Roberts v. US Jaycees, sex discrimination in organizational membership policies was prohibited, and many formerly all-male organizations (Jaycees, Kiwanis, Rotary, Lions) were opened to women.
1987 — Congress designates March as Women’s History Month following a petition from the National Women’s History Project.
1994 — Congress passed the Gender Equity in Education Act to train teachers on gender equality, promote girls’ math and science learning, counsel pregnant teens, and prevent sexual harassment.
1994 — The Violence Against Women Act provides services for victims of rape and domestic violence, allows women to seek civil rights redress for gender-related crimes, provides training to sensitize police and court officials, and opens 24 nationwide for battered women hour hotline.
1996 — Supreme Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote a landmark decision in United States v. Virginia that held that the state-backed Virginia Military Academy could not deny admission to women.
1997 — Madeleine Albright was sworn in as U.S. Secretary of State. She is the first woman to hold this position.
2005 — Condoleezza Rice becomes the first black woman secretary of state.
2007 — Nancy Pelosi becomes the first female speaker of the House of Representatives.
2009 — Sonia Sotomayor becomes the first Hispanic American and the third woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.
2013 — Lifted the ban on women serving in military combat positions; this reversed a 1994 Pentagon decision limiting women to combat roles.
2013 – Reauthorize the Violence against Women Act. The new bill expands coverage to women in Native American tribal areas who have been attacked by non-tribal people, as well as lesbians and immigrants.
2016 — Hillary Rodham Clinton made history when she clinched the Democratic presidential nomination, becoming the first American woman to lead a major political party. She lost the election.
2017 — A global protest called the Women’s March took place the day after President Donald Trump’s inauguration. It was the largest single-day protest in U.S. history, with an estimated 4 million people taking part in local marches across the country.The organizers’ goal for the march was to “send a bold message to our new government on its first day in office and send the message to the world that women’s rights are human rights
2020 — Kamala Harris was sworn in as America’s first woman and first woman of color Vice President. “While I may be the first woman in this office, I won’t be the last,” she said.
2022 — The Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution does not grant any right to abortion, and struck down both roe and wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood with Kathy (1992) and set off a wave of protests in the United States
current concerns for women:
- Women are at higher risk of poverty:
- There is a wage gap of about 0.25 cents between men and women
- Bear the burden of low-wage work and unpaid care work.
- 1 in 3 single mothers live in poverty
women are victims of sexual violence:
- 33% of women are likely to be abused
- 4.7 million women in US experience physical violence from intimate partners
- Women in the U.S. military more likely to be raped by comrades than killed in combat
Women are underrepresented in leadership:
- 28 percent of Congress and the House of Representatives each are women.
- 50 governors; 12 women (24%)
- Of all Fortune 500 companies; about 9% of companies are led by a female CEO.
With every advancement, there is always room for improvement. The history of women and their rights is important not only for educational reasons, but also to help everyone realize that our rights should never be taken for granted.
