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The Fight for Equality Begins
Women activists saw the Reconstruction era as the indicated time to claim more freedom and equality. "The Agitator," which was a journal for women's rights started to advocate the right to vote, the limited job opportunities for women, the unequal pay for those who had jobs, liberalizing divorce laws, and pointing out that the nation should recognize that women had a right to have control over their own bodies. More freedom to women was what was being demanded. -
Wyoming Grants Women with the Right to Vote
Wyoming was the first territory that granted women with the right to vote. One of the main reasons this happened was that they were trying to attract female emigrants to that area where men made up most of Wyoming's population. -
Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is formed
WCTU was one of the largest female organizations of that era. The focus of this group initially was to ban alcoholic beverages because women would sometimes get abused by their husband because of their excess alcohol use. They later focused on voicing economic and political reform, which included granting women with the right to vote.
Source:
https://www.wctu.org/history.html -
Women and Economics
A book written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman where she argued that women often felt like servants to their husbands and children. Women felt oppressed and they did not have fulfillment in their life. This is a recurrent voicing of opinion that kept surfacing, women don't have independence because what is right is for them to be dependent on their husband.
Source:
Eric Foner, Voices of freedom: a documentary history, 5th ed., vol. 2 (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2017), 83. -
Birth Control Movement
Sanger began advertising for birth control in her journal, "The Woman Rebel." She stated in her journal that a woman can't be free if she doesn't have control of her body. A woman has the right to choose if she wants to be a mother or not.
Source:
Eric Foner, Give me Liberty: an American history, 5th ed., vol. 2 (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2017), 714. -
Margaret Sanger
In 1916, Margaret Sanger opened her clinic and distributed contraceptives. These contraceptives were distributed to poor women seeking to help them because they could not handle bearing children. Sanger did go to prison for distributing these contraceptives. The birth control issue did raise attention to many. -
Women Gain Right to Vote
Congress approved the Nineteenth Amendment, giving women the right to vote, in 1918. In 1920, the amendment, officially became part of the Constitution. The perseverance of women and their fight for their right to vote had finally paid off.
Source:
"19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Women's Right to Vote." National Archives and Records Administration. Accessed November 16, 2017. https://www.archives.gov/historical-docs/19th-amendment. -
Increase in Women in Government
Government jobs were mostly occupied by men. During the New Deal era however, there was a rise in women involved in the government. This was a major deal in showcasing the positive changes that women were having. Perhaps this trend took place because of the positive impact of Eleanor Roosevelt, the First Lady at the time. She voiced issues such as civil rights, labor legislation, and work relief. -
Economy Act
This act prohibited both members of a married couple from working. Naturally the one that was to be dismissed was the woman. The hiring of women whose husbands worked was prohibited. This all fell into the prejudice that women should stay at home while the husband worked to provide for the family.
In 1937, this act was repealed. -
Woman in the Industrial Workforce
"Womanpower" was a term that came about because of the increase in women in the industrial workforce, a workforce that was usually restricted to only men.This increase was due to the vacant positions left by men who had gone to the war. During this time women pushed for equal pay for equal work, maternity leave, and childcare facilities for working mothers. -
Equal Pay Act
In 1963, Congress passed the Equal Pay Act, this act required men and women to be given equal pay for equal work. If a man and women worked in the same establishment and they had the same effort, skills, and responsibilities they should be paid equally. This was a big step in breaking barriers for females in the workplace.
Source:
Facts About Equal Pay and Compensation Discrimination. Accessed November 15, 2017. https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/publications/fs-epa.cfm. -
National Organization for Women
In 1966, the National Organization for Women was formed. This organization modeled civil rights for women. Among things that it demanded; equal opportunities in jobs, education, and political participation.
Source:
Eric Foner, Give me Liberty: an American history, 5th ed., vol. 2 (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2017), 1015. -
Pregnancy Discrimination Act
The fight for equality in the workforce for women continues. Places of employment can not discriminate a woman because of a pregnancy, child-birth, and other related conditions. The act states that women need to be treated equally in the workplace despite pregnancy.
Source:
"The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978." The Pregnancy Discrimination Act. Accessed November 14, 2017. https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/pregnancy.cfm -
Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Pelosi becomes the first female speaker of the House. There seems to be a trend that keeps growing and that is the presence of women in high positions in the United States government. Little by little doors are opened by women and it catches the attention of the nation. Women are beginning to have a bigger presence in government, not just men. -
Hillary Clinton
In 2016, Hillary Clinton was nominated by the Democratic party to run for president of the United States, making her the first woman in history to accomplish such a thing. It certainly was a long process between the time when women gained the right to vote and the ladder they had to climb to slowly but surely take big government jobs. One could say that Hillary won't be the last woman to run for president.
