A Brief History of Women’s Rights

For centuries, women have been undermined and discriminated against. Men have always been viewed as superior to women, and while steps have been taken to mend this, we are still very far from the finish line of complete equality. 

The fight for women’s rights dates back a couple of hundred centuries. However, the first huge step taken toward equality was the suffragette movement. The two founders of the National American Women's Suffrage Association were Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

In 1920, the 19th Amendment was ratified, which allowed women to vote under the law. In 1932, Amelia Earhart was the first female pilot, and the second pilot ever to fly solo nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean. In 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus, this simple action being a catalyst for the civil rights movement. Parks’s action was an important step in gender equality for all, including women of color..

One huge step in terms of women’s rights was the FDA’s approval of the birth control pill in 1960. This gave women the right to choose when they wanted to get pregnant. They could work and get a higher education before starting families. Three years later, John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act. Despite this, the wage gap between men and women remains. That same year, “The Feminine Mystique” was published by Betty Friedan, and three years later, Friedan helped found the National Organization for Women. 

In 1973, after the 7-2 ruling of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court ruled that a woman’s right to access a legal abortion would be protected under the Constitution. In 1981, Sandra Day O’Connor was the first female justice to be appointed to the Supreme Court. In 1994, President Clinton signed the Violence Against Women Act, protecting and assisting victims of rape, abuse, and other forms of sexual assault. Three years later, Madeline Albright was the first woman to be nominated as the Secretary of State.  In 2007, Nancy Pelosi was voted as the first female Speaker of the House, and in 2020, Kamala Harris became the first female Vice President. 

The contributions of these women have been invaluable to the history of women’s rights, and they point to the intersectionality within the movement that often goes overlooked. Additionally, they demonstrate that women’s rights go beyond the right to vote—women must also be able to hold leadership roles and be protected equally under the law. Although there has been visible progress in the past decades, there is still a long way to go in order to achieve complete equality for women and men.