March is Women’s History Month, which evolved from women fighting for better working conditions, women’s suffrage, and equality in education. Those are our people!
Thanks to lobbying by the National Women’s History Alliance, President Jimmy Carter proclaimed the first National Women’s History Week in 1980. In 1987, Congress passed a law to designate it as a month-long recognition.
Let’s take a few minutes to reflect on some notable moments in women’s history, specifically progress that’s been made in women’s rights:
- 1920. The 19th Amendment is ratified, giving women the right to vote nationwide (although we know now that discrimination will keep non-white women from voting for decades to follow).
- 1960.The birth control pill is approved by the FDA.
- 1963. The Equal Pay Act requires equitable wages for men and women.
- 1965. The Voting Rights Act prohibits race-based discrimination, removing the barriers to voting that non-white women still face despite the 19th Amendment.
- 1965. The U.S. Supreme Court establishes a constitutional right to privacy, allowing married couples the right to use contraceptives.
- 1969. California passes the first “no fault” divorce law, making it easier for women to get divorced. This eventually spreads to all 50 states.
- 1972. Title IX prohibits sex-based discrimination in school programs and activities that receive federal funding.
- 1972. Congress passes the Equal Rights Amendment to constitutionally guarantee equal rights regardless of sex or gender, though it struggles to be ratified by enough states by its Congressionally-required deadline.
- 1972. The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the constitutional right to privacy extends to unmarried people’s right to use contraceptives.
- 1973. Roe v. Wade makes abortion legal.
- 1974. Congress adds sex as a protected class in civil rights law.
- 1974. The Equal Credit Opportunity Act makes it legal for women to open bank accounts and apply for credit cards, car loans, and home loans without a male co-signer.
- 1981. The U.S. Supreme Court overturns state laws that give a husband sole control over property that is jointly owned with a wife.
- 1993. The Family and Medical Leave Act gives women job protection – albeit unpaid and limited to 12 weeks – if they need to take leave for family reasons, like maternity leave.
- 2022. The U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade with the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health decision, removing women’s constitutionally protected right to abortion.
After nearly 250 years of slow, hard-won progress in women’s rights, it’s worth noting that the Dobbs decision in 2022 is the first time that the U.S. Supreme Court took a constitutional right away from citizens, rather than granted or expanded one.
We know from history that women will not stand for this reversal of progress, and we’re here to support those who are fighting back and making history of their own today.
Sources:
- Women’s History Milestones: Timeline, History.com
- The Equal Rights Amendment, Explained, Brennan Center for Justice
- Timeline of Legal History of Women in the United States, National Women’s History Alliance
- Women’s rights throughout U.S. history, Politico