Did You Know?

 

Women today often take for granted the rights that strong women before us battled and worked to ensure that we have! To kick off Women’s History Month, here is a quick list of dates at which women were granted certain privileges that, today, we cannot imagine living without! Did you know that these events did not happen until these dates?

 

 

July 19 and 20, 1848: Formal Battle Begins

Three hundred people attend the first convention held to discuss women's rights in Seneca Falls, New York; 68 women and 32 men sign the "Declaration of Sentiments," written by Elizabeth Cady Stanton. In addition, this convention saw the first formal demand made in the United States for women's right to vote.

 

1900: The Right to Own Property

By this year, every state had passed legislation granting married women the right to keep their own wages and to own property in their own name. For the first time, all women were, for economic purposes, individuals. Prior to these laws, once married all income and property a woman earned or held became the legal property of her husband.

 

August 26, 1920: The Right to Vote

The 19th Amendment is quietly signed into law by Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby, granting women the right to vote. Suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt summarized the effort involved in securing passage of the 19th Amendment:

"To get the word 'male' in effect out of the Constitution cost the women of the country 52 years of pauseless campaign... During that time they were forced to conduct 56 campaigns of referenda to male voters; 480 campaigns to get Legislatures to submit suffrage amendments to voters; 47 campaigns to get State constitutional conventions to write woman suffrage into state constitutions; 277 campaigns to get State party conventions to include woman suffrage planks in party platforms, and 19 campaigns with 19 successive Congresses." - Carrie Chapman Catt, 1920

 

1963: The Right to Equal Pay

The Equal Pay Act is passed by Congress, promising equitable wages for the same work, regardless of the race, color, religion, national origin or sex of the worker. Until this time, many employers paid women significantly less for the same work than they paid men.

 

1964: The Right to Equal Treatment

The Civil Rights Act outlaws sex discrimination. This was passed with equal employment opportunities mainly in mind but has been found to have a broad application. After this point, treating people differently due to their sex became illegal.

 

1965: The Right to Plan Families

The Supreme Court establishes the right of married couples to use contraception. Prior to this, some states had laws that banned married couples from doing anything that would interfere with or limit their reproduction.

 

1974: The Right to Independent Credit Ratings

Equal Credit Opportunity Act passes in the U.S., allowing women to independently apply for and retain a credit rating. Until then, banks required single, widowed or divorced women to bring a man along to cosign any credit application, regardless of their income. They would also discount the value of those wages when considering how much credit to grant, by as much as 50%.

 

1976-1993: The Right to Deny Sex to Spouse

During this time span, states started making marital rape a crime. The process was completed in 1993. All states now have marital rape defined as a crime. Until these laws were passed, it was legally impossible for a man to rape his wife, as sexual access to her was an assumed part of marriage regardless of her opinion.

 

1993: The Right to Retain Employment During Pregnancy/Delivery

The Family and Medical Leave Act became law in the U.S. This required employers to provide employees with job-protected and unpaid leave for qualified medical and family reasons. For the first time, women who were pregnant and delivered a child could count on their job being there when they recovered. Until this point, employers could and did fire people for being pregnant.

 

2000: The Right to Full Military Service

This allowed women to serve in the military in any position that they were physically and personally suited for. Until this point, women were barred from certain types of military service on the basis of sex.

 

2010: The Right to Affordable Birth Control

The Affordable Health Care Act is signed into law. Under this law, private health insurance companies must provide birth control without co-pays or deductibles. The law requires private insurance companies to cover preventive services. Until this date, all birth control had to be paid for by women out of their own pockets.

 

Learn More

View U.S. News & World Report's article "Top Moments in Women's History" for more details about the history of Women’s Rights in the United States.