-
Hanna Adams is the first American woman to support herself by writing.
-
Emma Hart Willard write her "Plan For Improving Female Education". It defines the issues of women's education, but was unsuccessful during this time.
-
The first public high schools open for girls in Boston and New York.
-
Former slave and feminist Isabella van Wagener is freed and takes on the name Sojourner Truth. She begins to preach against slavery in New York and England.
-
The first female anti-slavery society meets in New York City. 81 delegates from 12 states attended.
-
Mount Holyoke College is formed in Massachusetts and is the first women's college.
-
Mississippi passes the first Married Women's Property Act.
-
The first Women's Rights Convention in the US is held in Seneca Falls, New York. This allows women's rights meetings to be held on a daily basis.
-
Elizabeth Blackwell is the first woman in the US to recieve a medical degree. Female doctors are legally permitted to practice medicine.
-
Women are granted the right to own land in Oregon, and any state.
-
Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Stanton form the Women's NY Temperance Society.
-
The 14th Amendment is ratified.
-
Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton form the National Woman Suffrage Association, which set out to achieve voting rights for women and make it constitutional.
-
Wyoming passes the first women's suffrage law. Women began serving on juries in the state the following year.
-
Susan B. Anthony is arrested for attempting to vote.
-
Colorado is the first state with an amendment that grants women the right to vote.
-
The National Association of Colored Women is formed, which brings together more than 100 black women's clubs. Leaders include Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin, Mary Church Terrell, and Anna Julia Cooper.
-
The National Women's Trade Union League (WTUL) is created. it helped advocate for improved wages and working conditions for women.
-
Alice Paul and Lucy Burns form the Congressional Union to work toward the passing of a federal amendment that would give women the right to vote. They are later renamed the National Women's Party. Members picket the White House and practice other forms of civil disobedience.
-
Margaret Sanger opens the first U.S. birth-control clinic in Brooklyn, N.Y. It is shut down 10 days later and Sanger is arrested, but she eventually wins support through the courts and opens another clinic in New York City in 1923.
-
The federal woman suffrage amendment, written by Susan B. Anthonyand introduced in Congress in 1878, is passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate. It's then sent to the states for ratification.
-
The 19th Amendment, granting women the right to vote, is signed into law by Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby.
-
Alice Paul and the National Women's Party proposes the Equal Rights Amendment to eliminate discrimination on the basis of gender. It was never ratified.
-
Amelia Earhart makes her first trans-Atlantic flight, but never returns.
-
Florence Ellinwood Allen becomes first woman on US Court of Appeals
-
The Daughters of Bilitis (DOB), is founded as the first lesbian organization in the United States. Though it originated as a social group, it later developed into a political organization to win basic acceptance for lesbians in America.
-
President John Kennedy establishes the President's Commission on the Status of Women and appoints Eleanor Roosevelt as chairwoman.
-
Congress passes the Equal Pay Act, which makes it illegal for employers to pay a woman less than a man for the same job.
-
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act bans discrimination of race and gender in employment. It also establishes the Equal Employment Oppurtunity Commission (EEOC) to investigate complaints and impose penalties.
-
The National Organization for Women (NOW) is founded by Betty Friedan. It is the largest women's rights group in the U.S, and sought out to end sexual discrimination, especially in the workplace.
-
President Lyndon Johnson's affirmative action policy is expanded with Executive Order 11375. This helped to end discrimination based on gender . Federal agencies and contractors now had to take measures to ensure that women and minorities have the same educational and employment opportunities as white males.
-
The EEOC rules that sex-segregated help wanted ads in newspapers are illegal. This paves the way for women to apply for higher-paying jobs that were open only to men.
-
California is the first state to adopt a "no fault" divorce law, which allows couples to divorce by mutual consent. By 1985 every state adopted a similar law. Laws are also passed regarding the equal division of property.
-
In the case Schultz v. Wheaton Glass Co., the U.S. Court of Appeals rules that jobs held by men and women need to be substantially equal but not "identical" to fall under the Equal Pay Act. For example, an employer can't change the job titles of women workers in order to pay them less than men.
-
The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is passed by Congress and goes through ratification. The amendment died in 1982 after it failed to be ratified.
-
Title IX of the Education Amendments bans sex discrimination in schools. As a result, the enrollment of women in athletics and professional schools increases dramatically.
-
The Supreme Court establishes a woman's right to safe and legal abortion, as a result of Roe v. Wade. This overrides the anti-abortion laws of many states
-
The Equal Credit Opportunity Act prohibits discrimination in consumer credit practices based on gender, race, marital status, religion, national origin, age, or receipt of public assistance.
-
The first marital rape law is established in Nebraska, which makes it illegal for a husband to rape his wife.
-
3,000 women march in Washington, D.C. on Women's Equality Day to support the E.R.A.
-
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act bans employment discrimination against pregnant women. With this law, a woman can't be fired, denied a job, or promotion because she is or may become pregnant. A woman can't be forced to take a pregnancy leave if she is willing and able to work, as well.
-
Sandra Day O'Connor becomes first woman appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
-
EMILY's List (Early Money Is Like Yeast) is established as a financial network for pro-choice Democratic women running for political office. It makes an important impact on the increase of women elected to Congress.
-
the Supreme Court rules that sexual harassment is a form of illegal job discrimination in the case Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson.
-
In the case Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the Supreme Court reaffirms a woman's right to abortion under Roe v. Wade. This successfully challenges Pennsylvania's Abortion Control Act, which sought to reinstate restrictions that were ruled unconstitutional
-
The Violence Against Women Act tightens the penalties for sex offenders, funds services for rape and domestic violence victims, and provides special training of police officers.
-
In the case United States v. Virginia, the Supreme Court rules that the Virginia Military School, an all-male school, has to admit women in order to continue receiving public funding.
-
Madeleine K. Albright becomes first woman U.S. Secretary of State.
-
In the case Kolstad v. American Dental Association, the Supreme Court rules that a woman can sue for punitive damages for sex discrimination if the anti-discrimination law was violated.
-
Hillary Rodham Clinton becomes the only First Lady ever elected to the United States Senate.
-
In the case Nevada Department of Human Resources v. Hibbs, the Supreme Court rules that states can be sued in federal court for violating the Family Leave Medical Act.
-
Condoleezza Rice becomes the first African-American woman to be appointed Secretary of State.
-
In the case Jackson v. Birmingham Board of Education, the Supreme Court rules that Title IX also prohibits disciplining someone for complaining about sex-based discrimination.
-
President Obama signed the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act, which allows pay discrimination victims to file a complaint with the government against their employer within 180 days of their last paycheck.
