Timelines
Women's Rights

  • 1769
    … Women's Property Rights Restricted

  • 1777
    … Abigail Adams Writes On Women's Rights

  • 1826
    … First High Schools For Girls Open

  • 1833
    … First College Opens Its Doors To Women

  • 1838
    … First All Women's College Is Founded

  • 1839
    … Women Gain Limited Property Rights

  • 1840
    … Women Barred From Participating In World Conference

  • 1848
    … First Women's Rights Conference Held In Seneca Falls

  • 1849
    … Medical Degree Awarded To A Woman For First Time

  • 1852
    … Women’s Temperance Society Established

  • 1866
    … American Equal Rights Association Is Founded

  • 1868
    … Fourteenth Amendment Ratified By States
    … National Labor Union Supports Equal Pay For Equal Work

  • 1869
    … Women's Movement Splits Over Civil Rights Issue
    … First Girls-Only Preparatory School Founded
    … Wyoming Territory Passes First Law Giving Voting Right To Women

  • 1870
    … Women Allowed To Sit On Grand Jury in Wyoming
    … 15th Amendment Ratified, Allows Ex-Slaves To Vote

  • 1872
    … Equal Pay For Equal Work Required For Female Federal Employees
    … First Woman Nominated For President
    … Susan B. Anthony Arrested For Attempting To Vote

  • 1873
    … Comstock Law Is Passed

  • 1874
    … Women’s Christian Temperance Union Founded

  • 1875
    … Supreme Court Denies Women The Right To Vote

  • 1878
    … Susan B. Anthony Amendment Introduced In Congress

  • 1879
    … Women Allowed To Practice Law In Federal Courts

  • 1890
    … National American Women's Suffrage Association Founded
    … Wyoming Gives Voting Right To Women

  • 1896
    … National Association Of Colored Women Established

  • 1900
    … Women Gain Property Rights In All States

  • 1903
    … Women’s Trade Union League Formed

  • 1908
    … Ruling On Work Hours Seen As Blow To Equality Drive

  • 1909
    … Labor Uprising Occurs In New York City

  • 1913
    … Congressional Union Is Founded

  • 1914
    … Margaret Sanger Calls For Legalization Of Contraceptives

  • 1915
    … Suffragists Drive Across Country To Support Women's Rights

  • 1916
    … National Women’s Party Organizes White House Protests

  • 1917
    … First Woman Elected to U.S. House

  • 1919
    … Federal Government Creates Women’s Bureau
    … Congress Proposes Women's Suffrage Amendment

  • 1920
    … League Of Women Voters Created
    … Nineteenth Amendment Is Ratified

  • 1921
    … American Birth Control League Is Founded

  • 1922
    … Ruling Says 19th Amendment Does Not Explicitly Give Voting Right To Women

  • 1923
    … First Equal Rights Amendment Introduced

  • 1931
    … Jane Addams Receives Nobel Peace Prize

  • 1932
    … National Recovery Act Is Passed

  • 1934
    … First Woman Appointed To Federal Appeals Court

  • 1935
    … National Council Of Negro Women Formed

  • 1938
    … Fair Labor Standards Act Establishes Minimum Wage Without Regard To Sex

  • 1941
    … Seven Million Women Join Workforce During World War II

  • 1945
    … Women Industrial Workers Begin To Lose Their Jobs
    … Equal Pay For Equal Work Bill Again Introduced

  • 1953
    … 'Women’s Lib’ Is Coined

  • 1960
    … Food And Drug Administration Approves Birth Control Pills

  • 1961
    … Court Upholds Different Treatment Of Women As Jurors
    … Eleanor Roosevelt To Lead Commission On The Status Of Women

  • 1963
    … 'The Feminine Mystique' Published
    … Congress Passes Equal Pay Act

  • 1964
    … Title VII Of The Civil Rights Act Of 1964 Passed

  • 1965
    … Law Struck Down Banning Contraceptive Use By Married Couples

  • 1966
    … National Organization For Women Established

  • 1967
    … Civil Rights Protections Extended To Women

  • 1968
    … Sex-Segregated Help-Wanted Ads in Newspapers Ruled Illegal

  • 1969
    … California Adopts First No-Fault Divorce Law
    … Ruling Opens Former 'Men-Only' Jobs To Women

  • 1970
    … Thousands March In First Women’s Strike For Equality

  • 1971
    … Court Strikes Down State Law That Excludes Women

  • 1972
    … Title IX Of Education Amendments Of 1972 Passed

  • 1973
    … Supreme Court Establishes Abortion Right
    … Women-Only Branches Eliminated In U.S. Military

  • 1974
    … Pregnant Women Cannot Be Forced To Leave Jobs
    … Congress Bans Sex Discrimination In Consumer Credit

  • 1976
    … Court Establishes 'Intermediate Review' For Sex Discrimination
    … U.S. Military Academies Open Admissions To Women

  • 1978
    … Employment Discrimination Against Pregnant Women Barred

  • 1980
    … Federal Guidelines List Sexual Harassment As Discrimination

  • 1981
    … Sandra Day O'Connor Is First Woman On Supreme Court

  • 1992
    … Supreme Court Upholds Right To Abortion
    … Record Number Of Women Run For Public Office And Win

  • 1993
    … Family Medical Leave Act Takes Effect

  • 1996
    … Military College Ordered To Admit Women

  • 2003
    … Wage Gap Gets Worse

  • 2009
    … Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act Signed Into Law