The Movements of Women’s
Rights
Gender & Equality
Barbara Bradford
Sept. 9, 2015
Instructor: Jennifer Moore-Ambrosia
Southern New Hampshire University

In the United States, women are allowed a certain level of luxury in having a large amount of control over the path they have taken. An American woman can be a business owner, a homeowner, a college graduate, a highly paid executive or a stay at home mother and wife.
These are choices that we as individuals get to make with limited input from the men in our lives. We take guidance from our fathers, brothers and husbands but the ultimate decision lies with us. History shows us that this was not always the case in our country. Early on women were not allowed to own property, be educated or make any major decisions. Power rested in the hands of the men and it took many years to wrench some away.
In the late 1800’s American women were beginning to realize that there was more to life then mothering and keeping house. The Suffragette movement was born out of a palpable desire to be a voice for change in the world and to that they could vote in the governance of the country.
After many years of struggling, the 19th amendment was signed into law extending the right to vote so that it would not “be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex” (19th amendment). One step among many that leads to women gaining an equal voice in the policies of the country.
While women could now make an informed vote for the governance of the country, there were many stereotypes holding women back for changing the direction of their lives. One major choice was whether or not to have children. Traditionally, a woman’s role was strictly that of mother and homemaker however the breakdown of many roadblocks for career girls, pregnancy was still an issue that kept many women from achieving their dreams. In 1960, the Food & Drug
Administration (FDA) approved a birth control pill that was nearly 100% effective. Like voting, this move allowed women to take a stronger grip of their lives and choose the course of their future. The 1960’s was the birthplace of the modern women’s equality movement (Farber, D, 1994). In
1966, the National Organization for Women (NOW) was formed. N.O.W. used their platform to push for adherence to American equality laws; while pushing for reforms that would give women a better chance at success. In their 1966 mission statement they inform their opposition “to all policies and practices -- in church, state, college, factory, or office -- which, in the guise of protectiveness, not only deny opportunities but also foster in women self-denigration, dependence, and evasion of responsibility, undermine their confidence in their own abilities and foster contempt for women” (Friedan, B 1966).
Even with the work of organizations like N.O.W., women have still had an uphill battle from
1966 till today. There were many years when women were not able to speak up for equality in the workplace as their complaints were often ignored or tossed aside as baseless. Some women like Lily Ledbetter were brave enough to take their case all the way to the Supreme Court (N.A.,
2011). In 2009, President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act which extended the timeframe in which women are able to file a complaint against an employer for wage discrimination. While this was not a sweeping systematic change it did show promise of one day women having equal pay for equal work (GovTrack.us).
The struggle for equality is an ongoing battle. Like many struggles, the one for equality between the sexes is still ongoing. In first world cultures, like America, the gender divide is not as broad as it once was and women have many more freedoms then women in a majority of third world countries. Women in these cultures live as second class citizens, treated like property and used as a way to reap vengeance upon enemies. Even more advanced democratic countries, like India, women are still raped and murdered simply for being a woman. The gender divide may be decreasing but there is still a long way to go.

References:
Timeline point #3 - Freidan, B. (1966, October 29). The national organization od women's 1966 statement of purpose. Retrieved from http://www.now.org/history/purpos66.html
Timeline point #4 - N.A. (2009, January 28). S. 181 (111th): Lily ledbetter fair pay act of 2009. Retrieved from http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/111/s181/text
Farber, D (1994), The age of great dreams: America in the 1960’s. Hill and Wang, New York 2009
President Obama signed the Lily Ledbetter Act into law which grants women a longer time to file a complaint about unfair wages.
1966
National Organization of Women is formed with the intent of ending sexual discrimination especially in the workplace.
1960