March is women’s history month, and while we’ve come a long way, there is still a lot of work to be done. We’ve accomplished so much over the last 150 years and it important to take a look back and remember the women who have fought for us to have an equal place in society. Here we take a look at just a few of the major milestones in recent women’s history.
“1848: At Seneca Falls, New York, 300 women and men sign the Declaration of Sentiments, a plea for the end of discrimination against women. The first women’s rights convention in the United States, the meeting launched the battle for women’s suffrage.”
“1916: Jeannette Rankin of Montana is the first woman elected to the House of Representatives. Woodrow Wilson states that the Democratic Party platform will support suffrage.”
“Although the U.S. has yet to have a female president, First Lady Edith Wilson essentially ran the country for 17 months after her husband, President Woodrow Wilson, suffered a severe stroke in 1919. Because Wilson’s vice president didn’t take charge (the 25th Amendment wasn’t passed until the 1960s), FLOTUS stepped up.”
“After a 72-year-long fight, the 19th Amendment finally passed. On August 18, 1920, women’s suffrage was ratified, granting women the right to vote in the U.S.”
“1963: Equal Pay Act passed in the United States. Former President John F. Kennedy backed amending the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act—as part of his New Frontier Program—so that women could be paid the same wages as men performing the same job.”
“June 23, 1972: Title IX of the Education Amendments is signed into law by President Richard Nixon. It states “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.””
“July 7, 1981: Sandra Day O’Connor is sworn in by President Ronald Reagan as the first woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. She retires in 2006, after serving for 24 years.”
“2021: First woman sworn in as Vice President – On Inauguration Day, January 20th 2021, Kamala Harris was sworn in as Vice President of the United States. She took her Oath of Office with her hand on two stacked Bibles, one belonging to the late Supreme Court Justice and civil rights icon Thurgood Marshall, and the other belonging to a close family friend. Harris is only the third woman to be named a candidate for Vice President, and she is also the first woman, first Black woman, and first woman of South Asian descent to hold national office in America!”
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