I've found some documents about the main events of women right in history, it might be useful for some guys besides me ,so I post it on my blog. anybody who is interested in this topic could get in touch with me and exchange our opinions.
1792
A Call for Women's Rights
Influenced by the ideas of the American and French Revolutions, the English writer Mary Wollstonecraft calls for the full participation of women in the rights and duties of citizenship. Her A Vindication of the Rights of Women becomes a foundation for the woman suffrage movement.
1807
Napoleonic Code Officially Issued
A lasting legacy of the French Revolution, the Code Napoléon lays down a uniform civil law code throughout French domains. It becomes a model for other modern nations. The Code guarantees individual rights for men, but treats women as inferior, drawing a limit to the application of liberal ideas about citizenship.
1831
George Sand
Bored with married life in the country, Amandine Aurore Lucile has left her husband and moves to Paris. She will become a prolific writer and outspoken feminist, publishing under the pseudonym George Sand. Known as much for her flamboyant lifestyle as for her writing, she shocks Paris with her cigar smoking, men's clothing, and many lovers.
1836
Grimkés Condemn Slavery and Women's Status
American abolitionists Sarah and Angeline Grimké give a series of lectures at women’s abolition organizations on the evils of slavery. The speeches are delivered in public, in defiance of accepted standards at the time. Public uproar ensues, and the sisters are strongly criticized by clergy members for behaving like men. In response to their critics, the Grimkés compare the plight of white women to that of black slaves. They also affirm that men and women are created equal, and that women should be allowed to do whatever men are allowed to do.
1837
First Women’s Seminary
Mary Mason Lyon founds Mount Holyoke Female Seminary. Located in South Hadley, Massachusetts, it is the first institution of higher education for women in the United States.
1848
Seneca Falls Convention
At a convention organized by social reformer Elizabeth Cady Stanton, United States woman suffragists convene to discuss equality in education, marriage, and property. Having been denied participation at the World Anti-slavery Conference in London, the women discuss the contradiction of fighting against slavery when they themselves are not allowed to vote.
1848
New York Passes Married Women's Property Act
New York State passes the Married Women's Property Act. The law permits married women to attain and keep assets apart from their husbands. This is the first law in the United States to define with certainty the lawfully independent identity of married women.
1851
"Ain't I a Woman?"
Sojourner Truth delivers her feminist speech, 'Ain't I a Woman?' at an Akron, Ohio, women’s rights forum. An ex-slave and abolitionist, Truth is known for her stirring oratory skills and life-long commitment to equality and human rights.
1859
John Stuart Mill Writes "On Liberty"
British philosopher and social theorist John Stuart Mill adds a humanitarian dimension to the doctrine of utilitarianism. He advocates women's rights, proportional representation, and farm cooperatives. “On Liberty” is his most famous essay; he also writes Utilitarianism in 1863.
1868 - 1870
African Americans Extended Citizenship Rights
Congress passes and the states ratify two amendments to the Constitution of the United States that extend citizenship rights to African Americans. The 14th Amendment grants citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States. The 15th Amendment confers on all male adult citizens the right to vote, which shall not be denied “on account of race, color or previous condition of servitude.' Although complete voting rights for blacks will not be achieved for another century, the ratification of the 14th and 15th Amendments encourages women’s rights advocates to press for female suffrage.
May 1869
National Woman Suffrage Association Created
Frustrated with lack of support from abolitionists, feminists Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony form the National Woman Suffrage Association to press for voting rights for women. Formerly loyal followers of the abolitionist movement, Anthony and Stanton establish their new organization in response to the abolitionists’ exclusion of a platform on women’s voting rights from a proposed constitutional amendment on black-male suffrage. Abolitionists fear that the issue of women’s suffrage might sabotage passage of the amendment.
1872
Susan B. Anthony Votes
Asserting her belief that the 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution allows women to vote, Susan B. Anthony and other women cast ballots for U.S. president in New York State. Anthony is later arrested, tried, and fined, but her act inspires others to press for women’s suffrage.
1873
Bradwell v. The State of Illinois
Unable to practice law in Illinois because she is a woman, Myra Bradwell, an attorney from Vermont, sues the state, citing 14th Amendment protections. Under the amendment, citizens’ rights granted by the federal government cannot be overridden by individual states. Her case makes its way to the Supreme Court of the United States. The Supreme Court justices defeat the suit in a nine to one vote, however, ruling that a woman’s place is in the 'domestic sphere.'
1892
Women Vote in New Zealand
Women gain the vote in New Zealand, the first country to grant women’s suffrage. Women vote in the federal elections of 1902, beginning a wave of women's suffrage around the world.
1898
Women and Economics
American feminist, writer, and lecturer Charlotte Perkins Gilman publishes Women and Economics, a landmark of the women’s movement in the United States. Gilman challenges the contemporary social conventions that overemphasize women’s roles as sexual partners and mothers, arguing that these roles have made women dependent on the financial security of men. She advocates economic independence that would allow women to develop into fully self-sufficient individuals.
1903
Women's Social and Political Union
A faction of British suffragists, weary of the timidity of mainstream groups advocating the vote for women, break away and establish the Women's Social and Political Union. Led by radical feminist Emmeline Pankhurst, these suffragists soon become known for the militant actions they take to forward their cause.
1906 - 1919
Woman Suffrage Sweeps Europe
Women gain the right to vote throughout Europe, as Finland extends the vote to women in 1906, Norway does so in 1913, Denmark in 1915, and The Netherlands and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1917. Austria, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Poland, and Sweden allow women to vote in 1919.
1916
National Women's Party Formed
American women's rights advocates Alice Paul and Lucy Burns establish the National Women's Party to agitate for female suffrage. In contrast to other women’s suffrage leaders, Paul and Burns view voting rights for women as merely a starting point on the road to complete equality between the sexes. The party will become an ardent supporter of an Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution in the 1920s.
1918
British Women Gain the Vote
The British Parliament grants women the vote, with some limitations. Not until 1928 will Parliament extend to women the same voting rights exercised by men.
1920
American Women Get the Vote
Ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States grants women the vote. In a campaign organized by the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) and its leader, Carrie Chapman Catt, women finally gain the rights fought for by American feminist Elizabeth Cady Stanton in the 1840s and campaigned for by American women’s rights advocate Susan B. Anthony in the late 19th century.
1920
U.S. Government Forms Women's Bureau
The Women's Bureau of the Department of Labor is created in response to the large numbers of women entering the American work force during and after World War I. While promoting better working conditions for women, the bureau also supports protective legislation, which some opponents believe undermines female equality.
1921
Margaret Sanger Advocates Birth Control
American Margaret Sanger, who coins the term 'birth control' in The Woman Rebel, founds the American Birth Control League. The family-planning advocacy organization becomes the Planned Parenthood Federation in 1946.
1923
U.S. Congress Rejects Equal Rights Amendment
The Congress of the United States fails to garner the two-thirds majority needed to pass an Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the Constitution. Alice Paul and her National Women’s Party draft the amendment, which stipulates equal legal status for women. The amendment’s failure is due in part to opposition from labor leaders and reformers, who fear equal rights laws would harm working-class women by placing protective legislation in jeopardy.
1946 - 1948
Women's Suffrage in East Asia
Women gain the right to vote in Japan in 1946, in China in 1947, and in South Korea in 1948.
1947
UN Commission on the Status of Women
The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is created under the auspices of the United Nations to be the focal point of international efforts to promote women's rights. In incidents of exceptional women’s rights abuses, the CSW plays an important role by encouraging international action to stop such activity and to hold violators responsible.
1949
Beauvoir Writes The Second Sex
French novelist and existentialist writer Simone de Beauvoir publishes Le deuxième sexe (The Second Sex, 1953). A classic feminist treatise, the penetrating essay examines the low status of women in society.
1955
Daughters of Bilitis Founded
Women in San Francisco, California, form the Daughters of Bilitis, the first lesbian organization in the United States. Named after Chansons de Bilitis, Sapphic love poetry by French writer Pierre Lou?s, the group seeks to win acceptance for lesbians in American society.
1960
First Oral Contraceptive
The first oral contraceptive, developed by American biologist Gregory G. Pincus and colleagues in the 1950s, is approved following successful field trials in Haiti and Puerto Rico.
1961
U.S. Commission on the Status of Women
John F. Kennedy creates the Commission on the Status of Women, becoming the first American president to form an executive panel to study women’s issues. The commission's 1963 report will expose discrimination against women in employment, detailing inequality in the pay and legal status of women.
1963
Friedan Pens The Feminine Mystique
American writer and feminist Betty Friedan publishes The Feminine Mystique. In her best-selling book, Friedan claims that the idealization of women’s domestic roles is actually a means to keep women subordinate to men. The critique inspires a new generation of women to join the movement for women’s liberation.
1963 - 1995
America's Wage Gap Between Sexes
The average American female worker earns 58.9 percent of the average male worker's earnings. By 1995 the gap narrows: women make 71.4 percent of an average male’s income. Although statistics suggest that women’s pay has moved closer to parity with that of men, a significant salary disparity persists between the sexes in the United States.
1963
Equal Pay Act Passes U.S. Congress
Congress votes the Equal Pay Act into law, making it illegal to pay men and women different wages for the same work. Despite the law's intent and import, it proves hard to enforce and offers few economic gains for women.
1964
Civil Rights Act
President Lyndon B. Johnson sponsors landmark civil rights legislation that bans discrimination in public places, as well as discrimination in employment on the basis of race, gender, or national origin. Congress passes the Voting Rights Act one year later.
1964
Title VII of Civil Rights Act
Virginia Congressman Howard W. Smith unwittingly becomes an ally of the women’s movement when he adds the word sex to the Title VII amendment of the Civil Rights Act. Smith hopes this addition will prevent the act’s passage. However, with the urging of some key women members of Congress, the legislation is enacted, advancing the cause of women’s rights. The act bans employment discrimination based on gender as well as race, color, and ethnic origin.
1965
Griswold v. Connecticut
The Supreme Court of the United States rules against the state of Connecticut in a lawsuit brought by Estelle Griswold, Connecticut’s director of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Connecticut authorities had convicted Griswold of violating a Connecticut law that prohibited giving advice on contraception. The high court overturns Griswold’s conviction, determining the law violates individuals’ constitutional right to privacy. The Supreme Court decision liberalizes access to birth control.
1966
National Organization for Women Founded
Author Betty Friedan helps found the National Organization for Women (NOW). NOW promotes feminist issues and works to promote the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) banning sex discrimination. Congress passes the ERA in 1972, but the states fail to ratify the constitutional amendment.
September 07, 1968
Miss America Protest
Feminists stage a flamboyant protest of the Miss America Pageant, characterizing it as a beauty contest that exploits and demeans women. They nominate a sheep for Miss America and throw objects that they consider instruments of women's oppression—bras and high heels, for example—into a 'freedom trash can.'
1970
Germaine Greer Publishes The Female Eunuch
Australian writer Germaine Greer authors her revolutionary The Female Eunuch. The book, which criticizes traditional family structures and promotes women’s liberation, will become a controversial bestseller. Greer follows the book’s publication with a high-profile publicity tour, helping increase public awareness of the concerns of the women’s movement.
August 26, 1970
Women's Strike for Equality
Sponsored by the National Organization for Women (NOW), The Women's Strike for Equality takes place on the 50th anniversary of women's suffrage in America. Along with celebrating voting rights for women, strikers march for abortion rights, workplace rights, and passage of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). The mass demonstration reveals the power of the women's movement in the 1970s and leads to major growth in NOW's membership.
1971
Gloria Steinem Founds Ms. Magazine
American journalist and political activist Gloria Steinem creates the feminist publication Ms. magazine along with publisher Patricia Carbine. Steinem serves as the publication’s first editor. She also founds the National Women's Political Caucus with writer Betty Friedan and politicians Bella Abzug and Shirley Chisholm. The caucus is intended to increase the participation of women in politics.
January 1973
Roe v. Wade
In the case Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court of the United States rules that states cannot restrict women's access to abortions in the first two trimesters of pregnancy. The landmark ruling gives women in the United States a constitutional right to abortion and is seen as a victory for many women’s rights organizations and those supporting reproductive rights. The decision is vehemently opposed, however, by a number of religious and pro-life groups and by others who believe life begins at conception.
1975 - 1985
UN Organizes Decade for Women
The United Nations arranges the Decade for Women, an international effort to bring attention to women’s concerns. During the ten-year period, conferences are held around the world to discuss topics such as women’s rights and economic development. These events bring awareness of women’s issues to many poorer and less-educated women who dwell outside the traditional realm of the women's movement.
1976
U.S. Military Academies Admit Women
Federally operated United States military academies open their doors to women, earning the dubious distinction of being among the last institutions of higher learning in America to become coeducational. Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, was the first coeducational college in the United States, allowing women to attend the school starting in 1833.
1979
Population Control in China
In order to curb population growth, in 1979 Chinese authorities create a one-child-per-family policy. Because male children are often regarded as more economically valuable, female infanticides increase.
1982
Equal Rights Amendment Fails Ratification
Defeated by United States Congress in its initial attempt in 1923, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was brought before the body again in 1972. The National Organization for Women and other feminist organizations succeeded in lobbying Congress to approve the ERA, and it was sent along for ratification by the states. Despite an extension of the deadline for ratification, after ten years the ERA has gained the approval of only 35 of the 38 states required to amend the Constitution. Opponents, led by activist Phyllis Schlafly, contributed to the defeat of the ERA, maintaining that the amendment would take away women’s unique status and prevent legal limits on abortion.
1986
U.S. Supreme Court Rules on Sexual Harassment
In the suit Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson, the Supreme Court of the United States finds that sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination. Sex discrimination is prohibited under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The court’s ruling endorses the notion that a 'hostile or offensive environment' constitutes sexual harassment.
1988
Benazir Bhutto Elected
Pakistan’s president Zulfikar Ali Bhutto is imprisoned, then executed after a coup by General Zia ul-Haq. His daughter, Benazir Bhutto, heads the Pakistan People's Party and calls for free elections, facing brief imprisonment herself. After Zia dies, Bhutto's party wins the election and she becomes prime minister. Bhutto is the first woman to be elected head of an Islamic country.
1990
Naomi Wolf Authors The Beauty Myth
American writer and feminist Naomi Wolf publishes The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women. In the controversial bestseller, Wolf argues that idealized female beauty is used to control women. The book’s success reignites interest in the women's movement and makes Wolf a role model for feminists in the 1990s.
1991
Thomas Confirmation Hearings
At Senate hearings on United States Supreme Court nominee Judge Clarence Thomas, law professor Anita Hill testifies that she suffered sexual harassment by Thomas while working for him during the 1980s. Thomas vehemently denies the allegations and the Senate narrowly confirms his nomination. Despite Thomas’s confirmation, Hill’s testimony during the nationally televised hearings sparks widespread public debate over sexual harassment in the workplace.
1991
Susan Faludi Writes Backlash
American journalist and feminist Susan Faludi publishes Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women. Her book, a surprise bestseller, makes the case that blaming feminism and the advancements of the women’s movement for discontent among women is unfair. Faludi points to social pressure to move away from the feminist cause as the real culprit in women’s unhappiness.
1994
Violence Against Women Act
The Congress of the United States approves a measure to devote $800 million of government money to help prevent domestic violence, particularly violence against women. The statute makes crossing state lines to break a restraining order a federal offense. Moreover, the law makes it illegal for persons under a restraining order to own guns.
