Milestones in Women's Rights

Slow Progress and Setbacks

 

1920: Women can vote for the first time.

1965: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act gives women protections against discrimination based on gender.

1973: Roe v. Wade grants women the right to make their own decisions regarding their bodies.

1974: Women can apply for credit under their own names without needing a male co-signer.

1978: Women can no longer be fired for being pregnant.

1993: The Supreme Court rules that it is illegal to sexually harass women in the workplace.

2007: U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) becomes the first female Speaker of the House.

2013: The U.S. military removes a ban against women serving in combat positions.

2016: Hillary Clinton becomes the first woman to receive a presidential nomination from a major political party.

2020: Women continue to fight for basic human rights and shape policies and the electorate.

2022: The Supreme Court ruling allows states to set their own abortion laws. Under the new Texas abortion law, women who have abortions cannot be prosecuted, but anyone who provides or assists in the abortion is open to criminal prosecution