The Women's Rights Movement
"History looks different when the contributions of women are included."
-the National Women's History Project
Throughout history, society has impacted the lifestyle of the individual. Change in society has a particular impact on the individual. During the Vietnam era, change in society was drastic. Many movements began during this time period. One of these was the escalation of the Women’s' Liberation Movement. Women's rights was always a concern, but during the Vietnam era it grew and spread across the nation. Many laws, court cases, and organizations reflected the social change of the era. During the Vietnam era, these social changes ultimately affected the lives of individual women. They touched every part of life and had effects on women’s work, sexual freedom, and a their role in the household.
Women in the workplace felt the change in society. It greatly impacted both their roles at work and their pay. Women demanded an increase in pay and the opportunity to do the same work as men. The first step toward equality in the work place was the Equal Pay Act in 1963. It established equal pay for men and women when performing the same job duties.1 Prior to this act, women were only paid fifty-nine cents for every dollar that men were paid.2 In order to enforce the new law, the Wage Standards Division of the Department of Labor was established. It could bring lawsuits against violations of the act. After the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed and became law, Title VII prohibited any discrimination by private employers, employment agencies, and unions based on race, sex, and other grounds. In order to enforce this law, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was established.3 At ...
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...The National Women’s History Project.
19. The National Women’s History Project.
Bibliography
McGlen, Nancy E., and Karen O'Connor. Women, Politics, and Society. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1998.
The National Women's History Project. "The Path of the Women's Rights Movement: A Timeline of the Women's Rights Movement 1848-1998." Living the Legacy: The Women's Rights Movement 1848-1998. 17 April 1999, <http://www.legacy98.org/timeline.html> (15 October 199).
Stalcup, Brenda, ed. The Women's Rights Movement: Opposing Viewmpoints. San Diego, California: Greenhaven press, Inc., 1996.
Wilke, Dr. and Mrs. J.C. "Why Can't We Love Them Both?" Abortion Facts.Com, 1998,
http://www.abortionfacts.com/online_books/love_them_both/why_cant_we_love_them_
both_7.htm # When did the first state legalize abortion?> (29 October 1999).
To begin with, there are many events in United States history that have shaped our general understanding of women’s involvement in economics, politics, the debates of gender and sexuality, and so forth. Women for many centuries have not been seen as a significant part of history, however under thorough analyzation of certain events, there are many women and woman-based events responsible for the progressiveness we experience in our daily lives as men, women, children, and individuals altogether. Many of these events aid people today to reflect on the treatment of current individuals today and to raise awareness to significant issues that were not resolved or acknowledged in the past.
I have read Kathryn Kish Sklar book, brief History with documents of "Women's Rights Emerges within the Antislavery Movement, 1830-1870" with great interest and I have learned a lot. I share her fascination with the contours of nineteenth century women's rights movements, and their search for meaningful lessons we can draw from the past about American political culture today. I find their categories of so compelling, that when reading them, I frequently lost focus about women's rights movements history and became absorbed in their accounts of civic life.
Gaughen, Shasta. Introduction To Women's Rights: Contemporary Issues Companion. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2003. Hennessey, Kathleen.
Social movements refer to informal groups of people who focus on either political or social issues. The goal of the social movement is to change things in society, to refuse to go along with the norm, and to undo a social change. For example, the Women’s Rights Movement that began in the 1840s was geared towards getting women more equality in relation to political, social, and economic status in society (Foner). Along with this, women gained a louder voice to speak out about what they wanted to change and implemented the change. Prior to the Women’s Rights Movement, women were often timid, compliant, obedient, and mistreated. After the 1920s, a movement towards more equality was shifted in society views, however not all were convinced or changed by the new ideas of women. Although women began to get increased rights, the typical gender roles, which they were expected to follow did not loosely lesson. Women still found themselves doing the same gender roles, house roles, and family roles even after the 1920s. It was not until the 1960s when the Feminist movement began (Foner). The literary piece is “Why I Want a Wife” by Judy Brady and the goal of the Feminist Movement was to create new meanings and realities for women in terms of education, empowerment, occupation, sexual identity, art, and societal roles. In short, the Feminist Movement was aimed to gain women freedom, equal opportunity and be in control over their own life.
ProQuest Research Library (2012). Feminism and woman suffrage: Debate, difference, and the importance of context. Women's Interests, History, 24(2), 7-12.
During the last 4 months, I’ve studied a lot about Canadian history and come across many great historical events that have shaped Canadian identity. The two most defining moments between the years 1900 to 2000 were women’s suffrage which was an issue to determine if women should have the right to vote or not. The other defining moment for Canada was Expo 67, which was the most successful worlds fair in history.
Every citizen of the United State was grant the right to vote since their birth in the United State or when they passed
From 1960 to 1990 the women’s movement in Canada played a significant role in history concerning the revolution of women’s rights. Although it was a long road coming for them, they were able to achieve the rights they deserved. Women struggled for equality rights to men but primarily their rights as a person. Since the 1960s women’s rights had significantly changed, they had to work hard for the rights that they have in the present day. Females across the nation started speaking out against gender inequality, divorce, and abortion. This uprising coincided with the Women’s Movement. Through the Royal Commission on the status of women they were able to gain equality rights and they were able to have access to legal abortions through the Charter Rights of Freedom and obtain no-fault divorce through the Divorce Act of 1986.
Jane Addams, Susan B. Anthony, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. These women lived at the turn of the century, and fought vehemently for a cause they believed in. They knew that they were being discriminated against because of their gender, and they refused to take it. These pioneers of feminism paved the road for further reform, and changed the very fabric of our society.
But when the “Women’s Movement,” is referred to, one would most likely think about the strides taken during the 1960’s for equal treatment of women. The sixties started off with a bang for women, as the Food and Drug Administration approved birth control pills, President John F. Kennedy established the President's Commission on the Status of Women and appointed Eleanor Roosevelt as chairwoman, and Betty Friedan published her famous and groundbreaking book, “The Feminine Mystique” (Imbornoni). The Women’s Movement of the 1960’s was a ground-breaking part of American history because along with African-Americans another minority group stood up for equality, women were finished with being complacent, and it changed women’s lives today.
University of South Carolina, 2004. Pearson Education. Info please. Almanacs: “Key Events in Women’s Rights Movement” 2005 31 March 2005. Wohlpart, Jim.
In 1963, President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act into law, making it unlawful to discriminate against a worker on the basis of sex. Since that time, the wage gap between men and women in the United States has narrowed by just 15 cents, now being 74 cents, as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Beginning in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century women began to vocalize their opinions and desires for the right to vote. The Women’s Suffrage movement paved the way to the nineteenth Amendment in the United States Constitution that allowed women that right. The Women’s Suffrage movement started a movement for equal rights for women that has continued to propel equal opportunities for women throughout the country. The Women’s Liberation Movement has sparked better opportunities, demanded respect and pioneered the path for women entering in the workforce that was started by the right to vote and given momentum in the late 1950s.
The roles of women changed drastically between 1950’s and 1970’s due to the political, economic, and social issues, but women’s lives also stayed close to the way they had always been. The lives of women changed in a plethora of ways throughout the years. “We believe that women can achieve such equality only by accepting to full the challenges and responsibilities they share with all other people in our society, as part of the decision-making mainstream of American political, economic, and social life” (Statement of Purpose, 1966).
In the past, many people believed that women’s exclusive responsibilities were to serve their husband, to be great mothers and to be the perfect wives. Those people considered women to be more appropriate for homemaking rather than to be involved in business or politics. This meant that women were not allowed to have a job, to own property or to enjoy the same major rights as men. The world is changing and so is the role of women in society. In today’s society, women have rights that they never had before and higher opportunities to succeed.