1848 First Women's Rights Convention Meets in Seneca Falls
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CHRONOLOGY 1848 First Women’s Rights Convention meets in Seneca Falls, New York, and calls for equal treatment of the sexes under the law and voting rights for women. 1869 The Territory of Wyoming passes the first women’s suffrage law and later, in 1890, when it joins the union, is the first state with women’s suffrage. Fifteen additional states will legalize the vote for women before 1920. Women’s suffrage associations form and begin to campaign for constitu- tional amendments for voting rights for women. 1870 Iowa is the first state to admit a woman to the bar, Arabella Mansfield. 1872 Victoria Woodhull, of the Equal Rights Party, is the first woman to run for U.S. president. 1917 Jeannette Rankin of Montana is the first woman elected to Congress. 1920 Ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment, which says that a U.S. citizen could not be denied the right to vote based on sex. 1923 Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is introduced in Congress by Senator Charles Curtis and Representative Daniel Anthony, written by Alice Paul, leader of the National Women’s Party. 1933 President Franklin D. Roo se velt appoints the first woman U.S. cabinet member, Frances Perkins, secretary of labor. 1941 Seven million women join the work force and 400,000 women join the military in World War II. 1953 President Dwight Eisenhower appoints Oveta Culp Hobby as secretary of health, education, and welfare; she is the second woman to hold a U.S. cabinet position. 1961 President John F. Kennedy establishes the President’s Commission on the Status of Women (chaired by Eleanor Roo se velt). ❊ Chronology President John F. Kennedy stipulates that all women and men in the federal government must receive equal consideration for employment. 1963 Congress passes the Equal Pay Act of 1963, prohibiting discrimination in pay by gender for employees covered under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique is published and sells five million copies by 1970. 1964 President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII of the act for- bids job discrimination on the basis of race and sex. It also establishes the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to adjudicate com- plaints. 1965 Supreme Court issues decision in Griswold v. Connecticut, permitting the use of contraceptives by married couples. 1966 Creation of the National Or ga ni za tion for Women. 1967 Executive Order 11375 adds prohibition of sex discrimination by federal contractors or subcontractors, amending Executive Order 11246 of 1965. 1968 EEOC bans sex- segregated help wanted ads in newspapers, a ruling upheld by the Supreme Court in 1973. 1969 At a February 6 press conference held by President Richard Nixon, Vera Glaser asks a key question regarding Nixon’s administration appointments of women. On October 6, Helen Bentley designated chair of the Federal Maritime Commission and the highest ranking woman in the Nixon administration. “A Matter of Simple Justice,” the report of the Task Force on Women’s Rights and Responsibilities, is transmitted to President Nixon on Decem- ber 12; on June 9, 1970, the report is released by the White House. 1971 On April 12, Barbara Hackman Franklin begins work leading the White House’s first women recruiting effort. On April 21, the Presidential Directive to Cabinet Secretaries and Agency Heads requires action plans for appointing and advancing women; plans are due to the White House by May 15. 1972 Senate passes ERA on March 22, 1972 and it is submitted to the states for ratification. xxii Chronology In April, on the one- year anniversary of the presidential directive, the num- ber of women placed in policy-making positions has tripled from 36 to 105, and there are nearly 1,100 women placed in midlevel positions and 339 women appointed to boards and commissions. On June 23, President Nixon signs the Education Amendments, which in- cludes Title IX, forbidding sex discrimination in educational programs. In July, Ms. magazine is first published. On August 26, President Nixon issues the first proclamation of Equality Day, celebrating the anniversary of the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment. On December 17, Anne Armstrong is named a counselor to the president, with cabinet rank, making her the highest- ranking women in the Nixon administration. 1973 Supreme Court issues decision in Roe v. Wade, legalizing abortion. 1974 On August 9, Richard M. Nixon resigns the presidency. On October 28, President Gerald Ford signs the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, which prohibits discrimination by sex in the granting of consumer credit. 1975 On October 7, President Ford signs legislation directing the military ser- vices to admit women to the Army, Navy, and Air Force academies. Carla Hills is named as secretary of housing and urban development by President Ford. First World Conference of the International Women’s Year is held in Mex- ico City. 1976– President Carter names three women to cabinet positions during his 1979 administration: Patricia Roberts Harris, secretary of housing and urban development; Juanita Kreps, secretary of commerce; and Shirley Hufstedler, secretary of education. 1978 The Pregnancy Discrimination Act bans employment discrimination against pregnant women. 1981 In January, President Carter proclaims the first National Women’s History Week, incorporating March 8 as International Women’s Day. Sandra Day O’Connor, nominated by President Reagan, is the first woman confirmed as an associate justice of the Supreme Court. xxiii Chronology 1984 Geraldine Ferraro is the first woman vice presidential candidate of a major po liti cal party. 1986 In Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson, the Supreme Court recognizes that sexual harassment is a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. 1992 “The Year of the Woman.” A record number of women run for public office and win. Twenty-four are newly elected to the House of Representatives and six to the Senate. They include the first Mexican American woman and the first Puerto Rican woman in the House, Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) and Nydia Velazquez (D-NY); the first black woman senator, Carole Mose- ley Braun (D-IL); and both senators from California, Barbara Boxer, Diane Feinstein, who are Democrats. 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act enables both men and women to take up to twelve weeks of unpaid leave if needed to care for a new child or a seriously ill family member, and under several other circumstances. 1994 Violence Against Women Act signed into law in response to the inadequa- cies of state justice systems in dealing with violent crimes against women. 1995 Lt. Col. Eileen Collins becomes the first American woman to pilot a space shuttle. 2000 Hillary Rodham Clinton elected U.S. senator from New York. She is the only First Lady ever elected to the United States Senate. 2004 Condoleezza Rice becomes the first woman national security advisor to a U.S. president. 2007 Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) becomes the first woman speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. 2008 Alaska governor Sarah Palin is selected as the first woman Republican can- didate for the vice presidency. Gen. Ann Dunwoody becomes the first woman to serve as a four-star general in the United States, heading the U.S. Army Materiel Command. xxiv.