TIMELINE: WOMEN'S HISTORY THROUGH THE YEARS Because of the broadness of women’s 1849 history, this timeline begins in 1789 after Elizabeth Blackwell becomes first woman to receive a the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, but medical degree from Geneva Medical College (now SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York). women played an important and essential role in America’s history before and during Harriet Tubman escapes to Philadelphia and helps about the Revolution as well. 300 enslaved people escape to the North for freedom via the Underground Railroad, a network of secret routes and 1789 safehouses that guided slaves in their escape. U.S. Constitution is ratified. The terms “persons,” “people” and “electors” allow for interpretation to include 1869 men and women, although women remain largely left out First women’s suffrage law is passed in the territory of of the public sphere for years to come. Wyoming. 1837 1916 Oberlin College in Ohio becomes first coeducational Jeannette Rankin of Montana becomes first woman college in the U.S. elected to Congress. 1839 1920 Mississippi becomes first state to grant married 19th Amendment gives women the right to vote. women the right to hold property in their own names, independent of their husbands. 1921 Reproductive activist Margaret Sanger founds the 1840 American Birth Control League, what is now Planned Catherine Brewer becomes first woman to receive a Parenthood. Though its history is complex and tainted bachelor’s degree from Georgia Female College (now with the eugenicist beliefs of the time, it goes on to help Wesleyan College) in Macon, Georgia by virtue of her many women have access to reproductive healthcare being alphabetically first in line in her class to receive and education. her diploma. 1925 1843 Miriam Ferguson of Texas and Nellie Tayloe Ross of Isabella Baumfree takes on the name Sojourner Truth Wyoming become first women elected as governors. and later goes on to become a famed abolitionist and women’s rights activist. Her famous “Ain’t I A Woman” speech in 1851 outlined her relationship with Blackness and womanhood. 1848 First women’s rights convention is held in Seneca 1848 Falls, New York to sign the Declaration of Rights and Sentiments. The document, modeled after the Declaration of Independence to demand equal rights for women, was signed by 68 women and 32 men. The Seneca Falls Convention (Public Domain image) © 2021 DIVERSITYINC 6 MEETING IN A BOX CONFIDENTIAL AND PROPRIETARY This document and all of its contents are intended for the sole use of DiversityInc’s benchmarking and subscription-based customers. Any use of this material without specific permission from DiversityInc is strictly prohibited. 1932 Amelia Earhart becomes first woman to fly solo across 1970 the Atlantic. Nonprofit women’s rights organization Our Bodies, Ourselves publishes a book of the same name. The Democrat Hattie Caraway of Arkansas becomes first book is controversial because it discusses women’s woman elected to Senate. sexuality and reproduction, but it is widely read and becomes a symbol for the women’s rights movement at the time. 1940 Hattie McDaniel is the first African American to win an Oscar for her role in Gone with the Wind. 1972 Title IX bans gender discrimination in federally funded education programs. 1955 First lesbian civil and political rights organization in the U.S., Daughters of Bilitis, is founded in San Francisco by 1973 Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon. In Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court protects woman’s right to terminate pregnancy. Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat to a white man on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, sparking the Civil 1977 Rights Movement. Actor, dancer and singer Rita Moreno becomes the first Latina American to win an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and 1958 Tony (also known as an E.G.O.T). Actor Miyoshi Umeki becomes the first Asian American woman to win an Oscar for her role in Sayonara. 1978 Pregnancy Discrimination Act prohibits discrimination 1963 “on basis of pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions.” Congress passes Equal Pay Act to prohibit sex-based wage discrimination between men and women in the same establishment who perform jobs that require 1980 comparable skill, effort and responsibility under similar President Jimmy Carter declares the first week in March working conditions. as Women’s History Week. 1964 1981 Title VII of Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment Sandra Day O’Connor becomes first woman Supreme discrimination on basis of race, color, religion, national Court Justice. origin or sex. House Democrat Patsy Mink becomes the first Asian American woman and first woman of color elected to Congress. Later, she became the first Asian American woman to run for U.S. President. 1966 Betty Friedan, author of The Feminine Mystique, helps 1964 found the National Organization for Women (NOW) to support grassroots activism that upholds feminist ideals. 1967 Muriel Siebert becomes first woman to own a seat on the New York Stock Exchange. Patsy Mink (U.S. House of Representatives) © 2021 DIVERSITYINC 7 MEETING IN A BOX CONFIDENTIAL AND PROPRIETARY This document and all of its contents are intended for the sole use of DiversityInc’s benchmarking and subscription-based customers. Any use of this material without specific permission from DiversityInc is strictly prohibited. 1982 For the first time, more women than men receive 1998 bachelor’s degrees. The trend has steadily continued. Supreme Court rules that employers are liable for workplace sexual harassment in Oncale v. Sundowner 1983 Offshore Services. Astronaut Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space. 1999 Retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Eileen Collins becomes 1984 first woman to pilot and command a space shuttle. In Roberts v. United States Jaycees, the U.S. Supreme Court prohibits public organizations from refusing Rapper Lauryn Hill’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill membership to someone because of gender. wins the Grammy for Album of the Year. It is recognized as the first hip-hop album to earn the distinction. Hill was also the first female solo artist to win five Grammys Democrat Geraldine Ferraro is first major-party woman in one night, setting a record at the time. vice presidential nominee, running alongside with presidential nominee Walter Mondale. 2001 1987 Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao becomes first Asian American woman appointed to a presidential Cabinet. Congress declares March as National Women’s History Month. 2002 1989 Actor Halle Berry wins the Oscar for Best Actress for her role in the film Monster’s Ball, making her the first Black Dr. Kimberlé Crenshaw, a legal scholar and activist, actress to do so. coins the term “intersectionality” to describe the specific forms of compounding discrimination people face based on their race, class, sexuality, gender 2006 and ability. Activist Tarana Burke founds the “Me Too” movement to help support women and girls of color in under- 1994 served areas who experience sexual abuse. In 2017, it becomes a worldwide, star-studded movement when President Clinton signs the Violence Against Women Alyssa Milano tweets about it in the wake of the Harvey Act (Title IV of the Violent Crime Control and Law Weinstein sexual assault allegations. Enforcement Act) to fund programs that protect victims of domestic violence, rape, sexual assault, stalking and other gender-related violence. 2007 Democrat Nancy Pelosi becomes first woman Speaker 1996 of the House. Peggy Bird (Kewa), Darlene Correa (Laguna Pueblo) and Genne James (Navajo) found the Coalition to Stop 2008 Violence Against Native Women in New Mexico as Hillary Clinton becomes the only former first lady to run crimes against Indigenous women go underreported for President. and neglected by law enforcement. 1997 2009 Madeleine Albright becomes first woman Secretary of President Obama signs the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act State under President Bill Clinton. into law, intended to reduce the pay gap between men and women. Aida Alvarez becomes administrator of the small business administration — the first Latina to hold a Sonia Sotomayor becomes first Latina Supreme Cabinet-level position. Court justice. © 2021 DIVERSITYINC 8 MEETING IN A BOX CONFIDENTIAL AND PROPRIETARY This document and all of its contents are intended for the sole use of DiversityInc’s benchmarking and subscription-based customers. Any use of this material without specific permission from DiversityInc is strictly prohibited. 2010 and CEO of Hershey in the company’s 123-year history. Pop singer Beyoncé wins six Grammys, setting the record for most awarded in one night to a solo female artist. 2018 Some of Hollywood’s most notable women unveil Time’s 2012 Up, an initiative to help working-class women fight back Pop singer Adele also wins six Grammys in one night, against sexual assault. matching Beyoncé's record. Former AT&T Senior Vice President and Chief Diversity 2013 Officer Cynthia Marshall becomes the CEO of the Dallas Mavericks and is the first Black woman CEO in the NBA. The U.S. military allows women to serve in combat positions. Yalitza Aparicio is the first Indigenous Mexican woman to be nominated for best actress at the Academy Awards for 2014 her performance in Roma. Ava DuVernay becomes the first African American woman nominated for best director at the Golden Globes for her Seventeen Black women made history by winning judicial film, Selma. seats in Harris County, Texas. The 17 Democratic candidates were elected under a campaign they called Actor and LGBTQ rights activist Laverne Cox becomes “Black Girl Magic Texas.” the first openly transgender woman nominated for a Primetime Emmy for her role in Orange is the New Black. A record number of 117 women were ultimately sent to Congress this cycle — a significant jump from 2016 when 2015 89 women were elected.