| 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 constitutional 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. Roosevelt 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 Roosevelt). |
|
| 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 forbids job discrimination on the basis of race and sex. It also establishes the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to adjudicate complaints. |
|
| 1965 | Supreme Court issues decision in Griswold v. Connecticut, permitting the use of contraceptives by married couples. |
|
| 1966 | Creation of the National Organization 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 December 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. |
|
| In April, on the one-year anniversary of the presidential directive, the number 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 includes 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 services 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 Mexico City. |
|
| 1976–1979 | President Carter names three women to cabinet positions during his 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. |
|
| 1984 | Geraldine Ferraro is the first woman vice presidential candidate of a major political 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 Moseley 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 inadequacies 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 candidate 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. |
