Women's Rights
The History
In history women were considered inferior
to men
In the early 17th century women had little
rights
and were considered property of their fathers
or husbands
They could not file a law suit without their
husbands
and were subject to any sort of punishment
wished upon them
Women were not allowed to attend school without
their brother
and education usually stopped after grammar
school
Women were not encouraged to receive an education
and only had the opportunities in service
roles
All gods or supreme beings in all religious
are referred to as he and are of male characteristics
This has influenced our ideals today
Almost all fictional characters we idolize
are male
such as Santa clause and superman
All in all, women in history had many rights
taken away from them that we take for granted
Women's Political Progress
Women's political progress all started with
the first women's rights convention
in Seneca Falls, New York in 1848
Women recognized their rights as human being
and started to fight for them
Some infamous feminists such as
Susan B. Anthony, Lucy Stone, Margaret Sanger,
and Better Freidan
all make their contribution to the feminist
movement
Susan B. Anthony formed the National Woman
Suffrage Association in 1869
to achieve voting rights for women through
changing the US constitution
Margaret Sanger opened the first birth Control
clinic in 1916
but was shut down after ten days
However, she fought and reopened in 1923 by
the support of the court
and continues to this day as the Planned Parenthood
federation of America
Some other achievments of women includ
The 19th amendment to the Constitution, granting
women the right to vote
was signed in 1920 on august 26th
1963 on June 10th, congress passed the Equal
pay act, making it illegal for employers
to pay a woman less than what a man would
receive for the same job
1966 National Organization for Women is founded
by a group of feminists
Including Betty Freidan became the largest
women's rights groups in the US
June 23rd of 1972 title IX of the Education
amendments bans discrimination in school
which led to an increase in women in athletic
programs and professional schools
1973 in Roe v. Wade the Supreme Court establishes
the woman's right to a safe and legal abortion
1976 the first marital rape law is enacted
in Nebraska, making it illegal for a husband
to rape his wife
As you can see women have progressed from
little to no rights to being able to vote
have a legal and safe abortion, and having
equal pay in the workforce as men
This is all due to the political progress
women have made in the American government
Although Women have achieved much success
in government women are still under represented
In the 2013 Congress 98 out of 535 seats belongs
to women, about 18.3%
Women are still less than a quarter of the
people in elective office
Compared to other countries women have a small
part in government
Other countries have had female leaders, such
as Germany, Liberia
Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Thailand, Jamaica,
Switzerland, and many more
Having a female president or prime minister
is not impossible, other countries have shown
this
Women can make it to the top
Women in the workplace today
Although today women have gained their rights
they are still unable to be promoted up the
corporate ladder
The glass ceiling is still in place discriminating
against women and minorities
making it difficult for them to rise to positions
of power
Women are not making it to the top professions
anywhere
Los Angeles Times had a poll of 12,000 workers
that showed that two-thirds of women
experience sexual discrimination and 60% saw
signs of racism in their work
70% believe they are still paid less than
men of equal ability even though congress
passed the Equal pay act
making it illegal for employer s to pay a
woman less than a man
and the civil rights act of 1964, which states
there shall be no discrimination against someone
based on race, color, religion, national origin,
or sex
Women are still experiencing sexual discrimination
in their paycheck and in their work environment
What does that mean for the government? How
do they enforce these laws?
The government has taken multiple actions
However, it seems that sex discrimination
is not on their priority list
A 1983 survey shows that affirmative action
for women and minorities ranked 23rd out of
25 human resource priorities
Discrimination against women is not the first
thing on the government's mind
However, that does not mean they do not take
action when it is necessary
In 2011, the Supreme Court threw out a class
action lawsuit against Wal-Mart
that was brought on by a staggering 1.5 million
female employees
Female workers of Wal-Mart have been told
they could not be promoted to management
because it was a "man's job" and "women should
be seen and not heard"
so the government does take action
Modern Feminist Movement
Today with technological advances and social
networks people are more interconnected than
ever
News about social issues and government can
be transferred faster
and in more detail with pictures and videos
One of the biggest modern feminist movements
today started in Toronto
In 2011 a police officer named Michael Sanguinetti
gave a personal talk
after a rape incident to a law school campus
saying
"Women should avoid dressing like sluts in
order not to be victimized."
People took this statement as him stating
that any person who is sexually dressed is
looking to be raped
Females thought this as unacceptable and spread
this news across the world
starting the Slut Walk Movement
Rape victims are often asked: "What were you
wearing? How late was it?
Why were you alone?" as if it is the victims
fault that she has been raped
Activists of the Slut Walk want to spread
awareness that it is not the victim's fault
but only the perpetrated can be blamed. Women
have the right to wear whatever they choose
to wear
without being raped and being blamed for it
This movement has made its way all across
the world and all around the nation. Women's
rights movements continue today.
The women of America have made a huge leap
from where they were to where they are now
Women today have a voice and will continue
to fight for their say in society and in the
government
Women's Rights
