In 1995, thousands of women gathered in Beijing to push the world beyond a basic question. The question was no longer whether women deserved equal…
Category: Gender Equality
1994 — The Violence Against Women Act Expands Support for Survivors
For generations, survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault often reached out for help only to find that the institutions meant to protect them did…
1986 — Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson Recognizes Sexual Harassment as Sex Discrimination
For many women, keeping a job once meant managing not only the work, but the sexual demands of men who controlled their schedules, promotions, and…
1979 — CEDAW Creates a Global Framework for Women’s Rights
Across the world, discrimination against women was built into law, family authority, education, property ownership, citizenship, healthcare, work, and political power. Governments often defended those…
1975 Iceland Women’s Day Off
On October 24, 1975, nearly 90 percent of Iceland’s women did something extraordinary. They stopped. Women across the country refused to go to paid jobs,…
1974 — The Equal Credit Opportunity Act Expands Women’s Financial Freedom
A woman could earn a paycheck, manage the household bills, and help support her family—yet still be told she needed her husband’s signature to receive…
1973 — Roe v. Wade Protects Abortion Rights
Before Roe v. Wade, state law could force a woman to continue a pregnancy regardless of what it meant for her health, safety, family, education,…
1972 — Title IX Bans Sex Discrimination in Education
Before Title IX, many girls learned early that schools could dream bigger for boys than they did for them. Boys often received better teams, better…
1971 — Reed v. Reed Challenges Legal Preference for Men
Sally Reed was not asking for special treatment. She was a grieving mother asking to administer her son’s estate. But Idaho law said that if…
1965 — Griswold v. Connecticut Protects Married Couples’ Access to Contraception
Before Griswold v. Connecticut, the state of Connecticut claimed the power to police even a married couple’s private decision to use birth control. That may…