Women's Rights Movement Timeline

An international convention addressed discriminatory nationality rules that could cause women to lose or change nationality through marriage, making women’s independent legal status an international concern.

The United Nations established the Commission on the Status of Women to promote women’s political, economic, civil, social, and educational equality worldwide.

The declaration affirmed that all people are entitled to rights without distinction based on sex. Its language supplied a major international foundation for later women’s rights treaties and campaigns.

Image source: Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The United Nations adopted the first international treaty specifically addressing women’s political rights, including voting, eligibility for election, and holding public office on equal terms with men.

Image source: Convention on the Political Rights of Women

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibited employment discrimination based on sex, race, color, religion, or national origin and created a federal enforcement structure through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Image source: Civil Rights Act of 1964

The United States Congress approved the Equal Rights Amendment, which stated that equality of rights could not be denied on account of sex. The amendment was sent to the states but did not secure ratification by the original deadline.

The United Nations adopted CEDAW, a comprehensive international treaty requiring states to eliminate discrimination against women in political, economic, social, cultural, civil, and family life.

Image source: Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women

The United States enacted the Violence Against Women Act, directing federal resources toward responses to domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking, while supporting shelters and victim services.

The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence entered into force, creating binding standards for prevention, protection, prosecution, and coordinated policy.

Image source: Istanbul Convention

Betty Friedan criticized the expectation that middle-class women should find fulfillment solely in domestic roles. The book helped stimulate organizing associated with the United States second-wave women’s movement.

Image source: The Feminine Mystique

The United States Equal Pay Act prohibited sex-based wage differences for substantially equal work under specified conditions, establishing an important federal standard against workplace discrimination.

The Abortion Act 1967 permitted abortions in Great Britain under specified conditions and represented a major change in reproductive healthcare law, though access remained regulated and unequal.

Image source: Abortion Act 1967

Title IX prohibited sex discrimination in education programs receiving federal financial assistance in the United States. It substantially expanded women’s and girls’ access to academic programs, athletics, and institutional opportunities.

The United States Supreme Court held that the Constitution protected a right to abortion under a constitutional privacy doctrine. The decision transformed reproductive-rights law and became a central focus of political conflict.

Image source: Roe v. Wade

The Cairo conference adopted a program emphasizing reproductive health, informed choice, women’s empowerment, and human rights rather than population control as the basis of population policy.

Mass demonstrations known as Black Monday opposed proposed near-total abortion restrictions in Poland. The protests helped defeat the proposed legislation and became a prominent example of contemporary reproductive-rights mobilization.

Argentina’s Congress approved legislation legalizing abortion during the first fourteen weeks of pregnancy. The victory followed years of organizing by the Green Wave movement and influenced reproductive-rights campaigns across Latin America.