People who say we don’t need feminism must not remember all of the great things feminism has done.
1. The Right to Vote
It hasn’t even been 100 years since women were given the right to vote. All women in the United States did not have the right to vote until the 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920. Suffragettes like Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Alice Paul and Carrie Chapman Catt fought for decades so women would be able to vote. If these women didn’t work so hard, women today would not be able to vote.
2. Education
Women have not always had the same educational opportunities as men. Some women first began attending colleges in the mid 1800s, but it took years for women to break into male-dominated fields. Today, more women than men earn degrees and women study in an array of fields. Still, there are many countries where young girls are not able to go to school at all. We are very fortunate that we can receive proper educations.
3. Careers
The wage gap is still a major issue, but today, women have the opportunity to have any career they want. Women can be doctors, journalists, engineers and so much more. Without all of the women who broke into these fields, it would be so much harder for us to reach our goals today.
4. Healthcare/Family Planning
Healthcare has advanced so much within the past century. Birth control received a major upgrade with the introduction of birth control pills in the 1960s. Thanks to birth control pills, women have so much more control over their bodies. Even though the pills are not 100% effective, they still help women control when they have children, how many children have and if they have children at all. Places like Planned Parenthood provide women with birth control and a lot of other healthcare services. Margaret Sanger was arrested numerous times for her work towards women’s healthcare, but she never gave up and now we have Planned Parenthood and birth control pills.
5. Leadership Positions
Although the United States does not have a female president, that achievement doesn’t seem too far away because of how far Hillary Clinton made it in the last presidential election. The U.S. has never had a woman serve as a president, but 59 other countries have had female leaders at some point in recent history. Currently, the German Chancellor is Angela Merkel and the British Prime Minister is Theresa May. Sadly, only about 20% of the U.S. Congress is comprised of women. Hopefully this will change soon.