March is Women’s History Month! We’ve got to admit—women are pretty awesome. In case you needed any proof of that, here’s a timeline of some major milestones women have accomplished that we can all be proud of!
1851: Sojourner Truth gave her “Ain’t I a Woman” speech in Akron, Ohio at a women’s rights convention. She was a former slave and spent forty years of her life spreading the message of equality for everyone.
1869: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony organized the National Women Suffrage Association to work for women’s right, specifically the right to vote.
1920: Women win the right to vote after 72 years of struggle. The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution secured this right.
1968: Shirley Chisholm is the first African American elected to Congress. She became the first African American to run for President in the Democratic Primaries four years later.
1972: Both the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and the federal law Title IX are passed. The ERA calls for equal rights for both men and women, but a constitutional amendment requires the approval of both state and Congress approval. This resulted in the measure failing when too few states approved it. Title IX ensured equal funding for both men and women sports programs in schools. This led to many more opportunities for women in sports and even opened up the doors for more females to compete in the Olympic Games.
1981: Sandra Day O’Connor was the first women appointed to the Supreme Court.
1983: Sally Ride becomes the first female astronaut in America.
2005: Hillary Clinton becomes the first First Lady to be elected into public office, as a Senator in Congress.
2009: Barack Obama nominates Sonia Sotomayor as the 111th U.S. Supreme Court Justice. She was the first Hispanic American to hold this position. Hillary Clinton also became Barack Obama’s Secretary of State in this year.
2012: Taylor Swift becomes the first artist in musical history to have two opening weeks with more than 1 million albums sales with her albums, Red and Speak Now.
2013: The Equal Pay Act celebrates 50 years. JFK signed this act into law in 1963 and it has been key in reducing the wage gap in America, especially since the late 1970’s.
2014: Mo’Ne Davis becomes the first girl in Little League World Series history to pitch a winning game. She also became the first girl to pitch a shutout in Little League postseason history.
Here’s to many more milestones in the future!