1960
"The Pill"
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first commercially produced birth control pill.
This was the first step the United States had taken in allowing women to have sexual freedom and the simultaneous choice as to whether or not they wanted to have children.
1963
The Equal Pay Act
The EPA prohibits sex-based wage discrimination between men and women with the same skills performing the same job in the same workplace.
Though the EPA was signed into law nearly 60 years ago, American women still experience significantly lower pay than their male counterparts. This especially applies to disabled women and women of color.
1964
The Civil Rights Act
The Civil Rights Act legally protected citizens after centuries of suppression.
In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act which banned employment discrimination based on race, religion, national origin or sex. Though, the fight against discrimination was far from over.
1964
The National Organization for Women
NOW was created to use grass roots activism to promote “feminist ideals, lead societal change, eliminate discrimination, and achieve and protect the equal rights of all women and girls in all aspects of social, political, and economic life” (NOW Online).
Betty Friedan co-founded the National Organization for Women (NOW) in 1966, serving as its first president.
1972
Title IX of the Education Amendments
“No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."
The Title IX of the Education Amendments were signed In 1972 by President Richard Nixon.
1973
Roe v. Wade
Women won a secondary battle for their reproductive rights in January of 1973.
The Supreme Court declared that the Constitution protects women’s legal right to an abortion in Roe v. Wade. (Why Roe v. Wade will not be overruled, Dutra). This has not only prevented the often fatal illegal abortions being performed, but also gave women the opportunity to have full control of their own anatomy.
1973
Battle of the Sexes
Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs in a tennis match watched by 90 million viewers known as “Battle of the Sexes.”
“I thought it would set us back 50 years if I didn’t win that match,” King said after the match. “It would ruin the women’s [tennis] tour and affect all women’s self-esteem.” And unfortunately, she was probably right.
Learn more in the next section:
Organizations© 2020 JoJo Dupuy
