Feminism Movement

1848 - Present

Lecture Outline

• I. Beginning of the Century

• II. Seneca Conference

• III. Voting

• IV. 1940’s and 1950’s

• V. 1960’s and 1970’s

• VI. 1990’s

Key Terms:

• I. Suffrage

• II. Seneca Conference

• III. Welfare

• IV. Birth Control Pill

Beginning of the Century

•Women made up about 20 percent of all workers

•Women steadily increased their presence in the labor force

A parade for women’s suffrage in the early 1900’s

Seneca Conference

Women’s Conference

•Held in Seneca Falls, 1848

•Women were inspired by social movements

•Campaigned upon a range of issues

A woman reads her proposal to end women’s suffrage at the Seneca Falls

Convention

Voting•1861-1865: The American Civil War disrupts suffrage activity

•1866: American Equal Rights Association is formed with a goal of universal suffrage

•1928: Women gain the right to vote

Women campaigning for the right to vote at the Seneca

Conference

1940’s and 1950’s

•Women began being hired for jobs other than secretaries, nurses, and teachers

•90% of mothers with children as young as one year old were wage earners

•The women’s movement fought for a welfare system provided by the state

•Welfare: financial support by the government to promote the basic physical an material well-being of people in need

•Women partnered with trade unions and their wish was granted

An advertisement for women to apply for jobs to serve the troops

1960’s and 1970’s

•The beginning of radical change for women

•More women were in the work force than ever before

•The introduction of the birth control pill gave women more freedom in their sexuality and they had the choice to when and if they decide to become mothers

•There was a demand for abortions, free childcare provisions, and equal pay

•Women account for 5% of lawyers and judges, and 10% of physicians in 1970

Some pins from the Feminist Movement in the 1960’s – 1970’s

1990’s•Half of all workers were women

•Majority of working-age women held jobs outside of the home

Congress passed a Family Leave Bill in 1993

•Women accounted for 25% of lawyers and judges, and 22% of physicians

•Increase in employment of mothers was shocking

•Even so, women continued to receive lower wages A woman judge in the 1990’s

1990’s (cont.)•Some employers began offering maternity leave

•1996: Women launched a professional basketball league of their own

Women players in the WNBA (Women’s National Basketball League)

Bibliography

• Barber, E. Susan. "Votes for Women: Timeline." 301 Moved Permanently. Web. 20 Mar. 2012. <http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/naw/nawstime.html>.

• "Feminism and Women's Studies." : The Women's Movement. Web. 20 Mar. 2012. <http://feminism.eserver.org/theory/feminist/Womens-Movement.html>.

• Kennedy, David M., Lizabeth Cohen, and Thomas Andrew Bailey. The American Pageant. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2006. Print.