Women's Equality
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Rachel Yerke-Osgood is an associate curator at The Henry Ford.
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These artifacts provide a small look at the many forms women’s struggles for equal treatment — under the law, at work, and in their private lives — have taken over the years.
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"We Do as Much, We Eat as Much, We Want as Much - Sojourner Truth," Voting Rights Poster, 2020
Born into slavery before escaping to freedom in 1826, Sojourner Truth was a staunch abolitionist and supporter of women's equality. This poster features a quote from her 1867 address to the first annual meeting of the Equal Rights Association. Her remarks highlighted the continued disparity between men and women, and the ongoing need to fight for equal rights.
View Artifact"The Revolution," a Newspaper Edited by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Issue for March 10, 1870
The National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) distributed The Revolution, a weekly publication. Edited by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, a pioneer in the early fight for women's rights and NWSA president, The Revolution featured essays supporting NWSA's agenda — namely suffrage, or equal voting rights — and reported on truly revolutionary advances toward equality in the workplace, at home, and under the law.
View ArtifactPolitical Banner, New York State Woman Suffrage Party, 1910
This banner was carried in rallies and marches by members of the New York State Woman Suffrage Party. Reformers had been advocating giving women the vote since the 1840s. However, it was not until the passage of the 19th amendment in 1920 that women gained the vote.
View ArtifactParade for Women's Suffrage and Equal Education, New Haven, Connecticut, circa 1915
In the 1910s, many Americans joined the already decades-long fight for women's suffrage, or equal voting rights. To rally support, suffragists staged parades. These often-elaborate processions championed numerous individual causes. This float in New Haven, Connecticut, related "equal education for boys and girls" to "equal citizenship" in the future.
View Artifact"Popular Vote Has Defeated Woman Suffrage. Stand by the Women: Vote No," 1915
During the struggle for women's voting rights in the early 20th century, many men and some women strongly opposed the notion of women voting. These "anti-suffragists" argued that women were both physically and emotionally incapable of dealing with the strains of politics. This broadside supports the notion that women agreed with these assessments.
View ArtifactAmerican Flag, "Mr. President, What Will You Do For Women's Suffrage?" circa 1916
Alice Paul, a woman's suffrage leader during the early 20th century, liked using extremist tactics. Among these was aiming strong messages directly at the President. In the midst of World War I, President Wilson found this negative publicity both distracting and embarrassing. As a war measure he supported an amendment for women's voting rights. Women achieved the vote in 1920.
View ArtifactBirth Control Pill Dispenser, circa 1998
In 1960, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first oral contraceptive. The "Pill," as it was called, allowed women to gain control of their reproductive system, and in turn their lives. It made family planning more predictable and helped launch the sexual revolution of the 1960s.
View Artifact"Women for Women," National Organization for Women (NOW), New York Chapter, January-February 1974
The National Organization for Women (NOW) was founded in 1966, noting that the time had come for “fully equal partnership of the sexes, as part of the world-wide revolution of human rights now taking place.” NOW advocated for fair hiring and employment practices, and campaigned for the passage of the ERA. The organization also grew increasingly invested in intersectional feminism, championing the causes of women of color and the LGBTQ+ community.
View ArtifactPoster, "The Women's Liberation Movement," 1970
Women had finally won the right to vote by 1919. But they still lacked equal rights with men. For many women in 1970 this poster featuring the female symbol and raised fist conveyed their frustration with inequality.
View ArtifactButton, "Support the E.R.A.," circa 1973
In the 1970s, women's rights activists rallied in support of the proposed Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which would guarantee women equal rights with men as part of the United States Constitution. The ERA, first put forward in 1923, finally passed both houses of Congress in 1972 — but it was not ratified in enough state legislatures for approval.
View Artifact"The New Woman's Survival Catalog, A Woman-made Book," by Kirsten Grimstad and Susan Rennie, 1973
This book is a directory of grassroots resources for women in the 1970s: female-owned bookstores, collectives, women's health, birth control, pay equity, self-defense, crisis support, and single parenting. Resources like this one were created by women, for women, addressing the specific challenges they faced.
View ArtifactButton, "It's a Matter of Choice," 1969-1980
The Supreme Court’s decision in the 1973 case Roe v. Wade was a seismic moment in the country’s politics. The Court ruled that abortion was a protected right, overruling state abortion laws. For some, it was a victory that protected a woman’s right to choice in reproductive healthcare. For others, it was an affront to morality. The decision stood until 2022, when it was overturned in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
View ArtifactButton, "Equal Partnership in Marriage," 1974
In the 1970s, women's rights activists rallied against legal inequalities in the workplace, divorce and property rights, and many other areas. This button promoted equality in marriage law.
View ArtifactButton, "Child Care Centers Now," 1974
Childcare was also a major concern for women’s equality. Although childcare had typically been seen as women’s work, in the 1970s, more women pushed for other options — like childcare centers — so that they would be able to work outside the home.
Button, "Black Sisters Unite," 1974
The fight for equality was even more difficult for Black women, who had to deal with both sexism and racism. They were often sidelined and forced to form their own coalitions to fight for their own causes. In the 1970s, Black women and their allies began imagining a more inclusive form of feminism — one that acknowledged the additional challenges faced by women from marginalized communities.
Sexual Shakedown: The Sexual Harassment of Women on the Job, 1978
During the 1960s and 1970s, more women entered the workforce. For many, though, their arrival in previously male-dominated spaces was met with incidents of sexual harassment — a term first used in 1975 by Dr. Lin Farley to put a name to the problem. Women would continue to fight for not just positions, but respect and safety in the workplace.
"I Believe in Anita Hill" Button, 1991
During Clarence Thomas's 1991 confirmation hearings for his nomination to the Supreme Court, Anita Hill raised allegations that he had sexually harassed her while she worked for him. Over the course of the proceedings, Hill was accused of lying and her sanity was questioned. Hill's televised testimony sparked conversations — both public and private — about the nature of sexual harassment.
View ArtifactAdvertising Poster, "Lilith Fair," 1998
Singer Sarah McLachlan was frustrated by concert promoters and radio stations that had long refused to feature two female musicians in a row. McLachlan took action, organizing a concert tour and traveling music festival called Lilith Fair. Featuring only female artists and female-led bands — including well-known performers and emerging artists — the hugely successful Lilith Fair took place the summers of 1997 through 1999.
View Artifact"Pussyhat," Made for the Women's March on Washington, January 2017
In January 2017, millions of women--some donning pink knitted hats--gathered across America in a show of solidarity for women's rights and to protest the demeaning rhetoric made during the 2016 Presidential elections. (This hat's name refers to a derogatory comment made by Donald Trump in 2005.) This call to action brought a greater awareness of women's issues and an increased participation in electoral decision making in the following years.
View ArtifactSign, "Feminism Is Equality!," Used at the March in Washington, D.C., January 21, 2017
On January 21, 2017, over three million women of all ages and walks of life took to the streets in solidarity for what turned out to be the largest single-day demonstration in U.S. history. Originally organized to protest the inauguration of Donald Trump as president after what many considered to be offensive, misogynistic comments, the Women’s March turned into a worldwide protest touching on many interconnected human rights issues.
View Artifact"Portrait of an Indigenous Womxn [Removed]" by Anna Tsouhlarakis, 2023
Gender-based violence is a concern for all women, but especially those historically marginalized. Indigenous women currently face violence on an epidemic level. The National Crime Information Center reports that in 2016, there were 5,712 reports of missing American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls. As of 2018, the Centers for Disease Control lists murder as the third leading cause of death for American Indian and Alaska Native women.
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