Running head: Women’s Rights
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Outline of “Women’s Rights in the United States”
Kayleigh Ferguson
SJVC
ENG122
May 21, 2013
Running head: Women’s Rights
Women’s Rights in the United States
I.
Introduction
A. In 1848 a conference of approximately three hundred men and women met
to discuss and propose a plan on gaining equal rights between men and
women.
B. This conference that was held in Seneca Falls, New York was not the first
step in the history of women’s rights, but it is one of the more well known
in the long history.
C. Since the Women’s Rights Convention of 1848 was held the United States
has seen many laws that have increased women’s voting, workplace, and
reproductive rights.
II.
The main goals of the Seneca Falls Convention were to promote gender
equality and give women the right to vote.
A. In 1874, The United States Supreme Court denied women of the right to
vote stating that it was not unconstitutional to say that only men could
vote (Women’s Rights Timeline, 2010).
B. It was not until the Nineteenth Amendment added to the Constitution on
August 26, 1920, that women were allowed to vote (United States
Commission on Civil Rights, 1979).
C. After the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment the League of Women
Voters was created (Women’s Rights Timeline, 2010).
III.
While the right of women to vote was being fought for, so were women’s
rights in the workplace.
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Running head: Women’s Rights
A. In 1961, Eleanor Roosevelt headed the President’s Commission on the
Status of Women, which found that women who performed the same jobs
as men were paid less (Women, 2011).
B. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act passed in 1978 declared it unlawful to
discriminate against women based on their plans to have children
(Women’s Rights Timeline, 2010).
C. The Lilly Ledbetter Act furthers rights to equal pay by allowing
employees to sue their employers for equal pay (A Decent Standard of
Living, 2010).
IV.
As workplace and voting right have continued to grow, the reproductive rights
of women have faced the most controversy and turbulence.
A. Roe vs. Wade is probably one of the most well-known actions taken to
increase the reproductive rights of women. The Supreme Court Decision
made in 1973 gave women the right to choose to have an abortion
(Women’s Rights Timeline, 2010).
B. States, including Arizona, are currently working to put forth legislation
that work to ban or limit abortions. These attempts have so far been
rejected by courts (Center for Reproductive Rights, 2013).
C. Oral contraceptives though, first thought of as “invitations to sexual
promiscuity” became popular in the 1950s (Oral Contraceptives, 2004).
D. The Affordable Healthcare care Act that was pass in 2012 mandates that
businesses provide insurance coverage that includes birth control. This
mandate is currently being challenged by employers who claim that “their
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Running head: Women’s Rights
religious freedoms are being violated by the Obama administration’s
requirement, which stems from the health law, that they cover
contraception in their employee insurance plans” (Smith, K., &
Haberkorn, J., 2013).
V.
Conclusion
A. Over the past few centuries laws in the United States have given women
more rights when it comes to their voting, workplace and reproductive
choices.
B. With America often being considered a leader of the free world, it is
important that all necessary steps be taken to ensure that men and women
of all races are treated equally and the country’s laws continue to reflect
that.
C. It is essential to the growth of human rights as a whole that society
continues to grant and straighten the rights of women.
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Running head: Women’s Rights
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References
A Decent Standard of Living. (2010). In American Human Development Project: The
Measure of America 2010-2011: Mapping Risks and Resilience. Retrieved from
http://www.lirn.net/services/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.credoreference.co
m/entry/nyupmoa/a_decent_standard_of_living
Appeals Court Rejects Extreme and Dangerous Arizona Abortion Ban. (2013, May 21).
Retrieved from Center for Reproductive Rights website:
http://reproductiverights.org/en/press-room/appeals-court-rejects-extreme-anddangerous-arizona-abortion-ban
Oral Contraceptives. (2004). In New Harvard Guide to Women's Health, The.
Retrieved from
http://www.lirn.net/services/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.credoreference.co
m/entry/hupwh/oral_contraceptives
Smith, K., & Haberkorn, J. (2013, May 22). Courts to hear birth control mandate lawsuits
Retrieved from Politico website: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/05/
obamcare-contraception-courts-birth-control-mandate-lawsuits-91700.html
United States Commission on Civil Rights. (1979, March). Women's Rights in the United
States of America (Publication No. 57) (C. D. Votaw, Author). Clearinghouse.
Women. (2011). In the American Economy: A Historical Encyclopedia. Retrieved from
http://www.lirn.net/services/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.credoreference.co
m/entry/abcamerecon/women
Women’s Rights Timeline (2010). Retrieved from Women’s Rights Timeline website:
http://www.annenbergclassroom.org/Files/Documents/Timelines/WomensRightsti
meline.pdf