Women’s Rights: Hard-Fought and Earned

As Women’s History Month 2023 comes to an end, it is important to reflect on the progress made in securing women’s rights. However, we must also acknowledge the ongoing challenges and the need for continued efforts to defend and advance these hard-fought rights.

Looking back, it is striking to see just how recent some of these legal protections are. Before 1974’s Fair Credit Opportunity Act, banks could legally discriminate against women, denying them credit cards. Similarly, until 1973, women were excluded from serving on juries in many states, and it wasn’t until 1978 that the Pregnancy Discrimination Act made it illegal to discriminate against pregnant people in the workplace.

These laws were won through the efforts of countless women, often in the face of significant opposition. Take, for example, Kathrine Switzer, who in 1967 became the first woman to officially run the Boston Marathon, despite being physically attacked by race officials. It wasn’t until 1971 that the Amateur Athletics Union finally allowed women to compete in the marathon.

Even today, women continue to face challenges in securing their rights. In 2018, Utah and Idaho were the last states to pass laws protecting breastfeeding parents from obscenity charges. While sexual harassment is now recognized as a legal offense, it took until 1977 for a court to rule that employment discrimination based on sex, including sexual harassment, violated the Civil Rights Act.

Staff Reporter