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The Women’s Suffrage Movement

The women’s suffrage movement refers to the political movement that took place in the 1800s and 1900s across the world that fought to extend suffrage—or, the right to vote—to women. While the women’s suffrage movement began at different times in different parts of the world, the fight for equal voting rights in the United States really got under way in 1848.

In 1848, a number of activists for women’s suffrage, including such well-known women as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, began the fight for equal voting rights on America’s soil. As the movement surged forward, there were a number of small victories that led the way to a final national victory at the end of a seventy year long fight.

In 1869 and 1870, Wyoming and Utah were the first states in the US to extend to women the right to vote. In fact, Wyoming’s state motto, “Equal Rights,” is in reference to this historic decision. By the end of the nineteenth century, this right had been extended to women in Idaho and Colorado, as well.

After a hard-fought battle involving many arrests and set backs, women’s suffrage was extended nationally with the Nineteenth Amendment, passed during the presidency of Woodrow Wilson in 1920. The Nineteenth Amendment states, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”

While many important strides have been made in our nation’s history regarding the equal treatment of women, there are still a number of pervasive injustices that must be fought against to bring about true equality between men and women.

Speak with a Los Angeles Gender Discrimination Attorney

If you believe that you have been treated unfairly in the workplace because of your sex / gender, or if you have been paid less than your counterparts for equal work, contact Los Angeles gender discrimination attorney Perry Smith today at 888-356-2529 to discuss your situation with an experienced legal professional.