FREE ESSAY ON WOMENS RIGHTS

WOMENS RIGHTS

Women's Rights, rights that establish the same social, economic, and political status for
women as for men. Women's rights guarantee that women will not face discrimination on the
basis of their sex. Until the second half of the 20th century, women in most societies
were denied some of the legal and political rights accorded to men. Although women in
much of the world have gained significant legal rights, many people believe that women
still do not have complete political, economic, and social equality with men. 
Throughout much of the history of Western civilization, deep-seated cultural beliefs
allowed women only limited roles in society. Many people believed that women's natural
roles were as mothers and wives. These people considered women to be better suited for
childbearing and homemaking rather than for involvement in the public life of business or
politics. Widespread belief that women were intellectually inferior to men led most
societies to limit women's education to learning domestic skills. Well-educated,
upper-class men controlled most positions of employment and power in society. 
U.S. Legislation for Women's Rights 
In the 19th century, state and federal laws that discriminated against women posed some
of the most significant obstacles to securing women's rights. The earliest campaigns to
improve women's legal status in the United States centered on gaining property rights for
women. Women also led legislative efforts in the 19th and 20th centuries to ensure their
voting, employment, and reproductive rights.
Property Rights 
Beginning in the 1830s, states passed laws and statutes that gradually gave married women
greater control over property. New York state passed the Married Women's Property Act in
1848, allowing women to acquire and retain assets independently of their husbands. This
was the first law that clearly established the idea that a married woman had an
independent legal identity. The New York law inspired nearly all other states to
eventually pass similar legislation. 
he Right to Vote 
American women did not gain the right to vote until 1920, after amendments were made to
the Constitution of the United States. The passage of the 14th Amendment in 1866 and the
15th Amendment in 1870 helped to focus the women's rights movement on suffrage. The 14th
Amendment provided that all citizens were guaranteed equal protection under the law and
that no citizen could be denied due process of law. The 15th Amendment stated that
citizens could not be denied the right to vote on the basis of race, color, or previous
status as a slave. Activists like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony argued that
the 14th Amendment conferred on women constitutional equality and the rights of full
citizenship. They also insisted that the 15th Amendment be expanded to guarantee suffrage
to women. In 1920 the 19th Amendment granted women this right 
Equal Pay Act 
The 1963 report by the Commission on the Status of Women led directly to the passage of
the Equal Pay Act that same year. The Equal Pay Act made it illegal to pay different
wages to men and women who performed the same work. However, the new law had little
effect on narrowing the wage gap between the sexes. Most female workers remained in jobs
traditionally held by women, offering low wages and little prospect for advancement. In
1963 the average female worker's wages in the United States were equivalent to 58.9
percent of the average male worker's earnings. By 1995 women's earnings had increased
significantly, but they were still only 71.4 percent of the amount that men earned.