More than 100 years have passed since American women gained the right to vote with the 19th Amendment in 1920. In 2022 we have achieved progress in economic, social, medical, and political realms but this is far from the whole picture.
Women are now 10 percent of all millionaires and have gained more national political representation than ever before yet inequality endures. Many women are still challenged by unequal incomes, poverty, domestic violence, sexual harassment, and abuse.
Women’s numerous advances are worth celebrating but how can they overcome the ongoing problems?
County Line Magazine interviewed Assistant Professor of History Mylynka Kilgore Cardona from Texas A&M University in Commerce. As a historian she offers a long-term view of social, economic, and political gains and setbacks affecting women since the 19th century. She also describes how women are faring today and what factors can lead towards equality.
“Millenial women [and] Gen Z women are way more involved in advocating for things for themselves. They’re building on things that women in the 20th century were fighting for,” Cardona says. “Since 1848 women have been rallying for their causes.”
The women’s movement grew from activism that began in the early 1800s when upper class women got involved in religious, temperance, and reform movements. Their expanded roles led them to seek changes in the jail system, education, and health care.
Involvement in the Temperance Movement of the 1820s and 1830s by women in the Northeast gradually led to campaigns for the abolition of slavery and women’s suffrage in other parts of the country.
The Seneca Falls Convention in New York in July of 1848 was the first major milestone that started the women’s suffrage movement and was attended by 300 people.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott led the convention which resulted in a joint statement known as the Declaration of Sentiments signed by 68 women and 32 men. This marked the beginning of decades of activism in the US that eventually led to the 19th Amendment.
Texas women began to rally for suffrage in earnest after the Civil War. As early as 1868 Titus H. Mundine proposed that all people gain the right to vote at the Texas State Constitutional Convention. In 1869 Martha Goodwin Tunstall spoke in Austin to supporters of women’s suffrage as a representative of the National Woman Suffrage Association.
Over the next few decades in the late 19th and early 20th centuries Texas women spoke for suffrage at public events, organized state conventions, and petitioned the state legislature.
Women finally gained the right to vote in the state’s primary elections on June 26, 1918. With just 17 days left before the first primary election, roughly 400,000 women registered.
After nationwide suffrage passed in 1920, national and world events delayed the equal rights movement another 50 years, although women and minorities made more progress in economic and social rights during World War II and the Civil Rights Movement.
The equal rights movement began when the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was first proposed to Congress in 1923 but another 50 years passed before Congress approved the amendment in 1972 and the process of state ratification started.
Though ERA failed to gain timely ratification from the states, Cardona says the feminist movement of the 1970s “thrust things forward” as women gained access to birth control and more economic opportunities. More women began working and helping to support their families.
“That wave of feminism really opened all the doors for women in the subsequent generations,” Cordona says. “We had a little bit of a backlash in the 80s and early 90s but we’re seeing with this generation now that [they] are really becoming more engaged and are really fighting for what we’ve been fighting for a long time.”
Century 21
Changes since the 20th century have significantly broadened opportunities. Women also have more male allies today who believe their rights are important.
Connectivity has helped women’s economic and political progress over the last 20 to 30 years the most. Just like most other social groups in the 21st century, women can connect and mobilize with each other through telecommunications, the internet, and social media. Cardona sees her students as more politically and socially active than her own generation due to connectivity.
“They can connect with each other in so many ways and can share information,” she says. “They have so much greater access to good information and support than I think most of us in the 20th century didn’t have.”
Despite greater connectivity for many, lack of accessibility still hinders many women of color. Rural and economically depressed areas that have less connectivity and transportation also have less access to education, voting, or even basic utilities. Asking for help is often through social media so women who don’t have access to the internet find it difficult to get help.
This is especially true regarding voting rights.
“People of color are marginalized and women of color are the most marginalized,” Cardona says. “Any time voting is restricted, it’s people on the margins that are hurt the most.”
You and Me Too
The Me Too Movement was an important moment in women’s rights. Men in powerful positions learned they couldn’t quell the avalanche of voices who spoke out against acts of sexual harassment and violence. The movement encouraged men and women to condemn transgressors who used their economic and physical power to take advantage of them.
They saw many well-connected women calling out dominant men like Harvey Weinstein and Jeffrey Epstein. The movement was empowering because it gave women more confidence they would be believed if they came forward with accusations of sexual harassment. People started believing that men in positions of power were using it to exploit women.
As women gained more confidence to come forward with their accusations, more men became enlightened about the extent of sexual assault.
“A lot of men don’t realize that almost every single woman they know has been sexually harassed or they’ve been touched, assaulted, or raped,” she says. “I think [the Me Too Movement has] been eye-opening for a lot of men because not all men are assailants, not all men are abusive.”
One encouraging aspect of the movement was gaining more men as allies including many who did not realize the extent that sexual abuse takes place.
Unfortunately the pandemic followed not long after with new challenges for women.
While the pandemic is allowing many workers more flexibility in their schedules to cope with personal and family illnesses, at the same time millions of mothers are shouldering more responsibilities in the home. In addition to cooking, cleaning, and helping with homework, women are surrogate teachers to their kids when they can’t attend school and bear the emotional labor of caring for their children and spouse.
Cardona says these responsibilities often become a “second shift” women perform at home with no breaks in addition to their full-time jobs. The result is that many women feel overworked and stressed out.
“Women are taking the brunt of a lot of the unseen labor,” she says. “It has been harder for them to juggle all of these things continuously, even if there is another partner in the home.”
Involvement & Advocacy
Yet there is hope. Involvement in government and community programs is key to creating long-term change.
“What women can do is to get involved and stay involved,” Cardona says, by voting, running for office, or volunteering at local organizations. “For the first time in a long time our national government is reflecting what our nation looks like, and that can very much work for the benefit of everyone.”
While the U.S. Congress is becoming more diverse, representation in the state government does not reflect that diversity and is still dominated by Caucasian males.
Political organizations such as the League of Women Voters (LWV) or the National Organization for Women (NOW) exist to help women gain equality and equal pay and grow their representation.
LWV has more than 20 chapters across the state, including those in Smith, Harrison, Collin, and Dallas counties. NOW is a nationwide organization that advocates for key issues affecting women and also encourages involvement on the local level.
Cardona says it’s important for women born into privilege “to stay engaged, stay active, and to do what we can to help uplift other women [and] advocate for those people who are losing their rights at every turn,” she says. “It’s about knowing what your privileges are and using them to your best advantage.”
Volunteering at the local level helps create opportunities for other women and can offer insight for change. Organizations such as Girls, Inc. and Girl Scouts support young women’s interests while local food banks and shelters for battered women help women and families in need.
“Organizations that support other women are a great place to start,” Cardona says. “Getting involved in the community will make you more aware of what’s going on.”
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