The Advancement of Women over the Last 100 Years

The role of women in cultures around the world has always been extremely important, but this role was put in an inferior place for thousands and thousands of years. It doesn't matter which ancient culture you take a look at, you will find that women were thought of as inferior to men in almost every single way. However, their role has remained extremely important, and this is what eventually resulted in the gender equality we have today in all civilized countries. Women’s Suffrage in the Late 19th and Early 20th Century As Samuel Johnson said, “Nature has given women so much power that the law has very wisely given them little.” Luckily, this all changed in the late 19th and the early 20th century. Women’s suffrage is women’s right to vote and run for office, which was denied to women until the last quarter of the 19th century, when women were given a right to vote, although a limited right to vote, in Sweden, Finland, Britain, and the western states in the USA. The International Council of Women and the International Woman Suffrage Alliance were two organizations that helped women get voting rights in the first place. Later on, the first country to give women full voting rights was New Zealand in 1893. Finland, parts of Russian Empire, and Norway were the first European countries to give their women voting right before the Great War, in 1913. By the end of the World War I most western countries gave women full voting rights, except France and Switzerland, which did this in 1944 and 1971 respectively. Women and Working in the 20th Century Until the 20th century, women never really worked, which means that men were the ones who had actual jobs, while women did everything else. However, this all changed with the beginning of the 20th century, when Los Angeles gave us the first women police officer in 1910. Six years later, the same thing happened in Great Britain. The Sex Disqualification Removal Act was passed in Great Britain in 1919, which gave women the right to become lawyers, civil servants, and veterinarians. Realistically, the advancement of women in the workplace was unnoticed until the mid of the 20th century, when most married women had a job, at least a part-time job. This is best seen during the eighth decade of the 20th century, as this is when a new law was introduced, saying that women are to be paid the same salaries as men for doing the same jobs. Gender Equality Today By the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, women have finally gained equal rights to men. There are many female executives and other high-authority figures in modern business, there are many women in parliaments all over the world, there are female presidents and prime ministers. Women have been through a lot over of the years. But they never gave up, never backed down and kept moving forward. Their tireless spirit and never-say-die attitude should be used as a motivational tool for young women growing up today.