| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1848 | The Seneca Falls Convention, the first women's rights convention organized by women is held in New York. The convention has 300 attendees, including organizers Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott. |
| 1849 | Elizabeth Blackwell becomes the first woman to graduate from medical school and become a doctor in the United States. She graduated from Geneva College in New York with the highest grades in her class. |
| 1851 | Sojourner Truth, a former slave turned abolitionist and women's rights activist, delivers her famous "Ain't I a Woman?" speech at the Women's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio. |
| 1869 | The legislature of the territory of Wyoming passes America's first woman suffrage law, granting women the right to vote and hold office |
| 1869 | Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton founded the National Woman Suffrage Association, which coordinated the national suffrage movement. |
| 1917 | Jeannette Rankin, of Montana, an activist with the National Woman Suffrage Association, is sworn in as the first woman elected to Congress as a member of the House of Representatives. |
| 1920 | The 19th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution is ratified, declaring "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." |
|
1963 |
The Equal Pay Act is passed by Congress, promising equitable wages for the same work, regardless of the race, color, religion, national origin or sex of the worker. |
| 1964 | Title VII of the Civil Rights Act passes including a prohibition against employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex. |
| 1973 | Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 and Doe v. Bolton, 410 U.S. 179: The U.S. Supreme Court declares that the Constitution protects women’s right to terminate an early pregnancy, thus making abortion legal in the U.S. |
| 1981 | Sandra Day O'Connor is sworn in by President Ronald Reagan as the first woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. |
| 1983 | Sally Ride became the first American woman in space when she flew on the Space Shuttle Challenger. |
| 1984 | Democratic presidential nominee Walter Mondale names U.S. Rep. Geraldine Ferraro of NY as his running mate, making her the first woman vice president nominee by a major party. |
| 1993 | Janet Reno is nominated by President Bill Clinton and sworn in as the first female attorney general of the United States. |
| 1994 | Clinton signs the Violence Against Women Act as part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, providing funding for programs that help victims of domestic violence, rape, sexual assault, stalking, and other gender-related violence. |
| 1997 | Madeleine Albright is nominated by President Bill Clinton and sworn in as the nation's first female secretary of state. |
| 2007 | U.S. Rep Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) becomes the first female speaker of the House. |
| 2016 | Hillary Clinton becomes the first woman to receive a presidential nomination from a major political party. |
| 2020 | Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was appointed by President Biden becoming the first African-American woman and the sixth woman appointed to the Supreme Court |
| 2021 | Kamala Harris is sworn in as the first woman and first woman of color vice president of the United States. |
| 2022 | Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, 597 U.S. (2022). The Supreme Court overrules both Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, determining that the Constitution of the United States does not confer any right to abortion. This returns abortion regulation to the states. |
| 2023 | A record number of women are elected to Congress with 128 elected in the House and 25 elected in the Senate |