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Women in the United States have made significant progress toward equality, but experts say there is still more to achieve.”Women have made major strides, but there’s so much more that could be done,” said Pamela Nadell, a professor of history at American University. The fight for women’s rights in the U.S. gained momentum in 1848 at the Seneca Falls Convention, the first women’s rights convention in the country, where the Declaration of Sentiments was signed. It echoes part of the Declaration of Independence, stating “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men and women are created equal.” “One of the major claims of the Declaration of Sentiments was that women did not have the right to vote. Women do not get the right to vote in the entire United States until 1920,” Nadell said. This milestone came with the addition of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution. “The 19th Amendment was a huge turning point. It gave women across America the right to vote,” Nadell said. Emily Martin, chief program officer at the National Women’s Law Center, emphasized the impact of this achievement. “Today, women are the majority of voters. The fact that women gained the right to vote shifted the things that politicians talked about and focused on,” Martin said. As women made waves, the political conversation expanded to include fair compensation and reproductive rights. In 1963, President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act, prohibiting wage discrimination based on sex. While the wage gap has narrowed since then, disparities persist. According to the Economic Policy Institute, women were paid nearly 19% less on average than men on an hourly basis in 2025. In 1973, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade established a constitutional right to abortion in the U.S. That right lasted for nearly 50 years until the Supreme Court overturned the case in 2022, proving nothing is guaranteed. “I think people shouldn’t take for granted that fights we’ve won in the past will stay won,” Martin said. “Continuing to demand progress is a critical part of not just continuing to move forward, but ensuring that we don’t lose the hard-fought rights that we have won,” she added.Keep watching for the latest from the Washington News Bureau:
Women in the United States have made significant progress toward equality, but experts say there is still more to achieve.
“Women have made major strides, but there’s so much more that could be done,” said Pamela Nadell, a professor of history at American University.
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The fight for women’s rights in the U.S. gained momentum in 1848 at the Seneca Falls Convention, the first women’s rights convention in the country, where the Declaration of Sentiments was signed. It echoes part of the Declaration of Independence, stating “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men and women are created equal.”
“One of the major claims of the Declaration of Sentiments was that women did not have the right to vote. Women do not get the right to vote in the entire United States until 1920,” Nadell said.
This milestone came with the addition of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution.
“The 19th Amendment was a huge turning point. It gave women across America the right to vote,” Nadell said.
Emily Martin, chief program officer at the National Women’s Law Center, emphasized the impact of this achievement.
“Today, women are the majority of voters. The fact that women gained the right to vote shifted the things that politicians talked about and focused on,” Martin said.
As women made waves, the political conversation expanded to include fair compensation and reproductive rights.
In 1963, President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act, prohibiting wage discrimination based on sex. While the wage gap has narrowed since then, disparities persist. According to the Economic Policy Institute, women were paid nearly 19% less on average than men on an hourly basis in 2025.
In 1973, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade established a constitutional right to abortion in the U.S. That right lasted for nearly 50 years until the Supreme Court overturned the case in 2022, proving nothing is guaranteed.
“I think people shouldn’t take for granted that fights we’ve won in the past will stay won,” Martin said. “Continuing to demand progress is a critical part of not just continuing to move forward, but ensuring that we don’t lose the hard-fought rights that we have won,” she added.
Keep watching for the latest from the Washington News Bureau:
