May 31, 2020 3 min read

In 1848, women organized in Seneca Falls to lobby for an extension of democracy, sparking the women’s suffrage movement and declaring that “it is the right of those who suffer … to insist upon the institution of a new government.” While activists were united in this overarching goal, they quickly became divided over other factors that had an immeasurable impact on their campaigns and outcomes. Leaders disagreed on the topic of race, questioning if efforts should be focused on protecting African Americans or championing solely women’s rights. Establishments also became divided over campaign strategy; some wished to carefully calculate civil steps towards suffrage, while others were impatient and willing to provoke by picketing and vocalizing their mission without restraint. Historians now understand that these opposing goals and rivaling institutions were not damaging to the suffrage cause, but were crucial in exerting enough popular and political pressure to succeed. These different approaches, combined with women’s paramount role in the homefront of World War I, ultimately led to the triumph of the suffragists. After decades of advocating, the Nineteenth Amendment became law on August 26, 1920, stating that “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied … on account of sex.”

The 19th Amendment thus gave women a voice to inspire reform for years to come. As women gained full citizenship, they began to assert their right to have societal and political value outside of marriage and motherhood, seeking careers, higher education, and independent economic security. Later reforms such as The Equal Pay Act of 1963 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited sex-based wage and employment discrimination, protecting women in the workplace. Since then, women have risen to success in countless occupations, set precedents, and blazed trails for other women to follow.

However, the fight for equality was not perfect and is still ongoing. After 1920, suffragists failed to protect African American women, leaving their right to vote largely unprotected until the Voting Rights Act was enacted in 1965. Today, while all women have a guaranteed right to vote, many still face a wage gap causing them to earn, on average, seventy-seven cents for every dollar earned by men. Under representation of women continues in government and professional occupations, widening this gap. And, the Equal Rights Amendment proposed in 1972 has yet to be ratified, allowing, and even promoting, inequality.

In analyzing the fight for women’s suffrage, it is clear that the leaders of the past have had the perseverance, strength, and courage to institute groundbreaking reform. Their fire lives on in the rights that women use to change the world today and in their stories that provide inspiration for the leaders of tomorrow. However, there is still change that needs to be instituted in order to establish, promote, and protect gender equality in the United States. It is my hope that by the bicentennial of the 19th Amendment, women need not advocate for reform that has yet to be achieved, but instead celebrate genuine equality.

Emma Malinak is a junior at Trinity High School.