Imagine waking up one morning and no matter how smart, hardworking or ambitious you are, the world has already decided your place in society. 

Your job isn’t to get an education or pursue a career; it is to cook, clean and care for your family. You can’t vote, own property or even wear the clothes you want to.

For most of history, that was the reality for women. Their futures were mapped out before they were even born. Those who stepped outside those lines were ridiculed or even punished.

But women refused to accept a life where they were constantly overlooked. They demanded change. 

They fought for their rights and hoped for a better future. From pushing for equal pay, the right to vote and reproductive rights, the fight for women has never stopped.

So how did we get here? And how much further do we have to go?

Before focusing on the battles we’re still fighting today, let’s recognize the victories that got us this far.

For years, women were discriminated against and confined to the roles society assigned them. These expectations weren’t just societal norms; they were enforced by laws and cultural traditions. 

But women persevered. They formed organizations, led protests and made sure their voices were heard.  

Starting in 1848, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott organized the first women’s rights convention in New York. According to the National Archives, the convention “Called for broader educational and professional opportunities for women and the right of married women to control their wages and property.” 

From that point on, women’s suffrage became a central issue in the fight for equality. 

Decades later, in 1920, the 19th Amendment was ratified, giving women the right to vote in the United States. The National Constitution stated, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied by the United States on account of sex.”

This was a monumental victory but there were still steps to take.

As women explored more jobs in great numbers, they discovered many challenges stopping them from succeeding, especially in the workplace where they were getting paid significantly less for the same work as their male counterparts.

The Equal Pay Act (EPA) aimed to change that. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, “The EPA prohibits sex-based wage discrimination between men and women in the same establishment.” It was a step forward, but even today women have to battle wage gaps and workplace discrimination. 

Women have been taking their natural rights back piece by piece. But the journey is far from over.

In 1973, the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision protected the women’s right to choose abortion. This ruling became a symbol of reproductive freedom as it gave women greater control over their bodies and reproductive choices.  

However, the right was stripped away in June 2022, when the Supreme Court overturned the ruling, once again forcing women to fight for control over their bodies. This decision left abortion rights up to individual states and with it successfully undoing decades of progress.

While laws have changed, the mindset of society has not. Women who take on leadership roles in politics, business and education still face bias, discrimination and lack of representation. In male-dominated fields, women have to work twice as hard to prove themselves. 

Take the recent election, for example. Vice President Kamala Harris faced a multitude of sexist attacks simply because of her high-ranking position, with men such as the Republican congressmen calling her a “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion hire.”

This statement implied that she was not sufficiently qualified and only picked to fulfill a diversity, equity and inclusion quotient.

According to the Pew Research Center, 54% of Americans say there are more men in leadership than women because women have to do more to prove themselves than men.

And they would be correct. Women have to fight ten times harder than their peers to be taken seriously, earn the same respect and secure leadership positions. 

History proves this true. 

Women’s qualifications are repeatedly questioned, their authority is challenged and success is attributed to luck rather than the skill they possess. Women’s rights are still being challenged–even those that were thought to have been secured. 

Women are still underpaid, underrepresented and underestimated. The fight didn’t just end with the suffragettes, it’s time for change not just within laws but in the way society thinks.