Landmarks For Women

Continued from Friday.

1941

A massive government and industry campaign persuades women to take jobs during World War II. Almost 7 million women respond.

1945

Large numbers of women industrial workers begin to lose their jobs to returning servicemen, although surveys show that 80

1956

percent want to continue working.

1960

The US Food and Drug Administration approves the birth-control pill, expanding women's options in controlling

reproduction.

1961

President Kennedy creates the President's Commission on the Status of Women, chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt.

1963

The Equal Pay Act requires equal pay for men and women performing the same jobs.

1964

Betty Friedan's 'The Feminine Mystique' is published, laying the groundwork for the modern feminist movement.

1965

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act bars employment discrimination by private employers, agencies, and unions on the basis of sex, and establishes the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to enforce penalties.

1966

President Johnson requires federal agencies to take 'affirmative action' in overcoming employment discrimination.

1967

California becomes first state to legalize abortion.

1968

Shirley Chisholm of New York becomes first black woman elected to Congress.

1969

California adopts the nation's first 'no-fault' divorce law.

1972

Congress passes Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination by federally funded institutions. It is enacted in 1976 and women's participation in athletics and professional schools jumps dramatically.