Things That American Women Could Not Do Before the 1970s

Ms. was launched as a sample inset in New York Magazine in 1971.

Until the Equal Credit Opportunity Act in 1974, women were not able to apply for credit. In 1975, the first women’s bank was opened.

The Roe v. Wade case in 1973 protected a woman’s right to abortion until viability.

In 1980 President Carter declared one week in March to be National Women’s History Week, including International Women’s Day on March 8th.

Before the No Fault Divorce law in 1969, spouses had to show the faults of the other party, such as adultery, and could easily be overturned by recrimination.

It wasn’t until the 2012 London Olympics that women could compete in boxing in the Olympics. This was marked with the amazing victory by Britain’s Nicola Adams.

The mid 70s saw most states recognize marital rape and in 1993 it became criminalized in all 50 states. Nevertheless, marital rape is still often treated differently to other forms of rape in some states even today.

Women could not don their running shoes until 1972!

The first time that a court recognized sexual harassment in the workplace was in 1977 and it wasn’t until 1980 that sexual harassment was officially defined by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Until the Pregnancy Discrimination Act in 1978, women could be fired from their workplace for being pregnant.