The legal status of women in the United States has advanced significantly over the past two centuries, but not yet equal to that of men in comparison to other high-income democracies.
In the early history of the U.S., women were largely confined to domestic roles. Labor shortages during World War II led to an influx of women in the workforce, which helped to build toward the women's liberation movement of the 1960s and '70s. Since then, women have gained greater visibility in public life, but significant legal and cultural gaps remain.
The earliest women living in what is now the United States were Native Americans. European women arrived in the 17th century and brought with them European culture and values. During the 19th century, women were primarily restricted to domestic roles in keeping with Protestant values. The campaign for women's suffrage in the United States culminated with the adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920. During World War II, many women filled roles vacated by men fighting overseas. Beginning in the 1960s, the second-wave feminist movement changed cultural perceptions of women, although it was unsuccessful in passing the Equal Rights Amendment. In the 21st century, women have achieved greater representation in prominent roles in American life.
The study of women's history has been a major scholarly and popular field, with many scholarly books and articles, museum exhibits, and courses in schools and universities. The roles of women were long ignored in textbooks and popular histories. By the 1960s, women were being presented more often. An early feminist approach underscored their victimization and inferior status at the hands of men. In the 21st century, writers have emphasized the distinctive strengths displayed inside the community of women, with special concern for minorities among women.
Laws
Female law enforcement officers in the United States of America.
Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
The United States has never ratified the U.N.'s Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, although it played an important role in drafting the treaty.[5][6] As of 2014, the United States is thus one of only seven nations which have not ratified it – also including Iran, Palau, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Tonga.[7]
Equal Rights Amendment
38 states as of January 2020 have ratified the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). [8] Three-fourths or 38 out of 50 states are required to ratify a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Several states originally ratified the ERA, but subsequently rescinded the ratification. Recessions in other amendments have been ignored by the courts.[9] The status of the ERA is currently unclear.[10]
Legal and Financial Autonomy
Until the passage of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act in 1974, women in the United States were often unable to open a credit card, secure a loan, or even open a bank account without the signature of a husband or male relative.[11] Married women also faced restrictions on property ownership in some states until the late 20th century. Divorce laws historically favored men, leaving women with limited legal recourse and often without financial independence. Although many of these barriers have been lifted, structural inequalities continue to affect women’s ability to access credit, build wealth, and secure economic autonomy.
Voting Rights
The Nineteenth Amendment (1920) granted women the right to vote nationwide, but this right was not equally accessible to all women. Many Black women, particularly in the South, were disenfranchised through poll taxes, literacy tests, and intimidation until the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.[12]Native American women were not granted U.S. citizenship and suffrage until the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, and state-level restrictions often continued to deny them access to the ballot for decades.[13] Asian American women also faced barriers until discriminatory naturalization laws were repealed in the mid-20th century.
These historical exclusions illustrate that the formal recognition of women’s suffrage in 1920 did not result in universal voting rights for all women in practice.
Child Marriage
Child marriage remains legal in most U.S. states, despite international recognition of the practice as a violation of human rights.[14][15] As defined by UNICEF, child marriage includes couples who are formally married or who live together as a sexually active couple in an informal union when at least one partner — usually the girl — is under the age of 18.
While federal law sets 18 as the general minimum age of marriage, state laws override this with parental or judicial consent provisions. As of 2023, over 40 U.S. states still allow minors to marry, and several have no absolute minimum age when exceptions are granted.[16] This disproportionately affects girls, often leading to adverse outcomes in education, health, and personal autonomy.
Parental Leave
The United States is the only high income country not to provide required paid parental leave.[17]
Birth control is legal nationwide as of 1965.[18][19]Abortion was legalized nationwide in 1973 following the Roe v. Wade decision, with states permitted to impose certain regulations short of prohibition after the first trimester.[20][21] On June 25, 2022, the Supreme Court overturned Roe in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, removing federal protection for abortion rights and returning authority to individual states.[22] This decision has created a patchwork of laws across the country, with some states enacting near-total bans and others maintaining broader access.[23] Compared to other high-income democracies, the United States now has among the widest disparities in abortion access, depending on geography. Medication abortion—primarily using the drug mifepristone—accounts for the majority of abortions in the U.S., and its legal status has been the subject of ongoing court challenges.[24] Ongoing legal disputes, as well as efforts to restrict or protect abortion at both the state and federal levels, continue to shape reproductive rights in the country.[25]
Healthcare Inequities
The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate among developed nations, with Black women experiencing pregnancy-related deaths at nearly three times the rate of white women.[26]
Access to reproductive healthcare in the U.S. is geographically inconsistent and highly politicized. States vary widely in the availability of abortion, contraception, and maternal healthcare, creating some of the starkest disparities in women’s health outcomes among high-income democracies.[27]
Workplace Inequality and Pay Gap
Despite the passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963, women in the United States continue to earn less than men on average. In 2022, women earned approximately 82 cents for every dollar earned by men, with the gap significantly wider for Black women and Latina women.[28]
In addition, the United States lacks federally mandated paid maternity leave, making it an outlier among industrialized democracies.[29] The absence of national standards for paid family leave and affordable childcare further contributes to women’s economic inequality.
Violence and Legal Protection
Women in the United States face persistent gaps in legal protection against domestic violence, sexual assault, and workplace harassment. The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), first passed in 1994 and reauthorized several times since, provides federal funding and programs to support survivors.[30] However, enforcement varies by state, and some provisions have been struck down by the Supreme Court of the United States, limiting federal authority to prosecute perpetrators.
The United States also lacks uniform protections for victims of marital rape and stalking, with laws differing widely between states. These gaps mean that women’s access to justice and safety often depends heavily on where they live.
In 2007, Nancy Pelosi was elected the 52nd Speaker of the House of Representatives. Pelosi is the only woman in U.S. history to serve as Speaker. In 2019 she was again elected Speaker for the 2nd time (55th) and the first former Speaker to return to the position since 1955. As Speaker, Pelosi was the second highest ranking female elected official and second in the presidential line of succession.
As of 2021, there are 119 women of 435 total in the U.S. House of Representatives, 88 Democrats, 31 Republicans.[2]
As of 2021, there are 9 women state governors, 6 Democrats, 3 Republicans; there are 17 Lt. Governors, 10 Democrats, 7 Republicans. Women hold 31.0% of the seats on state legislatures. Of the 100 largest cities in the United States, 31 have a woman as mayor.[2]
Twenty-one state supreme courts (the highest state court) are currently or have been majority female.[7][32]
Desire to leave the United States
According to a Gallup poll from January 2019, 40 percent of women under the age of 30 would like to leave the United States, as compared with 20 percent of men in the same age group. By about 50 years of age, however, this gender gap disappears.[33]
As of 2014, women in the United States earn more post-secondary (college and graduate school) degrees than men do.[35]
Marriage
As of 2013, the most recent year for which statistics are available, average age at first marriage in the United States is 27 for women and 29 for men.[36]
Workforce
As of 2014, women are 46.5% of the total United States workforce.[37]
Sex discrimination has been outlawed in non-ministerial employment in the United States since 1964 nationwide; however, under a judicially created doctrine called the "ministerial exemption," religious organizations are immune from sex discrimination suits brought by "ministerial employees," a category that includes such religious roles as priests, imams or kosher supervisors.[38][39]
A woman's median salary in the United States has increased over time, although as of 2014 it is only 77% of man's median salary, a phenomenon often referred to as the Gender Pay Gap. (A woman's average salary is reported as 84% of a man's average salary.)[40][41] Whether this is due to discrimination is very hotly disputed, while economists and sociologists have provided evidence both supporting[42][43][44] and debunking[45][46] this assertion.
The percentage of women by occupational group in USA for 2022 is shown in table below.
Educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors
76.0
Electrical and electronics engineers
8.2
Electrical, electronics, and electromechanical assemblers
43.2
Electricians
2.0
Elementary and middle school teachers
79.4
Eligibility interviewers, government programs
80.1
Emergency medical technicians
40.7
Engineers, all other
14.0
Entertainment and recreation managers
36.5
Environmental engineers
31.8
Environmental scientists and specialists
41.2
Executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants
94.3
Exercise trainers and group fitness instructors
46.3
Facilities managers
19.9
Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers
13.2
Fast food and counter workers
62.0
File clerks
74.8
Financial and investment analysts
41.8
Financial clerks, all other
62.4
Financial examiners
46.3
Financial managers
54.8
Firefighters
5.0
First-line supervisors of construction and extraction workers
3.8
First-line supervisors of correctional officers
31.2
First-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers
57.7
First-line supervisors of housekeeping and janitorial workers
43.2
First-line supervisors of landscaping, and groundskeeping workers
8.0
First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers
7.4
First-Line supervisors of non-retail sales workers
37.4
First-Line supervisors of administrative support workers
66.1
First-line supervisors of police and detectives
15.8
First-line supervisors of production and operating workers
21.2
First-Line supervisors of retail sales workers
43.1
First-line supervisors of security workers
28.2
Flight attendants
71.2
Food batchmakers
58.4
Food preparation workers
58.7
Food processing workers, all other
31.1
Food servers, nonrestaurant
60.2
Food service managers
46.1
Fundraisers
72.9
Gambling services workers
39.6
General and operations managers
34.0
Geoscientists and hydrologists, except geographers
20.9
Graders and sorters, agricultural products
65.4
Graphic designers
51.5
Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists
89.0
Healthcare social workers
80.3
Helpers--production workers
26.8
Home health aides
86.5
Hosts and hostesses
75.2
Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks
58.8
Human resources assistants
79.2
Human resources managers
75.3
Human resources workers
74.4
Industrial and refractory machinery mechanics
4.1
Industrial engineers, including health and safety
23.6
Industrial production managers
23.4
Industrial truck and tractor operators
9.2
Information and record clerks, all other
74.7
Information security analysts
16.8
Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers
37.0
Insurance claims and policy processing clerks
82.1
Insurance sales agents
50.5
Insurance underwriters
60.1
Interior designers
79.5
Interpreters and translators
70.5
Interviewers, except eligibility and loan
78.1
Janitors and building cleaners
29.7
Jewelers and precious stone and metal workers
35.9
Judges, magistrates, and other judicial workers
53.5
Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers
22.1
Landscape architects
28.1
Landscaping and groundskeeping workers
5.6
Laundry and dry-cleaning workers
64.3
Lawyers
38.6
Legal support workers, all other
66.5
Librarians and media collections specialists
78.0
Library assistants, clerical
76.9
Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses
88.5
Loan interviewers and clerks
77.8
Lodging managers
46.8
Logisticians
37.4
Machine feeders and offbearers
46.1
Machinists
4.2
Magnetic resonance imaging technologists
55.0
Maids and housekeeping cleaners
82.5
Mail clerks and mail machine operators
48.7
Maintenance and repair workers
4.0
Management analysts
43.2
Managers, all other
38.2
Manicurists and pedicurists
76.9
Market research analysts and marketing specialists
58.0
Marketing managers
61.1
Massage therapists
73.8
Materials engineers
15.3
Mechanical engineers
9.3
Medical and health services managers
72.1
Medical assistants
91.2
Medical records specialists
91.0
Medical scientists
56.8
Meeting, convention, and event planners
75.7
Mental health counselors
75.5
Miscellaneous agricultural workers
19.2
Miscellaneous health technologists and technicians
64.6
Miscellaneous social scientists and related workers
49.1
Morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers
34.2
Motor vehicle operators, all other
19.6
Musicians and singers
24.5
Natural sciences managers
64.1
Network and computer systems administrators
16.8
News analysts, reporters, and journalists
45.1
Nuclear medicine technologists and medical dosimetrists
46.1
Nurse anesthetists
54.8
Nurse practitioners
86.9
Nursing assistants
87.0
Occupational health and safety specialists
33.2
Occupational therapists
86.3
Office and administrative support workers, all other
73.1
Office clerks, general
82.2
Operations research analysts
49.7
Opticians, dispensing
68.4
Optometrists
41.8
Order clerks
52.7
Orderlies and psychiatric aides
39.8
Other assemblers and fabricators
34.6
Other community and social service specialists
70.2
Other designers
39.2
Other drafters
17.6
Other educational instruction and library workers
76.1
Other engineering technologists and technicians
19.6
Other entertainment attendants and related workers
42.1
Other financial specialists
56.0
Other healthcare practitioners and technical occupations
66.7
Other healthcare support workers
68.0
Other installation, maintenance, and repair workers
4.8
Other life, physical, and social science technicians
51.4
Other material moving workers
11.5
Other mathematical science occupations
42.7
Other metal workers and plastic workers
21.1
Other production workers
28.7
Other protective service workers
36.7
Other psychologists
71.1
Other teachers and instructors
53.8
Other transportation workers
22.7
Packaging and filling machine operators and tenders
52.8
Packers and packagers, hand
55.8
Painters and paperhangers
7.3
Painting workers
9.1
Paralegals and legal assistants
85.5
Paramedics
30.4
Parts salespersons
15.0
Payroll and timekeeping clerks
86.4
Personal care aides
79.4
Personal care and service workers, all other
52.9
Personal financial advisors
30.5
Personal service managers, all other
67.4
Pharmacists
56.8
Pharmacy technicians
75.9
Phlebotomists
83.1
Photographers
41.5
Physical scientists, all other
43.3
Physical therapist assistants and aides
63.8
Physical therapists
57.8
Physician assistants
64.0
Police officers
13.9
Postal service clerks
52.9
Postal service mail carriers
37.5
Postal service mail sorters and processing machine operators
44.9
Postmasters and mail superintendents
47.5
Postsecondary teachers
48.1
Preschool and kindergarten teachers
97.4
Printing press operators
19.8
Private detectives and investigators
49.0
Probation officers and correctional treatment specialists
57.8
Procurement clerks
51.7
Producers and directors
38.0
Production, planning, and expediting clerks
50.9
Project management specialists
45.1
Property appraisers and assessors
34.1
Property, real estate, and community association managers
53.2
Psychiatric technicians
73.1
Public relations and fundraising managers
67.2
Public relations specialists
63.8
Public safety telecommunicators
64.5
Purchasing agents, except wholesale, retail, and farm products
52.6
Purchasing managers
50.0
Radio and telecommunications equipment installers and repairers
6.3
Radiologic technologists and technicians
65.3
Real estate brokers and sales agents
51.4
Receptionists and information clerks
89.3
Recreation workers
68.3
Registered nurses
86.2
Religious workers, all other
57.0
Reservation and transportation ticket agents and travel clerks
49.9
Residential advisors
57.4
Respiratory therapists
62.4
Retail salespersons
37.4
Sales and related workers, all other
47.5
Sales managers
30.9
Sales representatives of services
28.6
Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing
26.4
Secondary school teachers
56.2
Secretaries and administrative assistants
93.0
Securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents
26.5
Security guards and gambling surveillance officers
22.2
Sewing machine operators
68.5
Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks
33.4
Social and community service managers
70.7
Social and human service assistants
77.0
Social workers, all other
83.7
Software developers
18.1
Software quality assurance analysts and testers
47.4
Special education teachers
85.3
Speech-language pathologists
94.3
Statistical assistants
51.1
Statisticians
48.7
Stockers and order fillers
35.1
Substance abuse and behavioral disorder counselors
72.3
Supervisors of personal care and service workers
50.7
Supervisors of transportation and material moving workers
24.9
Surgeons
21.0
Surgical technologists
75.3
Tailors, dressmakers, and sewers
66.3
Tax examiners and collectors, and revenue agents
63.6
Tax preparers
58.9
Taxi drivers
12.0
Teaching assistants
82.4
Technical writers
56.1
Television, video, and film camera operators and editors
19.2
Tellers
85.9
Therapists, all other
80.8
Title examiners, abstractors, and searchers
75.8
Training and development managers
59.0
Training and development specialists
53.6
Transportation security screeners
36.2
Transportation service attendants
17.8
Transportation, storage, and distribution managers
21.3
Travel agents
77.9
Tutors
68.1
Urban and regional planners
44.6
Veterinarians
63.1
Veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers
83.9
Veterinary technologists and technicians
89.5
Waiters and waitresses
63.3
Web and digital interface designers
46.0
Web developers
26.5
Weighers, measurers, checkers, and samplers
43.5
Welding, soldering, and brazing workers
5.3
Wholesale and retail buyers, except farm products
48.7
Writers and authors
55.5
Voting
While the majority of women tend to vote Democratic, they have differences in voting between women of different races. White women tend to vote for the Republican party, black and Hispanic tend to vote for the Democratic party.
Women's reproductive health in the United States refers to the set of physical, mental, and social issues related to the health of women in the United States. It includes the rights of women in the United States to adequate sexual health, available contraception methods, and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases. The prevalence of women's health issues in American culture is inspired by second-wave feminism in the United States.[80] As a result of this movement, women of the United States began to question the largely male-dominated health care system and demanded a right to information on issues regarding their physiology and anatomy.[80] The U.S. government has made significant strides to propose solutions, like creating the Women's Health Initiative through the Office of Research on Women's Health in 1991.[80] However, many issues still exist related to the accessibility of reproductive healthcare as well as the stigma and controversy attached to sexual health, contraception, and sexually transmitted diseases.[81][82]
The Department of Health and Human Services has developed a definition for sexual health in the United States based on the World Health Organization’s definition of sexual health.[83]
“Sexual health is a state of well-being in relation to sexuality across the life span that involves physical, emotional, mental, social and spiritual dimensions. Sexual health is an intrinsic element of human health and is based on positive, equitable, and respectful approach to sexuality, relationships, and reproduction, that is free of coercion, fear, discrimination, stigma, shame, and violence.[84]
The United States government recognizes that gender is a factor which plays a significant role in sexual health.[84]
With this being said, there is a war on women's rights in the United States. It is based on politics in the United States and for candidates to be able to get votes or funding for certain area agendas. With this being said, one of the first pushes with making laws tighter for agendas would be the law in Louisiana. This allowed women who have had abortions in the past to be able to sue the doctor who did the procedure for up to ten years past the abortion date. The law stated that they could sue for damages not only done to the women, but also to the emotional damages of the fetus. This was a political move that has gotten the ball rolling for more states to put laws into place against abortions or for abortions depending on the political agenda they are pushing in each state.[85]
Violence against women has been recognized as a public health concern in the United States.[86]Culture in the country has promoted the trivialization of women-directed violence, with media in the United States creating the appearance of violence against women unimportant to the public.[87]
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute of Justice reports that about 1 in every 4 women suffer from at least one physical assault experience from a partner during adulthood.[88] Studies have found that around 20% of women in the United States have been victims of rape[89][90] with many incidents of rape being underreported according to a 2013 study.[91]
In 2017, the United States was ranked the world's 9th safest country for women by the New World Wealth research group.[92]
↑ Men and Women of the Corporation: New Edition (3 November 1993). Kanter, Men and Women of the Corporation, Basic Books, 1977. Basic Books. ISBN0465044549.
Rosenau, William (2019). Tonight We Bombed the U.S. Capitol: The Explosive Story of M19, America's First Female Terrorist Group. New York: Atria Books. ISBN978-1501170126.
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