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Aurea Lang Mr. Snow English 3 6 May 13 Women Have Changed The World Since the dawn of time, men have been the leaders, the hunters and the breadwinners; times have changed. Sooner or later, women would become fed up with the household grind of feed, clean, sleep, repeat. During times of war and peace, women have fought for their right to work, fight, vote and have the same responsibilities as men. One large responsibility of citizens is voting. For as long as Americas government goes back, there has been voting, largely by rich, white men. After some time, all white men were allowed to vote, no matter how much property they had. Years later, the 15th amendment had been ratified, allowing African American men to vote, although many Southern states found ways to disenfranchise most African Americans. (Library of Congress) After the 15th amendment, women were struck with jealousy, wanting more rights than the race they had previously enslaved. After that, many women worked with Southern men to help them gain their vote, saying that if women could vote, it could cancel out the African American vote. But on August 26, 1920, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was finally ratified, enfranchising all American women and declaring for the first time that they, like men, deserve all the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. (Fight for Womens Suffrage) Almost a century later, women had finally gained one of our many fundamental rights. Allowing women to vote may have changed the world. If not for them, elections could turn out different, and the path of our world and society as we know it could have been completely different.

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Although voting had been deemed a fundamental right by some women, others thought that they were to stay out of it. Many women believed in the cult of true womanhood, a set of ideals that associated true womanhood with the home and family. (PBS) There were many anti-feminist women who insisted that their job was to be submissive and obedient, because their husband was appointed superior by God. (Cult of Domesticity) Having anti-feminist women definitely set back the fight for the vote. Politics have often been testosterone filled, but women have made their fair share of achievements in the field. One huge change came in 1918, when the Parliamentary Qualification of Women Act was passed. This law allowed women to be a member of Parliament. (Huffington Post) Since 1949, all treasurers of the United States have been women. Aside from the U.S., women have made a huge impact in places like Britain. The British monarchy have had a long line of kings and queens. (Wiki, British Monarchs) The women seem to be more revered, rather than being seen as property or a mindless housewife. Queens are widely respected for all they do for their country. Although theyre queens, they still have certain feminine expectations. Women have always had the weight of feminine expectations on their shoulders. Women are supposed to be quiet, ladylike, and altogether more concerned about their family and husband than sports; sports are a mans thing. Even though women have played sports since Homers time in 800 B.C., it has never been equal, that is until Title IX. This law required women to be recognized in sports, just like men. (Sport Journal) Around 1878, the American Christian Review diagrammed things that could happen to women, should they participate in croquet. These things include: shame, disgrace, poverty, discontent, absence/exclusion from the church and so much more. (Public I) Now here we are, praising the athletic women, and they certainly get rich. As for discontent, sports have a variety of great benefits for men and women alike. Although the road to

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athletic equality was, and still is, long, women have made an impact; they have made their voices heard, and now they have their own leagues. Even with their own leagues, women are still making less. Wages between men and women have been a constant battle, for both sides. Women started out at home, simply being a mother, her childs love being payment enough. After many men went to war, women stepped up to the plate to provide for their families. Shortly after, women had gotten used to the nine to five grind and stuck to it. Although many women would be denied jobs because of their sex. The jobs women could get, paid less than men, even for the same job. In 1967, women earned 58 cents to a mans dollar. (American Progress) Although youd think the wage gap would be closer, the statistics from 2010 prove otherwise. In 2010, women only earned 77 cents to a mans dollar. (Infographic/American Progress) The gender wage gap is still huge, but women have fought towards the money they have rightfully earned. Although times have been tough in the workforce for women of America, things couldve been worse. Women all around the world have gone through many obstacles to get to where they are now. Women in India have had strict social roles and expectations, such as a loving mother, a dutiful wife, an obedient daughter and someone who stays at home, completes all the chores at home, is an all-forgiving figure and is selfless. (Ezine) Many Indian women also have arranged marriages, sometimes much to their dismay. Indian women can now be the breadwinners of their family, they can even be seen as professionals and independent individuals. (Aamjanata) Regardless of how far the Indian women have come from stereotypes, many of them are still expected to be the ideal housewife. (Aamjanata) Conclusively, women have been through the wringer time and time again, just to come

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out fighting. Women all around the world have fought not only to fight, but to vote, work, play and been given the same respect and rights as all men. Many of these women have went to jail or even the grave to give generations after them what they had wanted so bad.

Works Cited
"Women's Suffrage." History of Women's Suffrage | Scholastic.com. Scholastic, n.d. Web. 17 May 2013. <http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/suffrage/history.htm>.

Lang 5 "The Fight for Women's Suffrage." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 17 May 2013. <http://www.history.com/topics/the-fight-for-womens-suffrage>. "15th Amendment." Web Guides. LIbrary of Congress, n.d. Web. <http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/15thamendment.html>. Boydston, Jeanne. "Cult of True Womanhood." PBS Montana. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.pbs.org/stantonanthony/resources/index.html?body=culthood.html>. "True Womanhood." True Womanhood. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2013. <http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/lavender/386/truewoman.html>. "Cult of Domesticity." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 13 May 2013. Web. 17 May 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult_of_Domesticity>. "The Top 10 Facts About the Wage Gap." American Progress. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2013. <http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/labor/news/2012/04/16/11391/the-top-10-facts-aboutthe-wage-gap/>. "Infographic: The Gender Pay Gap." American Progress. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2013. <http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/news/2012/04/16/11435/infographic-thegender-pay-gap/>. "United States Sports Academy - "America's Sports University"" A History of Women in Sport Prior to Title IX. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2013. <http://www.thesportjournal.org/article/historywomen-sport-prior-title-ix>. "The History and Significance of Women's Achievements In Sports." Public I. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2013. <http://publici.ucimc.org/?p=1665>. "Indian Women." Ezine. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://ezinearticles.com/?Indian-Women:-TheirAchievements&id=7525873>. "The Role of Women in Indian Society." AamJanata. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2013. <http://aamjanata.com/the-role-of-women-in-indian-society/>. "International Women's Day 2012: 101 Years Of Female Achievements." The Huffington Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2013. <http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/03/08/internationalwomens-day-female-achievements_n_1330517.html>. "Treasurer of the United States." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasurer_of_the_United_States>. "List of British Monarchs." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 16 May 2013. Web. 17 May 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_British_monarchs>.