Feminism is aimed at defining, establishing, and defending a state of equal political, economic, cultural, and social rights for women. It has had a massive influence on American politics. Feminism in the United States is often divided chronologically into first-wave, second-wave, third-wave, and fourth-wave feminism.

As of 2025, the United States is ranked 42nd in the world on gender equality, according to the Global Gender Gap Report published by the World Economic Forum.

Timeline

First-wave feminism

The first wave of feminism in the United States began with the Seneca Falls Convention, the first women's rights convention, held at the Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls, New York, on July 19 and 20, 1848.

The Seneca Falls Convention was inspired by the experiences of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott at the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London in 1840. The conference refused to seat Mott and other women delegates from America because of their gender. Stanton, the young bride of an antislavery agent, and Mott, a Quaker preacher and veteran of reform, talked of calling a convention to address the condition and treatment of women.

An estimated three hundred people attended the convention, including notables Lucretia Mott and Frederick Douglass. At the conclusion, 68 women and 32 men signed the Declaration of Sentiments, which was written by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the M'Clintock family.

The Declaration of Sentiments was written in the style and format of the Declaration of Independence. For example, the Declaration of Sentiments stated, "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men and women are created equal and endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights." The Declaration further stated, "The history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and usurpation on the part of man towards woman."

The declaration went on to specify female grievances in regard to the laws denying married women ownership of wages, money, and property. Women were required to turn these things over to their husbands; the laws requiring this in effect throughout America were called coverture laws. A women's lack of access to education and professional careers, and the low status accorded to women in most churches was also addressed. Furthermore, the Declaration declared that women should have the right to vote.

Some of the participants at the Seneca Falls Convention organized the Rochester Women's Rights Convention two weeks later on August 2 in Rochester, New York. It was followed by other state and local conventions in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. The first National Woman's Rights Convention was held in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1850. Women's rights conventions were then held regularly from 1850 until the start of the Civil War.

The American women's suffrage movement began with the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention; many of the activists became politically aware during the abolitionist movement. The movement reorganized after the Civil War, gaining experienced campaigners, many of whom had worked for prohibition in the Women's Christian Temperance Union. By the end of the 19th century only a few western states had granted women full voting rights,Rebecca J. Mead, How the Vote Was Won: Woman Suffrage in the Western United States, 1868–1914 (2006) though women had made other significant legal victories, gaining rights in areas such as property and child custody.Glenda Riley, Inventing the American Woman: An Inclusive History (2001)

In 1866, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony formed the American Equal Rights Association, an organization for white and black women and men dedicated to the goal of suffrage for all. In 1868 the Fourteenth Amendment was passed, this was the first Amendment to ever specify the voting population as "male". In 1869 the women's rights movement split into two factions as a result of disagreements over the Fourteenth and soon-to-be-passed Fifteenth Amendments, with the two factions not reuniting until 1890. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony formed the more radical, New York-based National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA). Lucy Stone, Henry Blackwell, and Julia Ward Howe organized the more conservative American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA), which was centered in Boston. In 1870 the Fifteenth Amendment enfranchised black men. NWSA refused to work for its ratification, arguing, instead, that it be "scrapped" in favor of a Sixteenth Amendment providing universal suffrage. Frederick Douglass broke with Stanton and Anthony over NWSA's position.

In 1869 Wyoming became the first territory or state in America to grant women suffrage. In 1870 Louisa Ann Swain became the first woman in the United States to vote in a general election. She cast her ballot on September 6, 1870, in Laramie, Wyoming.

From 1870 to 1875 several women, including Virginia Louisa Minor, Victoria Woodhull, and Myra Bradwell, attempted to use the Fourteenth Amendment in the courts to secure the vote (Minor and Woodhull) or the right to practice law (Bradwell), and they were all unsuccessful. In 1872 Susan B. Anthony was arrested and brought to trial in Rochester, New York, for attempting to vote for Ulysses S. Grant in the presidential election; she was convicted and fined $100 and the costs of her prosecution but refused to pay. At the same time, Sojourner Truth appeared at a polling booth in Battle Creek, Michigan, demanding a ballot; she was turned away. Also in 1872, Victoria Woodhull became the first woman to run for president, although she could not vote and only received a few votes, losing to Ulysses S. Grant. She was nominated to run by the Equal Rights Party, and advocated the 8-hour work day, graduated income tax, social welfare programs, and profit sharing, among other positions. In 1874 the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) was founded by Annie Wittenmyer to work for the prohibition of alcohol; with Frances Willard at its head (starting in 1876), the WCTU also became an important force in the fight for women's suffrage. In 1878 a woman suffrage amendment was first introduced in the United States Congress, but it did not pass. In 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified, giving women the right to vote; the first wave of feminism is considered to have ended with that victory.

Margaret Higgins Sanger, was one of the first American birth control activists. She was also a sex educator, writer, and nurse. She popularized the term "birth control", opened the first birth control clinic in the United States in 1916, and established organizations that evolved into the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

On 4 June 1919, the United States Congress passed the 19th amendment to the U.S. constitution, granting women the right to vote. It was ratified on 18 August 1920, marking significant milestone in equal representation for women in the government.

Post World War II feminism World War II led to an increase in women in the workforce and pushed women into breadwinning jobs in traditionally male spheres. From 1940 to 1945, the number of women in the workforce went from 28% to 37%. The lack of men at home led to many women taking industrial jobs: by 1943, 1/3 of the workers in Boeing's Seattle factory were women. According to historian Jane Marcellus, women experienced a never before seen shift in public praise, as they were commended as being competent and intelligent. This is exemplified in media such as Rosie the Riveter's 'We Can Do It!' Slogan and the 1941 creation of Wonder Woman. This influx of women into the workforce and the media's positive portrayal of them led to many women seeing more routes to take than housewife.

However, this narrow definition of female empowerment was exclusive and not intended to be long-lasting. Women of color were the last to be considered for high paying industrial jobs. African American women were stuck doing domestic work for $3–$7 a week compared to white women earning up to $40 a week in factories. Furthermore, propaganda such as Rosie the Riveter presented a narrow view of working women: white, beautiful, and motivated by patriotism rather than economic necessity. For women of color and working-class women, World War II did not change their economic or societal position. Many of the women joining the workforce returned to the domestic sphere after the war. Workplace periodicals such as Bo'sn's Whistle framed women in sexual language and as oddities in the male industrial sphere.

Yet after World War II, the 1946 Congress of American Women's "Position of the American Woman Today" advocated for the rights of black and minority women. After serving together in factories, white feminism began to embrace intersectionality in the wake of World War II. A growing body of literature illustrates that there was no substantial long-run wage for women in this time. However, the incremental gains in income and societal status that women of color made during the 1940s had long-term effects on feminist thought. By 1950, the wage gap between white and African American females narrowed by 15%.

Opposition to domestic roles began to crop up in the late 1940s as more women were encouraged to become housewives. Edith Stern's 1949 essay, "Women are Household Slaves", emerged as an early preface to second-wave feminist thought. Stern argued that "as long as the institution of housewifery in its present form persists, both ideologically and practically it blocks any true liberation of women". She compared the position of women to that of sharecroppers and spoke out against the emotional and intellectual dissatisfaction of American women. Stern's essay was one of the first arguments that addressed female liberation in the context of the domestic sphere.

However, the 1950s did witness a return to traditional gender roles and values. The number of women in the workforce decreased from 37% to 32% by 1950 due to women giving up their jobs for men returning from war.McDermott, Annette. "How World War II Empowered Women". HISTORY. Retrieved 2019-12-09. The media also emphasized the domestic role of women rather than encouraging women to work as it had just a decade earlier. By 1956, 67% of American families had a television compared to just 6% in 1949. Characters such as June Cleaver in "Leave it to Beaver" glorified female characters as subservient housewives to a large, influenceable audience of American women.Laura Katz Olson. (2003). Whatever Happened to June Cleaver? The Fifties Mom Turns Eighty. Race, Gender & Class (Towson, Md.), 10(1), 129–143.

However, according to Anna Lebovic, women's magazines such as Vogue in the 1950s set up the groundwork for second wave feminism by advocating for self-actualization and individuality of women. Similarly, 1951 surveys conducted on women who had previously worked at or did work in factories showed that women were expressing irritation with workplace discrimination. Specifically, 75% stated that they wanted to remain in their industry and expressed dissatisfaction that it was difficult to pursue careers such as "sales, academia, or journalism".

Despite the fact that the 1950s were characterized as a return to the domestic sphere for women, there are examples that the labor women conducted during World War II set the stage for the second wave feminism of the 1960s. College reunions in the 1950s, which inspired Betty Friedan's landmark "The Feminine Mystique" were hotbeds for middle-class women to vent about their boredom working at home and by doing so discover shared irritations at the "drudgery" of being a housewife. While the 1940s and 1950s did not entirely foster a new wave of feminism or a substantive amount of feminist literature, this time period did lay some foundations for future feminist thought.

Second-wave feminism