10 Things That American Women Couldn’t Do Before 1970

Feminism and women’s liberation were in full force during the 1960s and 1970s. Thankfully, those efforts created essential change for American women and paved the way for further action against sex-based discrimination.

Prior to 1970, women had made some headway in the quest for equality. In 1920, after the ratification of the 19th Amendment, they obtained the right to vote in all 50 states. Jeannette Rankin of Montana became the first female member of the House of Representatives in 1917. In 1963, President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act, which protected women from sex-based wage discrimination.

These milestones were just the beginning, however, as being a woman before 1970 allowed for various injustices, opportunities for discrimination, and abuse. Here are 10 examples:

Women weren’t guaranteed that they would not be fired for becoming pregnant

If a woman went to her boss and told them that she was pregnant, prior to the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, she could legally be fired. Women could also not be hired for a position that she was qualified for based on the fact that she was pregnant or simply of child-bearing age. The employer could refuse to offer accommodations to the pregnant employee as they would to other employees with physical constraints.

The PDA Act made discrimination on the basis of pregnancy legally considered sex discrimination in the workplace. It also provided that if a woman is unable to work due to her pregnancy, employers by law must treat the employee as they would any other disabled worker.

Women were not allowed to use contraceptives to prevent pregnancy

Even though birth control pills were created and approved by FDA in 1957, they could only be used by women for severe menstrual distress. It was then approved as a contraceptive in 1960 and deemed fit for married couples to use as a form of birth control. It wasn’t until Eisenstadt v. Baird, 405 U.S. 438 in 1972, that the Supreme Court ruled that the right to privacy encompasses an unmarried person’s right to use contraceptives.

Women couldn’t get a credit card in their own name

Up until the mid-1970s, credit card companies and banks often denied credit cards and loans to single women and married women who did not have their husband’s permission.

In 1974, President Gerald Ford signed into law the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974, which “prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, or age in credit transactions.”

This step towards equality was greatly assisted by the legal work conducted by then attorney, and later Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsberg.

Depending on the state, some women were not allowed to serve on a jury

This varied by state, with Utah allowing women as jurors since 1898. Most states kept women out of the jury pool as they were considered to be “too fragile to hear some of the details involved in crimes and could be too sympathetic to remain objective.”

In 1961, in Hoyt v Florida, the Supreme Court unanimously sustained the conviction of a Florida woman who was convicted of second-degree murder after killing her husband. Her attorney argued that the defendant’s rights were violated as she was tried by an all-male jury. The Supreme Court disagreed.

While the Civil Rights Act of 1957 gave women the right to serve on federal juries, it wasn’t until 1975 that all 50 states passed comparable legislation.

They were not allowed to receive an Ivy League education

For over 300 years, since its founding in 1636, Harvard University only admitted white, wealthy men. In 1969, Princeton and Yale started admitting women, but it wasn’t until 1977, when it merged with all-female Radcliffe College, that Harvard allowed women to attend. Brown, Dartmouth, and Columbia eventually followed suit in 1971, 1972, and 1981 respectively.

Women were not allowed to fight in combat

Historically, women have always had roles in the U.S. Military, serving as support staff and medical caregivers. During WWII, there was an unprecedented need for soldiers, so the armed forces began recruiting women for non-combat positions, such as linguists, telephone operators, and weather forecasters. However, women were only accepted on a temporary basis through the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC).

In 1948, President Truman signed the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act in law. This allowed women to serve as full, permanent members of the US military, encompassing all branches. This act, however, limited their service in that they could be involuntarily discharged for becoming pregnant, and prevented them from ever commanding men or serving in combat.

In 1970, women were allowed to be promoted to command roles in non-combat units, but it wasn’t until 2013 that women achieved a full status in the military. This allowed them to finally serve in direct combat roles.

Women couldn’t prevent being denied a job due to having small children at home

It was commonplace for businesses and especially large corporations to deny employment to women who admitted to having pre-school-aged children at home. This was largely because they assumed the female would be less dedicated to her position and she would be more likely to have to take leave in order to care for her children.

One such business, the Martin Marietta Corporation, which later became Lockheed Martin, actually had a policy that did not allow the hiring of mothers with pre-school children. In Phillips v. Martin Marietta Corp, 400 U.S. 542, the Supreme Court voted unanimously that the policy discriminated on the basis of sex. Employers were no longer allowed to refuse to hire women with pre-school-aged children while hiring men with such children.

Women could not refuse to have sex if their husband wanted to

Historically, British common law viewed that the marriage contract included the man’s “right to sex” and that the wife “gave consent” when she entered the contract. Women were also viewed as property of their husbands and could be treated as the man pleased. Refusal of sex by the wife could provide their husband with grounds for divorce.

The women’s liberation movement in the 70s called for changes in the laws that had been set by the states, all of which included an exception if the rapist and victim were husband and wife. Nebraska was the first state to revoke the marital rape exception law in 1976, but spousal rape wasn’t criminalized in all 50 states until 1993.

They were unable to take legal action against workplace sexual harassment

Even though Title VII of the Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964 and was supposed to prevent sex discrimination in the workplace, courts still did not recognize sexual harassment in the workplace until 1977. The term “sexual harassment” wasn’t even officially defined until the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission did so in 1980.

In 1974, the Barnes v. Train case became the first known sexual harassment case seen by a U.S. court. Her case was overturned, but in 1977 the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that she had been sexually harassed. The EOCC determined that sexual harassment was a form of sexual discrimination and therefore violated the Civil Rights Act.

Abortions were illegal

During the height of the women’s liberation movement, women joined together at speak-outs, where they publically talked about their illegal abortion experiences. This was an attempt to bring to light just how many women were willing to break the law and risk their life to have an abortion.

Between 1967 and 1973, 14 states revised their abortion laws to include allowing abortions in certain circumstances, such as rape and incest. New York became the first state to allow on-demand abortions through the 24th week of pregnancy in 1970. As other states began allowing legal abortions, women from around the country flocked to those states.

Finally, in 1973, the Supreme Court abandoned criminal abortion laws during the landmark case, Roe vs Wade. The Court decided that the Constitution protects a pregnant woman’s liberty to choose to have an abortion without excessive government restriction.

***This story previously published by author on Medium.com.***