Women's Rights: The Western Feminist Movement

Women have made significant achievements in fighting for and attaining their rights throughout the Civil Rights and Feminist Movements. Women were very successful at achieving several Acts and Amendments for women’s rights. These enactments were led by strong, educated women. Feminist campaigns are generally considered to be one of the main forces behind major historical, societal changes for women 's rights, particularly in the West. These societal changes are credited with having achieved women 's suffrage, gender neutrality, reproductive rights for women, and the right to enter into contracts and own property.
Feminists around the world have had different causes and goals. The western feminist movement included women 's suffrage

Following the Nineteenth Amendment, women entered state level offices. There was not significant growth in the number of women in office until after the contemporary women’s movement during the late 1960s and early 1970s (Wall, 2011). Since the mid-1970s, women have greatly increased numbers; being elected and appointed officials in state government. Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming was selected to succeed her decreased husband in 1925 in a special election (Wall, 2011). A mere fifteen days later, Miriam Ferguson, was inaugurated as governor of Texas. Ferguson was elected as a surrogate for her husband, a former governor who was barred from running again after being impeached. The third woman elected was Lurleen Wallace of Alabama was also elected to replace her husband who was not allowed to seek additional time in office. However, the first woman elected in her own right into governorship was Ella Grasso of Connecticut serving from 1975 to 1980. Soledad C. Chacon, New Mexico, was the first woman to ever hold a major statewide office. Chacon held the position of secretary of state in New Mexico from 1923 to 1926. From 1920 to 1971, the percentage of women serving in state legislatures across the county grew to 4.5 percent (Wall,

The Women’s Educational Equity Act of 1974 was a landmark law passed by Congress outlining federal protections against the gender discrimination of women in education (‘Women’s educational equity act’, 2016). This Act was originally intended to combat sex-role stereotyping in elementary and secondary schools (‘Women’s educational equity act’, 2016) drafted by Arlene Horowitz. Women’s Educational Equity Act (WEEA) has been the only federal education program specifically focused on gender equity since 1974 (‘Women’s educational equity act (WEEA)’, 2001). It is established within the Office of Education, a council on Women’s Educational Programs, helping to provide educational equity for women in the United States. The funds are to be available to make contracts and engage in activities: (1) to encourage the development of new and improved curriculums; (2) to demonstrate the use of such curriculums in model educational programs and to evaluate the effectiveness thereof: (3) to provide support for the initiation and maintenance of programs concerning women at all levels of education (preschool through adult education); (4) to disseminate instructional materials and other information for use in educational programs throughout the Nation; (5) to provide for the planning of women 's resource centers; (6) to provide improved career, vocational, and physical education programs, and to provide for community education programs; (7) to provide programs on the status, roles, and