The Victorian age ushered in the first wave of feminism, which lasted until 1920, and activists focused on gaining the right to vote, creating equal rights in marriage and establishing equal access to education.
The industrial revolution and various wars saw women enter the workforce; however, factories underpaid and exploited their female employees, and many unions excluded women from what was believed men’s work.
In response, Sarah Bagley founded the Lowell Mill Girls in 1845, the first female union. Women across the world began to unionize and strike. In 1888, famous socialist-feminist Clementina Black took part in the Match Girls’ strike and later founded the Women’s Trade Union Association.
Lucy Parsons helped to found the International Working People’s Association in Chicago and became a prominent voice in the socialist and labor movements. Women’s unions became major forces for change, leading to child labor reforms, an eight-hour workday and better wages.
In 1909, inspired by female textile workers march, the socialist party of America created National Women’s Day, and in 1910, Clara Zetkin proposed International Women’s Day at the Second International Conference for Women.
In 1848, men and women gathered at the Seneca Falls Convention, the first Women’s Rights meeting in America.
The convention was organized by abolitionists Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott. At the convention, members adopted resolutions to further equality in education, marriage, religion and employment.
Alongside Susan B. Anthony, Stanton lobbied for property rights for women, and in 1860, women gained the ability to retain their earnings and take out their own contracts.
In 1890, the National American Woman Suffrage Association was formed on the principles of suffrage and equal rights for all. In 1920, the suffrage movement won the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote.
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