In a world where the independence of women is relatively new, you may find yourself to be the first in your family to:
- graduate from college,
- start your own business,
- hold an executive role,
- speak from your authentic self without fear of persecution, and
- truly choose what kind of life + lifestyle is most aligned for the quality of life you desire to live.
We need you. All of you. Not just the ‘pretty’ parts that you’ve been taught to hold back, but the deepest, wildest, and wisest places within you.
- Rebecca Campbell
This journey of independence has been paved by centuries of struggle, resilience, and hard-won victories against the backdrop of repressive eras and societal limitations.
In many ancient and medieval societies women could gather for specific purposes, like weaving or cooking, or religious ceremonies --- but these were often under the oversight of at least one male authority.
HERstory Unveiled takes you on a journey through key moments that have shaped women’s rights, freedoms, and inner power. By highlighting these transformative dates, this timeline offers a lens to honor and understand the path traveled by our ancestors.
Through this perspective may you honor your cellular memory and build an awareness of how these imprints may still influence your life today.
Timeline of women's rights and resilience
15th-18th centuries are known as the Burning Times. Written documentation of “witches” burned an estimates 100,000; however, there were likely hundreds of thousands more (documented and undocumented) persecuted, jailed, abused, tortured, and hung. Most involving women, some children and men.
17th century-1865 - The U.S. participated in enslaving primarily Africans, stripping them from their basic human rights and treating them like property.
(The Roman Empire, Greece, Medieval Egypt, Brazil, and parts of the Caribbean also participated in property/chattel enslavement in our collective history.)
1600’s-1865 - Enslaved Black women and girls were prohibited from receiving an education.
1965-1877 - Post Civil War and Reconstruction: Black women and girls gained new opportunities for education, however, still underfunded and segregated.
Late 1800’s - Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) established providing greater access to higher education for Black women.
Early 20th century - Continued segregation, under-resourced schools, and especially in many southern states with Jim Crow laws.
1920 - 19th Amendment Ratified: women in the U.S. gained the right to vote... mainly white women.
1954 - Brown v. Board of Education: Supreme Court ruling the racial segregation in public schools were unconstitutional.
1963 - Equal Pay Act enacted to abolish wage disparity based on gender.
1964 - Civil Rights Act, Title VII: prohibited employment discrimination based on sex, race, color, religion or national origin.
1965 - Voting Rights Act of 1965: secured voting rights for Black and marginalized women.
1965 - Griswold v. Connecticut Decision: married couples had the right to access birth control.
1969-1970's - No Fault Divorce: women could divorce freely without needing to prove wrong-doing.
1972 - Title IX: federal civil rights law prevents gender discrimination in federally funded educational programs, like athletics and higher education.
1972 - Eisenstadt v. Baird: any woman, regardless of marital status, can get birth control with out a man.
1973 - Roe v. Wade Decision legalized abortion nationwide, affirming women’s reproductive rights and bodily autonomy. (Overturned in 2022; now it is the decision of each state.)
1974 - Equal Credit Opportunity Act: women could obtain a credit card and secure a mortgage for a home without a male co-signer.
1978 - Pregnancy Discrimination Act: law protects pregnant women from employment discrimination.
1988 - Women’s Business Ownership Act: enabled women to start their own business and obtain funding for their own business without a male co-signer.
1993 - Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA): provided unpaid, job-protected leave for family and medical reasons.
1993 - National Institutes of Health Revitalization Act: mandatory inclusion of female bodies in clinical trials; prior to this most research was only conducted on male bodies.
1994 - Violence Against Women Act (VAWA): legal protection for women against domestic abuse including violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
2017 - Women’s March: largest single-day protest in U.S. history. Advocating for women’s rights, social justice, and equality across a wide range of issues.
2021 - Kamala Harris: First woman, first Black American, and first South Asian American Vice President of the United States.
Re-read the dates when women could get a credit card, own a home, own a business, when we could receive legal support for domestic violence, and especially when scientists actually started studying the female body (because they had to). These are all extremely recent. It's no wonder we may feel 'behind' or 'alone' in life.
Your mother and grandmothers did not have the opportunities available to them like you do right now.
Today, we are in a momentous time of reclamation. Collectively, all humans - especially women - are remembering and reclaiming their gifts, talents, and skills.
Many which are in opposition to the patriarchy and linear masculine modules of success.
Our independence is recent, yet deeply rooted in centuries of resilience and the courage of countless women who came before us. Understanding HERstory isn’t just a matter of looking back—it’s about recognizing the legacy we continue to build and pass forward.
Each milestone represents more than a date; it’s a testament to the sacrifices, voices, and visions that shape the world we know today. Let this timeline remind us of where we’ve been, inspire us in our current journey, and empower us to shape a future where every voice can rise, every woman can thrive, and each of us can live our truth fully and freely.
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure...As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
- Marianne Williamson
If you're being called to step into your remembering and reclaim your control and vitality of who you are - I warmly invite you to join me in our Intentional Living Collective.
This is one way to unleash the ties which may be holding you back from embracing the phase of life you're in and prioritizing yourself.
When you take care you - you take better care of everyone else.
You will gather with women in a way all of our ancestors did before the patriarchal constructs blocked us from trusting each other... and ourselves.
Learn about this sacred 3-month journey for Metro Detroit women here.
I'd love to work with you in this way. Join us.
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Deep bow of gratitude to my teachers for inspiration of this article: Usha Anandi of Womben Wellness and Sarah Jenks of Holy Woman.