1971 Gloria Steinem, Bella Abzug, and Shirley Chisholm found the National Women’s Political Caucus to encourage women to seek public office. 1972 The Equal Rights Amendment (first introduced by Alice Paul in 1923) is passed by Congress. 1972 Shirley Chisholm announces her candidacy for president of the United States. 1972 Birth control is legally available to single women. 1972 Phyllis Chesler publishes Women and Madness, broadening the field of femi- nist psychology. 1972 Title IX of the Education Amendment prohibits discrimination in schools based on gender, which increases women’s participation in athletic programs. 1973 Roe v. Wade establishes a woman’s right to a safe, legal abortion. 1974 Phyllis Chesler cofounds the National Women’s Health Network to offer accurate and unbiased information on women’s health care. 1976 The first marital rape law is passed in Nebraska, making it illegal for a hus- band to rape his wife. 1976 Shere Hite publishes The Hite Report: A Nationwide Study on Female Sexuality. 1976 President Jimmy Carter creates the National Advisory Committee on Women. 1977 Bella Abzug gains over a million dollars in federal support to convene a National Women’s Conference in Houston, Texas. 1978 The Pregnancy Discrimination Act bans hiring and firing discrimination based on pregnancy. 1979 Susan Brownmiller founds Women Against Pornography. 1980 Audre Lorde publishes the Cancer Journals, the first work to address the viewpoint of a lesbian of color and cofounds the Kitchen Table Women of Color Press. 1980 bell hooks initiates a support group for African American women, Sisters of the Yam. 1982 The Equal Rights Amendment fails ratification by the states. 1983 Catharine MacKinnon and Andrea Dworkin are hired to draft city ordinance making pornography a civil rights violation. 1984 Term ‘‘glass ceiling’’ is coined to describe lack of advancement of women in the workplace. 1984 Geraldine Ferraro is the first woman candidate for vice president of the United States. 1985 Wilma Mankiller is elected as principal chief of the Cherokee Nation. 1986 The Supreme Court rules that sexual harassment is a form of illegal job discrimination. 1990 Camille Paglia publishes Sexual Persona and criticizes feminists as perpetual victims and man-haters. Timeline of Women’s Rights in the United States xiii
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