Steps toward Gender Equality

During the 20th century, men and women made great strides toward securing some of their rights and participating more fully in professional and political life. In the first part of the century the percentage of women who could read and who attended college increased, and in country after country, women won the right to vote. However, not all the women in a country won the right to vote at the same time. In the United States, for example, white women won the right to vote in national elections in 1920. Native American and African American women did not have full voting rights throughout the country until the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Britain granted women the right to vote in 1918, but at first only women over 30 who met a property qualification could do so. British women did not achieve the same right to vote as men until 1928. In Australia, white women gained some voting rights in 1894, but aboriginal men and women did not gain the right to vote until 1962.

As of 2018, only the tiny country of Vatican City did not allow women to vote. Whether women are able to exercise their vote is another issue. In Pakistan, women gained the right to vote in 1947. However, in 2013, women cast only 10 percent of votes there.