It Hasn't Even Been 50 Years Since Women Were Allowed To Do These Things!

Pregnancy Discrimination Act in 1978

It wasn't until the Pregnancy Discrimination Act in 1978, an amendment to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, that women couldn't be discriminated against or fired from their jobs for being pregnant. This was a bit step ahead for women.

Even though it is illegal, work places "find their way around it" making it hard to prove that pregnancy was the reason.

It is almost hard to believe that these firings still go on, this year alone in the UK 77% of expectant mothers have experienced discrimination. Almost twice as much as 10 years ago.

This law although it's been in place for 38 years, still has much to improve upon.

Equal Credit Opportunity Act in 1974

In the early 1970's, women weren't allowed to own a credit card in their own name with out a male cosigner. Banks had a "no-man-no-credit-card" policy, especially if they were single. Even married women were often told to use their husband's card. It didn't matter what the woman's financial status was.

This was one of the factors in the women's rights movement.

In 1974 the Equal Credit Opportunity Act in 1974 was set in place and women were then allowed a credit card. Even then, many banks only considered half of their income when determining their credit limit.

Women were and still are charged a slightly higher percentage rate.

In 1975, the first women's bank was opened.

Not all states allowed women to serve on a jury

Utah was the first state to allow women to sit on a jury. That was in 1898. There were only 19 states by 1927 that allowed women to serve on a jury. However, a woman's first obligation was her family and were allowed to be excused from duty if they had children under the age of 14. They also felt that women should be spared listening to a trial of a sexual offensive nature. They also felt women would be too sympathetic towards the accused and that it was not a good idea to have men and women sit together for too long on a jury.

As late as 61, the Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, upheld a Florida law automatically exempting women from jury service. It wasn't until 1973 that women could serve on juries in all 50 states.

According to the court:

"Despite the enlightened emancipation of women from the restrictions and protections of bygone years, and their entry into many parts of community life formerly considered to be reserved to men, woman is still regarded as the center of home and family life. We cannot say that it is constitutionally impermissible for a State, acting in pursuit of the general welfare, to conclude that a woman should be relieved from the civic duty of jury service unless she herself determines that such service is consistent with her own special responsibilities."

Women couldn't take birth control

As far back as 3000 B.C. birth control methods were being used. Made from fish bladders, linen sheaths, and animal intestines. However "modern day" birth control was banned for women.

In 1873 the Comstock Act was passed. This prohibited distribution of any information, advertisements including actual birth control sent through the mail. Postal Services were allowed to confiscate them.

Although birth control was a taboo subject for most of the 20th century, a lady named Margaret Sanger opened the first birth control clinic in 1916. A year later she was jailed for 30 days. The courts deemed her guilty of maintaining a public nuisance. She opened the clinic again once released and continued to do so every time she was arrested, prosecuted and released. In a case involving Sanger, in 1938 a judge lifted the federal ban on birth control, thus ending the Comstock era. During that time other methods of contraception became available, such as, diaphragms. In 1950, while in her 80's, Sanders underwrote research to create the the first human birth control pill and raised $150,000 for that project.

Before 1957 birth control, doctors were allowed to write a prescription for "severe menstrual distress" only.

It wasn't until 1965 in a ruling that gave married couples the right to use birth control. Married women were not allowed to take birth control with out their husband's permission and if you were a single women it was illegal to take contraceptives in 26 states. It wasn't until 1972 a law was overturned in Massachusetts that didn't allow single women to use birth control.

Women could not refuse their husbands sex

Before the mid 1970's, women could not legally refuse to have sex with their husband, therefore also weren't allowed to claim marital rape either. Marital rape wasn't considered a crime until around 1979 when the first man was convicted of spousal rape, but it did not become a crime in all 50 states until 1993. However still today there are some states such as S. Carolina where there must be evidence of excessive force before charges can be filed and other loopholes some states still use in considering whether or not charges can be filed.