A. Consciousness :

It took organized effort and many years for women to get the vote in America. The struggle for equal rights in the United States and internationally is not over. In which ways do women have equal rights? In which ways do they not? What were some of the impediments to women getting the right to vote? What are some of the obstacles now?

Read what Brenda Hollis says:
"…Any human being acts differently, depending upon the kind of center that they have within them. If you have a center that says you have strengths and abilities and should be allowed to develop those, then I think it's easier to move into situations that are non-traditional areas, because you, yourself, feel that you have a right to be there, you have a right to make a contribution. "

Can you think of an example of this in your own life or in someone’s life whom you know?

B. Moving from consciousness to action:

Read what Ron Dellums says:
"Assuming the responsibility for the knowledge you have once you see injustice, once you understand pain, you cannot walk away from that responsibility. Once you see the harm that's being done, you no longer can have the excuse of ignorance. And once you know, it seems to me that you then have to assume the responsibility of that knowledge."

What is that responsibility that he is talking about?
Identify five people from the time line who took on that responsibility.
If you were going to do one thing for women’s rights, what might that be? How would it help?

C. Organizing:

Find examples in the time line of one woman acting.
Find examples of when women form groups.
Are these examples found in the same categories in the time line or different categories? Why do you think this is true?
Which way would you want to influence a movement: individually, as part of a group or both? Why?
Which people in the feature act individually, as part of a group or both?

Read Elise Boulding:
"I think the one important early achievement was the cessation of testing in the atmosphere. And that was a wonderful example of a mobilization, on the one hand, of mothers with their concern for babies, and scientists who tested the babies' teeth to identify levels of strontium-90; you had a coalition of people who, one way and another, have stayed active. The women never really returned to business as usual since those early demonstrations in the sixties. You've had a growing participation of women in peace movements."

What types of mobilization do you think she is referring to?

D. Power:

Read Laura Tyson:
"In general, women are less adept or less willing to just jump into conversations. I think they're more likely to do better in structured conversations. So that's an example of a negative. I think that it's still the case today that if you look at the press and look at how many times women are quoted versus men, that there is a tendency still to perceive power and wisdom more with men than women."

How does the current power structure support discrimination? How can people change this? Why is it important for women to be involved in politics?

E. Law:

Read Manuel Castells:
"In the last thirty years there has been the most extraordinary cultural revolution in history. Women have changed the way they think about themselves. Once women in industrialized countries, but also in most developing countries, decided that the patriarchal family (the institutional domination of men over women and children in the family) is not correct, that men and women are equal and women have to develop their own interests and culture, have their own relationship to work, to everything – once women have changed that, everything changes. "

Read Anita Gradin:
"...It's strong women's organizations that make the difference. In countries where you have that, then you also have more women in politics, and they are able to influence. And that's not only the experience I have from Sweden. It's also in international organizations or in the European Union."

Find four examples in the time line which resulted in securing women’s rights by changing the law in the United States? Find one example which changed international law to secure women’s rights?