1960s: Abortion is legalized in the mid-sixties in Britain and the United States, yet it is still severely limited in Ireland, a predominantly Catholic country.

Today: Federal and state governments chip away at abortion rights in the United States as anti-abortion groups gain strength. Women in Ireland, led by the Irish Family Planning Association, continue to petition the government there for easier access to abortions, which still remain illegal except in cases in which the mother's health is threatened.

1960s: In 1963, Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tershkova becomes the first woman in space.

Today: Women continue to travel in space as well as run large corporations. Media mogul Oprah Winfrey is one of the most powerful and wealthiest people in the world.

1960s: In 1963, The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan is published. The book chronicles the growing sense of dissatisfaction women feel about the unequal treatment...