1900s: More women join the fight for women's suffrage, or the right to vote. Suffragettes begin to campaign in areas like New York City.

Today: Women have the right to vote, and an increasing number of women hold some of the nation's most prestigious government positions. Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsberg occupy two of the nine seats on the United States Supreme Court, while in the 107th Congress, 13 percent of the members of the Senate and roughly 14 percent of the members of the House of Representatives are women. In addition, in 1996, President Bill Clinton appoints Madeleine Albright as the first woman Secretary of State, a nomination that is unanimously approved by the Senate the following year.

1900s: In addition to the fight for voting privileges, some women—including Charlotte Perkins Gilman—speak out about other inequalities between the sexes, particularly...