Just last week I was on a website looking at electricity rates when I saw an article on my news site about women not being able to make as much as men in the work place. The fact remains that women are not quite given the same rights as men. And in certain situations, where they might have similar rights, the conditions of those freedoms are strongly curtailed. Case in point, many men still make more than women do even though women hold down similar positions in office and are capable of acting just as professionally, if not more. While this is not the case everywhere it certainly raises some questions.

However, regardless of what side you want to take on this particularly heated argument, the truth is that while women might have more rights than they did in the earlier decades, they still have nowhere near the level of equality that they deserve and, frankly, that needs to change.

New Zealand led the way and gain suffrage for women in 1893 and Australia followed. It was not until the early 1900′s the women’s movement gathered momentum and gained national attention in the United States. By 1920, the Women’s Suffrage Movement had accomplished the passing of the nineteenth amendment. This is the law that gave women in this country the right to vote.

In spite of the achievements that women have made today and the fact that a universal women’s rights agreement is in force, there are still places on the globe where women are experiencing oppression. The reality is that if any woman on the planet is oppressed and restricted each one of us is still being held back. Until all women become empowered to exercise their own will, the struggle continues for womankind.

A good place to begin when speaking of the movement is to discuss the very first recorded convention held to discuss women’s rights. The convention was held in 1848 in New York state. Out of this convention the Declaration of Sentiments was born. This bold declaration called for equal rights and voting rights for women to be established by law. Soon afterwards in 1855 the first national convention was held with over 1,000 attendees.

From that point the movement moved quickly. Two prominent individuals who helped shape the movement were Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. They two leaders would help to form the National Woman Suffrage Association. This organization sought to give women the right to vote (suffrage). In 1893 Colorado becomes the first state to adopt an amendment to allow women to vote. Other states soon followed. And finally after years of struggle The 19th amendment is passed which gave women the right to vote .

Womens equal rights can take a backseat when the women themselves do not take a stand for the respect that is deserved. While this disrespect mostly comes from males, women ignoring their rights that have been fought for, for so many years, can fuel the fire. One thing that should not be confused, however, is that women who choose to be stay at home mothers are not giving up their equal rights. Equal rights is the right to choose a path, whether it be a corporate career or caring for children. Just as men that choose to be child care givers are not relinquishing their rights, women that choose the path of child care are invoking their rights.