Pioneering Women and Early Government Leaders

The Women's Rights Movement

33-cent Women's Rights Movement stamp
The logo for the United Nations Development Fund for Women serves as the design for the Women’s Rights Movement stamp. The stamp was issued on November 18, 1999.

The Women’s Rights Movement emerged alongside the fight for abolition. Many of the early leaders in the movement worked to promote both causes. Together these women worked to ensure equal rights in areas such as suffrage, employment, education, property ownership and child custody.

The passage of the 19th Amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote was a milestone in women’s rights. The movement again experienced an increased momentum in the 1960s as women secured government protection in areas such as employment. Grassroots support and the dedicated work of many national women’s rights groups continue to promote gender equality in the United States and abroad.