Top 20+ Things Women Weren't Allowed to Do Until the 20th Century

The Rights Women Had to Fight For

Women's rights have come a long way. From not being able to cast a vote to losing citizenship upon marriage to a non-American, there were many challenges women faced before things started to change. They weren't even allowed access to birth control pills or even the ability to refuse intimacy in marriage. As you read through this article, it's worth celebrating the progress that's been made. Here are 20 things women weren't allowed to do until the 20th century.

1. Vote

While you now have the ability to cast your vote and voice out your opinions on certain politicians, it wasn't until 1920 that women across the United States were granted this right, when the 19th Amendment was ratified. Sexist men who argued against women exercising this right also believed that women were more emotionally driven than men, who held more intellect and proper judgment. 

2. Have a Passport

It's easy now for both single and married women to travel alone, but before the 1930s, this was nearly impossible. Married women, in particular, were merely listed as add-ons, their identities inextricably tied to their husbands' but as almost an afterthought on their joint passports: "Mr. John Doe and wife." At the time, women traveling without their spouse was extremely frowned upon, and was even considered inconceivable.

3. Wear Pants

It wasn't just considered odd for women to wear pants—it was even often illegal. The norm was for women to wear dresses, and those who strayed from this unspoken expectation were frowned upon. It wasn't until a shift in high fashion and women who challenged the tradition that more trousers and pantsuits began appearing in wardrobes.

4. Divorce

While women technically were able to divorce their husbands throughout the 20th century, it was certainly not as easy nor as intuitive as now. Many states had differing laws and rules, and in some regions, divorce wasn't even legal. Women also often had to take the brunt of the downfall, even if they had valid reasons, which led to many being dissuaded to continue with the process.

5. Join the Military

Apart from nursing, women weren't allowed to enlist in the military as active members. But the lack of recruits in World War II prompted revision, allowing women to fill non-combat roles as needed. It wasn't until 1948 that Congress passed the Women's Armed Services Integration Act, which enabled women to serve as permanent, regular members of the military.

6. Keep Their Maiden Name

Women nowadays have the choice to keep their surname or take their husbands', but back in the day, they didn't have a choice. Not only was it socially unacceptable, it also brought serious repercussions. Some workplaces wouldn't even issue payroll to those who kept their maiden name.

7. Own Property

Before the 1840s, women who were married weren't allowed to own property—at least not under their own names. Under the system of coverture, any land or assets, no matter how they were acquired, legally belonged to the husband. That began to change by the mid-19th century, when states like Mississippi, New York, and Oregon passed the Married Women’s Property Act.

8. Attend University

Though women technically were able to attend university, their options were severely limited. In fact, pursuing higher education was considered by most to be unfathomable, given that many believed women to be intellectually inferior to men and that their place was in the home. Strides toward making education more equal and accessible for women didn't begin until the 18th and 19th centuries. By the 20th century, women were able to enter fields once reserved strictly for men, such as law, science, and medicine.

9. Access Birth Control

A woman's body is her right. And yet, it wasn't always so easy to obtain the pill, even when the first oral contraceptive, Enovid, became available in 1960. Condoms, intrauterine devices, and the withdrawal method were more heavily relied on. By 1972, the Supreme Court finally legalized birth control for all citizens, regardless of marital status.

10. Shop without an Escort

As was the norm in the 1800s, women weren't allowed out and about without being accompanied by a man. Even when this started to change in the late 19th century, it was mostly women from higher-income households who had the luxury to exercise this freedom. 

11. Smoke in Public

While women were allowed to smoke in their own homes, it was generally frowned upon by society for them to enjoy a cigarette in the same open spaces as men did. In some cities, like New York, it was even illegal for women to smoke in public establishments—though this law was quickly vetoed by the mayor, barely lasting two weeks.

12. Serve on a Jury

The Supreme Court allowed states to restrict jury pools to men only, and for a while, that was the norm. It wasn't until Utah decided that women were equally qualified to join, in 1898, that other states began to follow suit. The right for women to serve on a jury didn't become a nationwide right until 1968, when Mississippi was the last state to approve it.

13. Compete in Certain Olympic Sports

Women weren't allowed to compete in the Olympics until the 1900 Summer Games in Paris, and even then, there were limited female athletes (making up only 22 out of a total of 997), given that only five sports were open to them—tennis, sailing, croquet, equestrianism, and golf. It wasn't even until the 21st century that women were allowed to box in the Olympics!

14. Keeping Their Own Money

Women wasn't just unable to own property—they weren't even able to keep their own money. This was again due to the common law system of coverture, which prevented married women from keeping their own wages. This changed in the 20th century, when new laws were implemented throughout the US that allowed women this basic right, instead of having to pass their earnings to their husbands.

15. Keeping Their Citizenship

The Expatriation Act of 1907 stated that any woman marrying a non-American would lose her citizenship, though she could later regain it through a naturalization process if her husband were to become a naturalized citizen. This law lasted for 15 years until the Cable Act of 1922 reversed it.

16. Getting a Credit Card

The invention of credit cards in the mid-20th century made them something of a novelty, and for a few decades, women weren't allowed to obtain their own without a husband to cosign the application. It wasn't until 1974 that the Equal Credit Opportunity Act axed this requirement, prohibiting creditors from discriminating based on gender, race, color, marital status, and religion. 

17. Work Fair Hours

The hours women worked weren't fairly regulated, either. The only law upheld by the Supreme Court which restricted women from working more than 10 hours a day was in the state of Oregon—though the court didn't rule it so out of equality. Rather, it was because if a woman's shift ran too late, it would interfere with her maternal duties at home.

18. Work in Certain Professions

In the same way that women weren't allowed to pursue higher education or enter male-dominated fields until the 19th and 20th centuries, it's not surprising that they were limited in the professions they could choose. They were, after all, expected by society to remain in domestic roles. Beyond homemaking, however, women often took on roles in nursing, teaching, agriculture, and textile mills.

19. Refusing Intimacy in Marriage

Before the mid-1970s, many states didn't deem forced intimacy in marriage as criminal or even illegal. And because it was believed that wives gave irrevocable consent upon marriage, men weren't prosecuted or punished by law if they committed non-consensual acts. It wasn't until 1993 that it became illegal in all 50 states, though disparities still exist.

20. Working While Pregnant

Women could once be fired for being pregnant. In some states, they were even prohibited from working before and after their delivery, and in certain professions, like teachers, women were required to take unpaid maternity leave. It wasn't until the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 was passed that things started to change.