Women's History Consortium Themes Overview
The fight for permanent woman's suffrage in Washington, however, spans over 50 years in territorial and state history. Washington was the first state in the 20th century and the fifth state in the Union to enact women’s suffrage. Washington women’s success in 1910 helped inspire the campaign that culminated in passage of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920, when women won the right to vote nationally.
The study of the history of Washington State's women's organizations provides a useful vehicle for understanding women’s contributions to our past. Women who settled in the Pacific Northwest were quick to establish voluntary associations for self-improvement, charitable work, and civic reform, especially from the mid-nineteenth century to the 1930s.
Although some women were elected to serve as County School Superintendents as early as 1880, the Washington State Legislature passed a law in 1890 disqualifying women from public office. After Women's Suffrage was enacted in the state in 1910, Washington’s first women legislators were elected in 1912 and served in the 1913 State Legislature. 218 women have served in the Washington State Legislature since 1913.
During her 43 years in public office, Julia Butler Hansen became one of the greatest political figures Washington has ever known. This WHC profile presents a brief biographical introduction and points visitors to numerous resources available for further study.
Women in Washington State participated in the "second wave" of feminism of the late 20th century, beginning in 1963 when then Governor Albert D. Rosellini appointed the first Commission on the Status of Women in Washington. Since then, Washington enacted a series of feminist laws including legalizing abortion in early pregnancy in 1970, approving the Equal Rights Amendment in 1972, as well as enacting Equal Credit for Women in 1972 and No-Fault Divorce in 1973.