Women have continuously fought for the right to be equal to their male counterparts, and 2024 was no different. For centuries, the fight has sparked discussions regarding a woman’s place in the workplace and the home, calling into question the design of society itself. However, assuming there is no acceleration in legislation to promote and protect equality, we are still 131 years away from gender equality, according to Focus2030—an organization that is leading the “fight against inequality.” Hopefully in the coming year, the movements that gained traction in 2024 will have done enough to kickstart this acceleration, leading a world closer to gender equality than ever before.

Before being able to analyze how the new year will have an effect on the role of women, we must first understand how gender equality has arrived where it has today. In ancient civilizations, such as Egypt and those in Arabia, women often held the right to own property and initiate divorce. However, these rights were often rescinded in favor of male dominance over property and livelihood. 

In the United States, the 1848 Married Woman’s Property Act allowed women to financially act as “individuals,” rather than being tied to their husbands. In 1920, with women gaining the right to vote, they were given a bigger voice in society. As the century wore on, women gained more liberties, progressing at an unhurried rate. By 1974, the Equal Credit Opportunities Act was put into effect in the U.S., mandating fairer treatment of women by creditors. In 1980, the term sexual harassment was defined by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as “unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature.” The decision also stated that employers could be held liable should sexual harassment occur in the workplace, hopefully leading to a better working experience for women. 

In 2007, the Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company case brought the issue of the gender pay gap to the forefront of the gender equality discussion, as plaintiff Lily Ledbetter found she was being paid $15,000 less than the “lowest-paid male employee with the same job title.” Although the MeToo movement went viral internationally in October 2017, the movement had its roots in 2006, beginning with Tarana Burke and a goal to address society’s issues of sexual harassment and abuse, and hopefully leading to a greater recognition of the plight of sexual harassment survivors globally. 

The wheels have been in motion for the feminist movement in the U.S. for quite some time. The question is, however, how will recent shifts in politics and society shape how this movement carries forward?

In 2024, women have continued to take social media by storm, sharing both positive and negative interactions they have as women, going viral for calling out interviewers for blatantly sexist comments, and disseminating stories about being a woman in today’s world. These movements on social media were mirrored in the court system around the world as women spoke out about harassment and abuse they underwent in the past. With the legal victories of American E. Jean Carroll—the woman who was sexually harassed by president-elect Donald J. Trump—and French Gisèle Pelicot—the woman who was drugged and raped by her husband and 50 other men in the span of a decade—more light is being shed on the injustices female-presenting individuals endure. In addition to these astounding legal wins, France’s enshrining of abortion access into their constitution represents even more victories made during 2024. 2024 was not a perfect year for the advancements of women’s rights, however. Focus2030 stated that roughly 30 percent of countries have made no advances towards gender equality since 2015. Additionally, 18 countries—including Afghanistan, Venezuela, and South Africa—have fallen backwards on women’s rights and gender equality. Under the power of the Taliban, for example, women’s rights have diminished. Now, it is illegal for women to look directly at men, speak in public, or dress in clothing that does not cover their faces and bodies in thick cloth. 2024 was both a victorious and terrifying year for women’s rights.

As for American women’s rights in the coming year, President-elect Donald Trump’s administration and Project 2025 seem to be in the brightest spotlight. Project 2025, created by the Heritage Foundation—a conservative think tank—and 140 Trump-associated officials, is a guidebook for the coming administration on how to implement the desired policies—many of which are extreme—on American society. Project 2025 presents a focus on maintaining a strong family unit through the prohibition of abortion, saying, “the next conservative president should work with Congress to enact the most robust protections for the unborn […] and comply with statutory bans on the federal funding of abortion.” Should Project 2025 be implemented during the Trump administration—although it is not confirmed that it will be—women’s rights and gender equality will be greatly impacted. With the ongoing debate about whether abortion access is synonymous with women’s rights, 2025 is sure to be an important year for women in America. On the other hand, the Trump administration might represent strides forward for women in politics. So far, Trump’s projected cabinet is set to include eight women compared to the four women he had during his last term. Prominent roles that have been promised to women include President-elect Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, the Education secretary, Linda McMahon, and the Homeland Security secretary, Kristi Noem, among other women.

Internationally, 2025 is set to be a year for discussion, and hopefully progress, regarding feminist agendas. From March 10th to 21st, the United Nations will be holding the 69th Session of the United Nation’s Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69). CSW69 will represent the 30-year anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women that took place in Beijing in 1995. At the Fourth World Conference on Women, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action was passed, which identified areas in which women’s rights could be advanced and provided a standard global policy for women’s empowerment and gender equality. 

Gender equality is a fight for basic human rights, but is something that has always evaded society’s grasp. Hopefully, with increased global collaboration and communication, legislators and the common people can come together to create a world that is both welcoming and safe for all.

Information retrieved from Focus2030, The Guardian, the Global Fund for Women, BBC, Legalmomentum.org, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Kaiser Family Foundation, Project 2025, the Hill, the National Women’s Law Center, and the United Nations.