Women’s Work: Votes Won, Rights Denied — The Long Fight for Women’s Suffrage, Part 2 – The Saturday Evening Post

Historical Analysis of the Women’s Suffrage Movement and its Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals

Introduction: The Enduring Quest for Gender Equality and Political Inclusion

A 1908 gathering in Seneca Falls commemorated the 60th anniversary of the historic women’s rights convention. While foundational figures had passed, the struggle for equal rights was ongoing. This report analyzes this historical struggle through the lens of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), primarily focusing on SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities), and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions). The movement, particularly the efforts of women of color, highlights the critical need to address intersecting forms of discrimination to achieve full political inclusion.

At the 1908 event, activist Mary Church Terrell acknowledged the immense courage required by early suffragists like Elizabeth Cady Stanton. By this time, the movement for women’s equal political rights had grown substantially, yet the fight was compounded for women of color who faced racism and exclusion, underscoring the deep-seated challenges to achieving SDG 10.

Intersectional Activism and the Pursuit of SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

The advancement of women’s suffrage was significantly driven by women of color, whose contributions were pivotal in challenging the systemic barriers that prevented the realization of truly universal voting rights. Their work directly addressed the aims of SDG 10.2, which calls for the social and political inclusion of all, irrespective of race or gender. These leaders understood that suffrage was not an end in itself but a crucial tool for dismantling broader systems of oppression.

Key Activists Championing Inclusive Suffrage:

• Black American Leaders: Figures such as Mary Church Terrell, Adella Hunt Logan, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, and Ida B. Wells-Barnett organized through national clubs and community networks. They championed suffrage as a necessary step in the larger fight against racism and segregation, aligning their efforts with the goals of both SDG 5 and SDG 10.
• Indigenous and Annexed Peoples’ Advocates: In Hawaii, Wilhelmina Kekelaokalaninui Widemann Dowsett and Emma Ka’ilikapuolono Metcalf Beckley Nakuina linked the fight for women’s suffrage to the protection of Native Hawaiian self-determination.
• Immigrant and Minority Group Activists: On the mainland, Chinese immigrant Mabel Ping-Hua Lee led suffrage parades while advocating for full citizenship for Chinese Americans. Tye Leong Schulze became the first Chinese American woman to vote in California in 1912. In New Mexico, Adelina Otero-Warren organized bilingual suffrage campaigns to ensure the movement was inclusive.
• Native American Rights Proponents: Activists Marie Louise Bottineau Baldwin and Zitkala-Ša fought for indigenous rights and suffrage at a time when most Native Americans were denied U.S. citizenship, a fundamental barrier to achieving the justice and inclusion outlined in SDG 16.

Legislative Milestones and Persistent Barriers to SDG 5: Gender Equality

The ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920 was a landmark achievement for SDG 5, constitutionally affirming that the right to vote could not be denied on account of sex. However, this legal victory did not translate into universal suffrage. For many women of color, the promise of the amendment was nullified by discriminatory state laws and practices that perpetuated the inequalities targeted by SDG 10.3.

Systemic Barriers to Voting Post-1920:

1. Poll Taxes: These fees created an economic barrier that disproportionately disenfranchised Black and low-income voters.
2. Literacy Tests: These were administered in a discriminatory manner by registrars to prevent Black Americans from voting.
3. Grandfather Clauses and Intimidation: These legal loopholes and threats of violence were used to suppress the Black vote.

This reality led to a divergence in activist priorities. While Alice Paul and the National Woman’s Party introduced the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in 1923 to ensure constitutional equality between men and women, many women of color focused on the more immediate struggle against racial discrimination, which remained the primary obstacle to their political participation.

Building Inclusive Institutions: The Path to the Voting Rights Act and SDG 16

The decades following the 19th Amendment saw continued, targeted activism aimed at dismantling the legal and social structures of voter suppression. These efforts represent a sustained campaign to build the “effective, accountable and inclusive institutions” envisioned in SDG 16.7.

Key Post-Amendment Initiatives for Inclusive Suffrage:

• Territorial and State-Level Campaigns: Milagros Benet de Mewton fought for women’s suffrage in Puerto Rico. Following the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, legal battles continued, securing voting rights for Native Americans on reservations in New Mexico (1948) and Utah (1957). In 1955, Lucy Nicolar Poolaw became the first woman to vote on a reservation in Maine.
• Grassroots Education: In the 1950s, Septima Clark developed “citizenship schools” to help African Americans pass discriminatory literacy tests, a direct action to empower citizens and enable their participation in democratic processes.
• The Civil Rights Movement: The work of Clark, alongside leaders like Ella Baker, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Diane Nash, was instrumental in building the momentum that led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was a watershed moment for both SDG 10 and SDG 16. By banning literacy tests and authorizing federal oversight of elections, the act dismantled key institutional barriers. Its immediate impact was profound, with 250,000 new Black voters registered by the end of that year, making American democracy more representative and just.

Conclusion: A Legacy of Courage in the Framework of Sustainable Development

The long and arduous fight for women’s suffrage in the United States, from Seneca Falls to the Voting Rights Act, underscores the principles at the heart of the Sustainable Development Goals. The movement’s history demonstrates that achieving SDG 5 (Gender Equality) is inextricably linked to the progress of SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions). The “courage and strength of mind” of generations of activists, particularly women of color who fought on multiple fronts, reshaped American democracy and provided a powerful historical lesson: true equality requires a relentless and inclusive commitment to dismantling all forms of discrimination and building institutions that serve everyone.

Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 5: Gender Equality

  • The article’s central theme is the historical struggle for women’s suffrage, which is a fundamental aspect of gender equality. It details the fight to “demand equal political rights for her sex” and the eventual ratification of the 19th Amendment, which states that the right to vote “shall not be denied or abridged… on account of sex.”

• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

  • The article strongly emphasizes the intersection of gender and racial inequality. It repeatedly highlights how “women of color… faced barriers far beyond the ballot box” and had to confront “racism, xenophobia, and exclusion.” It details the specific struggles of Black, Native American, Chinese American, and Native Hawaiian women, and the discriminatory practices like poll taxes and literacy tests used to disenfranchise them.

• SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

  • The fight for voting rights is a fight for more just, inclusive, and accountable institutions. The article discusses the use of “legal battles,” constitutional amendments (the 19th Amendment), and landmark legislation (the Voting Rights Act of 1965) to reform the political system and ensure “equal access to justice for all” in the context of political participation.

What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

1. SDG 5: Gender Equality

   • Target 5.5: Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life.
     
     The entire article is a historical account of the movement to achieve this target. The decades-long campaign for women’s right to vote, involving “organizing, writing, protesting, and demanding the vote,” was aimed at securing women’s participation in political life. The article notes that activists knew winning the vote was a crucial “step in larger efforts to confront… systemic barriers to political power and equality.”

2. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

   • Target 10.2: By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, colour, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status.
     
     This target is addressed through the article’s focus on the exclusion of women of color. It describes how Black women, Native American women, Chinese American women, and others were systematically excluded from voting even after the 19th Amendment. The efforts of figures like Mary Church Terrell, Mabel Ping-Hua Lee, and Zitkala-Ša were aimed at achieving political inclusion for their respective communities against barriers of “racism, segregation, and systemic barriers.”
   • Target 10.3: Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory laws, policies and practices and promoting appropriate legislation, policies and action in this regard.
     
     The article provides clear examples of discriminatory laws and practices, such as “poll tax,” “literacy test,” and rules about a grandfather’s voting status, which were designed to “prevent Black Americans from voting.” The passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which “banned literacy tests” and gave the federal government enforcement power, is a direct example of legislation enacted to eliminate such discriminatory policies.

3. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

   • Target 16.7: Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels.
     
     The demand for suffrage is a demand for inclusive and participatory decision-making. The article highlights how women were excluded from the political process and fought to have their voices heard. The work of activists like Adelina Otero-Warren, who “organized bilingual suffrage campaigns in New Mexico,” and Septima Clark, who developed “citizenship schools to help African Americans pass the literacy tests,” were direct actions to make the political system more inclusive and representative of all people.

Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

1. For SDG 5 (Gender Equality)

   • Indicator 5.5.1: Proportion of seats held by women in (a) national parliaments and (b) local governments.
     
     While not stating numbers, the article implies this indicator by focusing on the prerequisite for it: the right to vote. The struggle for “equal political rights” and “political power” is the foundation for women to eventually hold office. The article mentions Adelina Otero-Warren, who organized campaigns, as an example of women moving into political life.

2. For SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities)

   • Indicator 10.3.1: Proportion of population reporting having personally felt discriminated against or harassed… on the basis of a ground of discrimination prohibited under international human rights law.
     
     The article provides a qualitative historical narrative of this indicator. The descriptions of “voter suppression, intimidation, and legal exclusions” faced by women of color, and the “racism, xenophobia, and exclusion from the mainstream movement,” serve as documented accounts of widespread, systemic discrimination.

3. For SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions)

   • Indicator related to voter registration and participation by demographic group.
     
     The article provides a direct, quantifiable indicator of progress. It states that after the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was enacted, “250,000 Black Americans became registered voters by the end of that year.” This number is a direct measure of the law’s immediate impact on making institutions more inclusive.
   • Indicator related to the existence of discriminatory laws and regulations.
     
     The article implicitly tracks this by chronicling the removal of discriminatory laws. It notes the existence of poll taxes and literacy tests and then documents their removal with the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. It also tracks the extension of citizenship and voting rights to Native Americans through the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 and subsequent court decisions in 1948 and 1957.

Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

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