The Quiet Revolution

by Megan Tackney, Acting Outreach Manager
National Women's Law Center

Historians and feminists consider the Quiet Revolution to have begun in the late 1970s. It is described as a period of time in the history of women’s rights marked by large increases in college and graduate school enrollment among females. It is said to have built off of changes 15 years earlier, when the country began to experience major expansions of women in the labor force. A monumental shift was occurring in the futures women desired and believed they could achieve.

Made legal in 1960, the pill did not become easily available until the 1970s, when the age of majority was lowered to 18 and young women could purchase the pill without parental consent. With the ability to control when they would have children, women had more choices. And when given the choice, many pursued advanced education and careers that would lead to long-term gainful employment.

Married or not, the pill gave women the ability to move up the career ladder without fear of needing to abruptly leave the workforce. Along with landmark laws like Title IX and Title VII, thanks to the pill, women began to be seen as wage earners rather than just caregivers. They could support themselves, contribute to their families, and in many cases, serve as the only breadwinner. Thirty years later, women continue to depend on birth control to ensure control over their fate whether it is in school, on the job, or in any other part of their life.

Most people don’t consider feminism to be a quiet movement, but for this part of our history, this gradual change proved to be one of the most powerful and long-lasting strategies.