Quiz of the Day
Women's Equality Day
Wednesday, 26 August 2026
August 26, 1920 — the 19th Amendment was certified, giving American women the right to vote. Explore women's suffrage, equality movements, and trailblazers throughout history
1. The 19th Amendment to the US Constitution was certified on August 26, 1920. What did it guarantee?
- Women's right to own property
- Women's right to serve in military
- Equal pay for women
- Women's right to vote
The 19th Amendment reads: 'The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.' It passed Congress in June 1919 and was ratified on August 18, 1920, when Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify — by a single vote from 24-year-old Harry Burn, who changed his mind after receiving a note from his mother urging him to 'be a good boy.'
2. The women's suffrage movement in the US formally launched at the Seneca Falls Convention in which year?
- 1848
- 1872
- 1836
- 1860
The Seneca Falls Convention (July 19–20, 1848) in New York was organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott. It produced the 'Declaration of Sentiments,' modeled on the Declaration of Independence, declaring 'all men and women are created equal.' The demand for women's suffrage was the convention's most controversial resolution — even Frederick Douglass's eloquent support barely got it passed.
3. Which country was the first to grant women the right to vote nationally?
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Australia
- New Zealand
New Zealand became the first self-governing country to grant women the right to vote in 1893, largely due to the campaign led by Kate Sheppard. New Zealand women could vote but couldn't stand for parliament until 1919. Australia followed in 1902 for white women. The UK and US didn't grant full women's suffrage until 1918/1920 respectively. Saudi Arabia was one of the last countries, granting women the right to vote only in 2015.
4. Sojourner Truth delivered her famous speech 'Ain't I a Woman?' at which convention in 1851?
- The Women's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio
- A Congressional hearing in Washington DC
- The Seneca Falls Convention
- An abolitionist meeting in Boston
Sojourner Truth, born into slavery and self-emancipated, delivered her extemporaneous speech to a women's rights convention in Akron, Ohio in 1851. The speech linked women's rights to the anti-slavery movement and challenged white feminists who were reluctant to include Black women. Her words 'Ain't I a woman?' challenged both racism and sexism simultaneously, making the speech an enduring text of intersectional feminism.
5. In the UK, the Suffragettes were known for militant tactics. What did Suffragette Emily Wilding Davison do at the 1913 Epsom Derby?
- Set fire to a police station
- Chained herself to the Queen's carriage
- Interrupted the Derby broadcast on national radio
- Threw herself under the King's horse and died from injuries
Emily Wilding Davison ran onto the Epsom Derby track on June 4, 1913, and was struck by King George V's horse Anmer. She died four days later from head injuries. Whether she intended to die or planned only to attach a Suffragette banner to the horse's bridle remains debated. Her funeral procession through London attracted 50,000 people. She had previously been imprisoned seven times and force-fed 49 times during hunger strikes.
6. Equal pay legislation was first passed in the United States in which year?
- 1938
- 1954
- 1963
- 1972
The Equal Pay Act of 1963 made it illegal to pay women less than men for the same work. President Kennedy signed it as part of his New Frontier program. Despite this, the gender pay gap persists: as of the 2020s, American women earn approximately 82 cents for every dollar men earn. The gap is larger for women of color — Black women earn about 64 cents and Latinas about 57 cents per dollar earned by white men.
7. Who was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, winning twice in two different scientific fields?
- Lise Meitner
- Dorothy Hodgkin
- Marie Curie
- Rosalind Franklin
Marie Curie won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 (for her research on radioactivity) and the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1911 (for discovering polonium and radium). She remains the only person to win Nobel Prizes in two different sciences. Her work was literally killing her — she died of aplastic anemia in 1934 from chronic radiation exposure. Her notebooks from the 1890s are still too radioactive to handle safely.
8. What was the 'Glass Ceiling Commission,' and what did it find?
- A UN body studying global gender inequality
- An OSHA panel studying workplace safety at tall buildings
- A 1991 bipartisan commission that found invisible barriers prevent women from senior roles
- A Congressional committee reviewing equal pay legislation
The Glass Ceiling Commission was established by the Civil Rights Act of 1991. The term 'glass ceiling' — invisible barriers preventing women and minorities from advancing in organizations — had entered the mainstream in the mid-1980s. The commission confirmed systematic barriers in hiring, promotion, and compensation. Decades later, women still hold fewer than 30% of senior executive positions in Fortune 500 companies.
9. The #MeToo movement went viral in 2017, but who originally coined the term and when?
- Alyssa Milano coined it in 2017 after Harvey Weinstein allegations
- Gloria Steinem used it in a 1975 magazine article
- The term emerged from the 2014 Gamergate controversy
- Tarana Burke founded 'Me Too' in 2006 to support sexual violence survivors
Tarana Burke, a Black activist, created the 'Me Too' movement in 2006 to help survivors of sexual violence in underprivileged communities find pathways to healing. When actress Alyssa Milano tweeted #MeToo in October 2017 following Harvey Weinstein allegations, it went massively viral with 12 million posts in 24 hours. Burke was frustrated that her decade of work wasn't initially credited, raising important questions about whose voices define feminist movements.
10. Who was the first woman to serve as US Vice President?
- Kamala Harris
- Nancy Pelosi
- Hillary Clinton
- Condoleezza Rice
Kamala Harris became the first woman, first Black American, and first person of South Asian descent to serve as US Vice President when she was inaugurated on January 20, 2021. Her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, emigrated from India, and her father, Donald Harris, came from Jamaica. Harris's election was widely seen as a historic milestone, although she herself has said: 'I may be the first, but I won't be the last.'
11. Betty Friedan's 1963 book, often credited with launching second-wave feminism, was called what?
- The Female Eunuch
- Sexual Politics
- A Woman's Room
- The Feminine Mystique
Betty Friedan's 'The Feminine Mystique' (1963) identified 'the problem that has no name' — the widespread discontent of educated American women trapped in domestic roles. It sold 3 million copies in 3 years and helped spark second-wave feminism. Friedan co-founded the National Organization for Women (NOW) in 1966. Critics noted her book largely represented middle-class white women's experience, missing the intersecting challenges of race and class.
12. As of 2025, what percentage of national parliamentary seats worldwide are held by women?
- About 27%
- About 18%
- About 10%
- About 40%
Women hold approximately 26–27% of parliamentary seats globally as of the mid-2020s — up from just 11% in 1995. Rwanda leads the world with women holding about 61% of parliamentary seats — the result of deliberate constitutional quotas introduced after the 1994 genocide reshaped the country's politics. Nordic countries consistently rank highest among established democracies for women's political representation.
13. The ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) to the US Constitution would guarantee equal legal rights for all Americans regardless of sex. Has it been ratified?
- No, it was never proposed to the states
- No, it failed ratification in 1982 and the question of late ratifications is disputed
- Yes, it was ratified in 1982
- Yes, finally ratified in 2020 by the 38th state
The ERA was passed by Congress in 1972 but needed 38 states to ratify by 1982. It fell 3 states short. Virginia became the 38th state to ratify in 2020, but legal experts and the Justice Department debate whether the deadline is valid. The ERA's fate remains unresolved — and the US Constitution still contains no explicit guarantee of women's equal rights, despite the 14th and 19th Amendments.
14. What is the 'double burden' or 'second shift' concept related to working women?
- The additional workplace harassment women face as bosses
- The expectation that women do both paid work AND the majority of unpaid domestic work
- Working two jobs to make up for pay inequality
- Having to prove competence twice as much as male colleagues
Sociologist Arlie Hochschild coined 'the second shift' in her 1989 book of the same name after studying dual-income couples. Despite entering the workforce in equal numbers, women still perform significantly more unpaid domestic labor (cooking, cleaning, childcare) than men. Studies consistently show women work an extra month of 24-hour days per year on unpaid labor. The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically widened this gap when childcare and schools closed.
15. In what year did Saudi Arabia allow women to drive cars?
- 2002
- 2021
- 2018
- 2010
Saudi Arabia was the only country in the world to ban women from driving. The ban was lifted in June 2018 as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's reform agenda. Ironically, the most vocal advocates for lifting the ban — women who had publicly driven in protest — were arrested in 2018 on the eve of the change taking effect and held without charges for months, accused of 'harming national security.'