Chronology

Full chronology version
National Organization for Men Against Sexism

1990

The National Organization for Changing Men changes its name to the National Organization for Men Against Sexism and adopts anti-racism as one of its key tenets two years later.

1990

Independent taxation is introduced in the United Kingdom. Married women are now taxed separately from their husband after two hundred years of their income being part of the husband's earnings.

1990

Chris Lea wins the leadership contest for the Green Party of Canada. This makes him the first openly gay leader of a political party in Canadian history.

1990

Rosella Bjornson becomes the first Canadian women to be appointed to the rank of captain whilst flying for Canadian Airlines.

1990

Iron John: A Book About Men by Robert Bly is published. It will become synonymous with the mythopoetic men's movement.

1991

The law in the Australian state of Queensland is changed and sodomy becomes decriminalised.

1991

The White Ribbon Campaign is founded by Jack Layton, Ron Sluser and Michael Kaufman in London, Ontario to combat male violence against women across the globe.

1992

The government of Paul Keating abolishes the ban on gay men and lesbian women serving in the Australian military.

1992

Betty Boothroyd becomes the first female speaker in the United Kingdom's House of Commons and serves in this role until 2000.

1992

The Canadian federal court decides to lift the ban on homosexuals serving in the armed forces.

Roberta Bondar

1992

Roberta Bondar becomes the first female Canadian astronaut when she participates in Mission STS-42 from the 22 to the 30 January.

1993

Professor Marilyn Butler becomes the first woman to be appointed head of a former all-male college both the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford.

1993

Warren Farrell's book The Myth of Male Power: Why Men are the Disposable Sex is published. It becomes a key texts of the men's movement and attempts a re-examination of the perceived advantages of men in modern society.

1994

The Violence Against Women Act is passed in the United States and provides services for women who are victims of domestic abuse and rape. These services include: rape hotlines and crisis centers, legal help and a rape shield law.

1994

The National Fatherhood Initiative is founded in the United States on the 7 March. It aims to improve how father's perform their parental duties and advocates for fathers to be responsible and involved in the well-being of their child.

1994

The age of consent for homosexual relations is lowered from 21 to 18 after a House of Commons vote in the United Kingdom.

1995

Jim Egan and Jack Nesbit receive the decision from the Canadian Supreme Court that as a gay couple they are not entitled to claim a spousal pension under the Old Age Security Act. The court does rule, however, that freedom from discrimination based on sexual orientation is a protected right.

1995

The Canadian province of Ontario extends family benefits to employees who are in same-sex relationships.

1995

Ontario becomes the first Canadian province to allow same-sex couples to adopt a child.

1996

President Clinton signs the Defence of Marriage Act which bans federal recognition of same-sex marriage in the United States. It also defines marriage as being between a man and a woman.

1997

The High Court of Australia upholds the gay panic defence, allowing defence attorneys to claim that their client acted in a short burst of insanity because they didn't know the sexuality of their victim.

Madeleine Albright

1997

Madeleine Albright becomes the first female to hold the position of Secretary of State. She serves in this position until 2001.

1997

The Equality Network is established as one of Scotland's primary organisations dedicated to improving LGBT rights.

1998

On the 28 October, Glen Murray is elected mayor of Winnipeg and becomes the first openly gay mayor of a major city in Canada and North America.

1998

The Canadian Supreme Court decides that the Alberta Individual Rights Protection Act should be interpreted as including protection of homosexuals.

1999

The Queer Youth Network is established by David Joseph Henry and CN Lester in Manchester, England. Characterised by its youth-led campaigns, the organisation is dedicated to abolishing Section 28 of the Local Government Act and making the age of consent between gay men the same as the age of consent for hetereosexuals.

1999

The Canadian House of Commons passes a resolution - 216 to 55 - to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

1999

Michael Cashman becomes the first openly gay UK member elected to the European Parliament. He is one of the co-founders of Stonewall UK.

1999

The International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women is given an official sanction by the United Nations General Assembly to be held on the 25 November of each year. It is in honour of the assassination of The Mirabal sisters.

2000

The Labour government under Tony Blair removes the policy which bars homosexuals from joining the armed forces.

2000

Tim Stevenson becomes Canada's first openly gay cabinet minister after he is appointed to the Legislative Council of British Columbia.

2001

The age of consent for homosexual relations is lowered to 16 making it the same as the age of consent for heterosexual people.

2001

The Headline Media Group launches PrideVision TV, which becomes the first 24-hour channel in Canada to be targeted towards LGBT audiences.

2001

On the 10 June, former Canadian Prime Minister Joe Clark attends and marches as the grand marshal of Calgary Pride. He becomes the first former Prime Minister of Canada to attend a Pride event in this capacity.

2001

Matt O'Connor established Fathers 4 Justice, a father's rights organisation which advocates for equal custody, equal parenting and parliamentary reform for father's rights.

2002

Same-sex couples applying for adoption in the United Kingdom are granted the same rights as a heterosexual couple.

2002

Toronto City Council passes a resolution which calls the Canadian common-law definition of marriage between a heterosexual couple discriminatory.

2002

The Supreme Court of the United States reaches a decision that Marc Hall is allowed to bring his boyfriend to the school prom of Monsignor John Pereyma Catholic Secondary School. Hall brought the case to the Supreme Court because the school did not allow him to bring his date on the basis that homosexuality is contrary to the teachings of the Roman Catholic church.

2003

The Employment Equality Regulations make it illegal for employers to discriminate against gays, lesbians or bisexuals in the United Kingdom.

2003

On the 10 June the Ontario Court of Appeal orders the Ontario government to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Michael Stark and Michael Leshner become the first couple to enter a same-sex marriage in Canada a few hours later.

2003

On the 12 June the Court of Appeal for Ontario rules that the definition of marriage as a union between a man and a woman is in direct violation with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This decision legalises same-sex marriage in Ontario.

2003

On the 8 July, the British Columbia Court of Appeal orders the British Columbian government to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

2003

On the 14 August the United Church of Canada votes to endorse same-sex marriage at their council meeting in Nova Scotia.

2004

The Civil Partnership Act allows same-sex couples to enter into a union which has the same rights as married couples.

2004

The Labour Government passes the Gender Recognition Act. This gives transsexual people legal recognition as members of their desired sex and allows them to have a new birth certificate.

Chris Smith

2005

Chris Smith becomes the first MP in the British Parliament to announce that he is HIV positive.

2005

The United States Supreme Court decides that Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits punishing an employee for lodging a complaint of sexual harassment.

2005

After several provinces legalised same-sex marriage, the Civil Marriage Act is given royal assent at federal level on the 19 July and all homosexual couples across Canada are allowed to marry.

2005

Condoleezza Rice becomes the first female African-American to hold the position of Secretary of State. She serves in this position until 2009.

2007

Nancy Pelosi becomes the first female speaker of the House of Representatives. She serves in this position until 2011.

2008

Hilary Clinton becomes the first First Lady of the United States to run for the American presidency.

St Hilda's College

2008

St Hilda's College is the last female-only college of Oxford University to admit men. Cambridge University is now the only university in the United Kingdom to have female-only colleges.

2008

The National Coalition of Free Men changes its name to the National Coalition for Men.

2009

A Voice For Men is founded in 2009 by Paul Elam as a website and an online publication. It is a supporter of the men's rights movement and is ardently anti-feminist.

2010

Julia Gillard is elected Prime Minister of the Australia, becoming the first female to hold this position. She serves in this position until 2013.

2010

Judy Cameron becomes the first female captain of a Boeing 777 in Canada.

2012

On the 19 June unlawful discrimination based on Gender Identity and Gender Expression is added to the Ontario Human Rights Code.

2013

Queen Elizabeth II grants Alan Turing a posthumous pardon after he was prosecuted for his homosexuality in 1952.

2013

The government of Julia Gillard passes an Amendment to the Sex Discrimination Act which makes it illegal to discriminate against LGBT citizens.

2014

The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act, which recognises same-sex marriages, is entered into law on the 29 March 2014. Scotland follows suit in legalising gay marriage in December of this year.

2016

South Australia passes a law which allows same-sex couples to adopt children.

2016

Professor Louise Richardson becomes the first woman to hold the position of Vice-Chancellor at the University of Oxford.

2017

On the 15 November the result of the postal vote regarding the legalisation of same-sex marriage is announced. Over 61% of eligible Australians vote to change the law to allow same-sex couples to marry.

2017

Annastacia Palaszczuk, the Premier of Queensland, apologises to the residents of Queensland who were convicted for homosexual relations before 1991.