1972The first female FBI agents are sworn in. Before then, the bureau operated under exemptions to federal regulations concerning equal employment. It long held that women could not handle the physical rigors of the agent position.1981President Ronald Reagan nominates Sandra Day O’Connor as the first female justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Prior to her appointment, she served as a judge in Arizona and in the state Senate — the first female majority leader in any American legislative body.