What event during this time may have sparked this newfound independence of women and ushered in an ear of adopting more modern societal values

There were not just one event, but many important ones that sparked the independence of women and with that, a modern era of societal values.

By the 1920's, post  World War I occurrence open opportunities for young American women. For instance, The Flapper was a new fashion with some natural elegance. Women wore hats, waistless dresses a little bit above the knees, silk stockings and sleek fashion shoes.

Regarding labor, many work opportunities were created due to the industrial economy in factories, offices and new professions.

The 60's really catapulted feminism and a new set of values for women. The Federal Drug Administration approved the firts "Pill" for birth control(1960), President John F. Kennedy issued an executive order called "Commission on Status of Women"(1961), and the "Equal Pay Act"(1963).

In 1970, Title IX of Education Amendments prohibits discrimination in schools. In 1981, Sandra Day O'Connor was the first woman seated on the Supreme Court. In 1993, the Supreme Court rules that sexual harassment in the workplace was illegal.

And finally, in 2005, Condoleezza Rice was the first black woman Secretary of State, and in 2017, Hillary Rodham Clinton ran for the Presidency of the U.S.