Meagan Taylor, who is in her 40s and works in the nonprofit sector in Boston, stopped outside the courthouse to watch as members of the news media prepared for a statement by Mr. Weinstein’s lawyer. “I think this is a historic day — for women, for justice, for equality,” she said.

“Probably 99 percent of women, at least my age, have been in a situation where they have felt uncomfortable due to a man in power,” she said.

For those who have spoken out about their own experiences with misconduct, the day carried many meanings.

Drew Dixon, who was one of three women who accused the music mogul Russell Simmons of rape in a December report in The New York Times, said the news that Mr. Weinstein would be arrested was unexpectedly unsettling.

“I started shaking,” she said in a phone interview on Friday morning. “I was stunned that it had escalated to something with real legal consequences for him.”