The women's movement, particularly spearheaded by organizations like the National Organization for Women (NOW), focused on achieving gender equality through various goals and strategies.
Used the clause in Civil Rights Act to challenge discrimination
Protected Miss America pageant.
Strategy of NOW was working with existing political system, lobbying for political reforms and readying court cases to compel the government to enforce existing legislation that banned discrimination
Another goal of NOW was to protect reproductive rights, especially the right to abortion
A major goal of NOW was to get the Equal Rights Amendment passed, which would guarantee gender equality under the law.
Resistence
Phyllis Schlafly worked to defeat ERA and denounced the movement as a total assault on the family, marriage and children. Because of her, ERA fell three states short of becoming a constitutional amendment.
Outcomes
Majority of nation's poor people are single women, some are single mothers who have costs and responsibilities of raising children alone
Average woman still makes less than the average man
Fields such as medicine, law, and accounting have opened up
Percentage of women in workplace has grown from 30% in 1950 to more than 60% in 2000.
Civil Rights Act made discrimination based on sex illegal
divided Americans: Some said women hadn't gained enough rights, other felt the movement has actually harmed society
sparked an important debate about equality that continues today
gained equal rights that had been denied to them
Roles and opportunities expanded
People/Organization
More radical feminists such as Gloria Steinem used mass media to help their cause, founded feminist magazine, Ms., which denounced Playboy and the objectification of women.
Sandra Day O'Connor became first female Supreme Court Justice
National Organization for Women (NOW)- Established by Betty Friedan, dedicated itself to winning "true equality for all women" and to attaining a "full and equal partnership of the sexes". Set out to break down barriers of discrimination in the workplace and in education
Betty Friedan- Wrote the book, Feminine Mystique, articulated the message that women did not want to be viewed just as housewives and that they wanted more to their lives.
Events
Title IX of the Higher Education Act of 1972 banned discrimination in education.
Roe v. Wade in 1973 assured women right to legal abortions
Equal Credit Opportunity Act passed in 1974 which made it illegal to deny credit to a woman just because of her gender
Kenedy established the Commission on the Status of Women in 1961
When Civil Rights Act passed, it set up the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
