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Homemakers
Most women who went to work did so to help their families maintain a comfortable lifestyle. By the 1960s nearly 1/3 of all married women were working, but society still expected them to stay home. -
Betty Friedan
Many women who stayed home were also discontent.
Betty Friedan tried to describe the reasons for their discontent in her book The Feminine Mystique, published in 1963.Friedan traveled around the country interviewing women who had graduated with her from Smith College in 1942. -
NOW
By 1966, Betty Friedan realized that there was a need for an organization to promote feminist goals. Friedan and others then created the National Organization for Women (NOW) The new organization responded to frustrated housewives by demanding greater educational opportunities for women. -
Ms.
When NOW set out to pass an Equal Rights Amendment to the constitution, its membership rose to over 200,000. By July 1972, the movement had its own magazine, Ms., which kept readers informed about women's issued.The editor of the magazine was Gloria Steinem, an author who became one of the movements leading figures. -
Abortion
One of the most important goals for many women activists was the repeal of laws against abortion. Until 1973, the right to regulate abortion was reserved to the states. Early in the country’s history, some abortions were permitted in the early stages of pregnancy, but by the mid-1800s