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Betty Friedan
Betty Friedan was an American writer, activist, and feminist. In 1963, she published The Feminine Mystique. This book explores the idea of women finding fulfillment in their beyond traditional roles such as cooking and cleaning. Additionally, she co-founded the national organization for women in 1966 along with Shirley Chisholm, Muriel Fox, Pauli Murray, and she served as the first president. https://www.biography.com/people/betty-friedan-9302633 -
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Women's Rights
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Event 1
Equal Pay Act: In 1961, activist Esther Peterson was appointed the head of the Women’s Bureau. Soon after, President Kennedy established the “Presidential Commission on the Status of Women”. This resulted in the development of recommendations for achieving complete equality with men and women. This ended in Esther Peterson in February of 1963 submitting a draft of the Equal Pay Act in front of Congress on behalf of the Kennedy administration. In June, the bill was signed by President Kennedy. -
Event 2
In 1964, the Civil Rights Act (Title VII) became intact. This bill prohibited every employer from discrimination among their employees or hiring on the basis of sex, race, national origin and religion. Not only did this Civil Rights Bill address employment, but, discrimination in voting, public areas and even in education environments. -
Event 3
In 1972, the ERA was finally passed by Congress and sent to the states for ratification. the ERA had been ratified by only 35 states, three states short of the 38 required to put it into the Constitution. The ERA had many benefits for women. The employment gains progressed quite slowly but steadily between 1969 and 1976. -
Event 5
In 1972, Title IX of the Education Amendments was put into action. This bill stated that; "No person in the US shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied benefits or, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance." -
Event 4
Roe v. Wade; this decision made by the United States Supreme Court on the issue of the constitutionality of laws that criminalized or restricted access to abortions. In a majority opinion written by Justice Harry A. Blackmun, violated a woman’s constitutional right of privacy, which it found to be suggested in the liberty guarantee of the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment (“…nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law”). -
Continued Problems
-The first problem is the sexual abuse and domestic violence women still encounter today. The last count for rapes and sexual assaults was in 2014 with 270,000 per year. The abuse rages from young women all the way to elderly women.
-The second problem is the wage gap. The gap is widest in the medical, law, and business fields. There is a saying among people that for every dollar men make women make 77 cents. -
Major Accomplishments
- In 1972, the ERA was passed by Congress. The employment gains progressed slowly but steadily between 1969 and 1976.
- NOW was established on June 30, 1966 in Washington, D.C., by people attending the Third National Conference of the Commission on the Status of Women. 3.John F. Kennedy signed the bill in 1963 as an amendment.This act made it illegal for a woman to be paid less than a man at the same job. https://www.infoplease.com/spot/womens-rights-movement-us-0
