The National Organization for Women

In the 1960’s, it seemed as though strong feminist voices were diminishing. After the 1910s, Suffrage era feminists like Susan B Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton had finally won the cause they sought, but there was so much left to accomplish. The momentum that began with those women in the early 20th century began to slow, and new ideas of suburban society after WWII left a place for women in the home. The media swiftly swept feminist ideals under the rug, and displayed the modern suburban mom. After Betty Friedan’s book, The Feminine Mystique, was published, an outcry of women called out against the societal inequalities that women faced. In the 1960s the civil rights movement rose to prominence and in just four years, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 came to Congress. With a new force fighting against oppression, feminist activists found a new reason to fight. That same year, feminists began to lobby for the passing of an amendment prohibiting sex based discrimination in employment. The act was ultimately passed with the addition later that year, however there was still little protection for women in the workforce.

Doctor and former member of The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Dr. Pauli Murray sought equality following a controversial ruling. She denounced the EEOC after a vote allowing a bill to be passed that allowed sex segregation in job advertising. After Betty Friedan, the acclaimed author of the Feminine Mystique, contacted her about her quitting the EEOC, the two began a correspondence and partnership. In 1966, both women attended The Third National Conference of Commissions on the Status of Women. Alongside them were other feminist activists who came to repeal the bill that allowed sexual discrimination in the workforce. Many women came to congress and the EEOC seeking reform, but were all told that they had no authority. After a tip from an attorney for the EEOC, Friedan and Murray decided to stop waiting on revolution. After gathering a group of 15-20 like-minded women, they went to organize a group in Friedan’s hotel room. The passionate room of women discussed the new group’s policies, and Friedan wrote the acronym NOW (National Organization for Women) on a hotel napkin that day. Gene Boyer, an activist who attended that first meeting said, “NOW was a reality and I think we all felt somehow we had participated in a significant beginning.”. The group’s popularity soon skyrocketed, and only a month later there were over 300 male and female members of NOW. As a recognized group, they had the authority to formally propose legislation, and have a firm backing. After hiring a legal committee to take action against the “protective’ sex labor laws, they finally got rid of the bill. Since its founding, NOW has been a part of most major women’s rights issues, and has fought for the rights of women all over the world.