31f: Women Fight for Equality

A. Take notes to explain how each helped to create or advance the movement.

Experiences in the workplace: Women were paid much less than men for the same jobs, which President Kennedy changed. Women got management positions that led them to notice their unequal status in society even more.
Experiences in social activism: Women noticed that they were "brushed aside" in groups/organizations. They took action and organzied small groups to discuss their concerns.
Consiousness raising: "Women shared their lives with each other and realized that their experiences were not unique."
Feminism: Women wanted the right to be economically, politically, and socially equal with men. In 1920, women won the right to vote.
Betty Friedan and the Feminine Mystique: Helped spread how women felt and were treated around the world.
Civil Rights Act of 1964: Womens movement gained strength when the Civil Rights Act was passed. This act prohibited discrimination based on race, religion, national origin, and gender. It also formed the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to deal with discrimination claims.
National Organization for Women (NOW): This group fought to pursue women's goals. This group fought for child-care facilities so women could pursue jobs and education. They prompted EEOC to declare sez-segregated job ads illegal and made employers unable to refuse to hire a women because it was traditionally a males job.
Gloria Steinem and Ms. Magazine: Steinem made her voice heard about feminism and equality. She created the group National Women's Political Caucus to encourage women to have a role in the political office. The Ms. magazine created was to show the contemporary issues from a feminist perspective.
Congress: Congress passed a ban on gender discrimination in education programs or things involving federal financial assistance. They also expanded the powers of the EEOX and gave parents that worked a tax break for child-care fees.
Supreme Court:

B. The Equal Rights Amendment would have guarunteed equal rights under the law, regardless of gender. Who opposed this amendment? Why?

Who: Phyllis Schlafly
Why: He believed that the ERA would lead to "a parade of horribles," like drafting women, ending of laws protecting homemakers, and the end of husbands responsibility to provide for his family, and same-sex marriages.