31.2Women Fight for

Equality

What social and economic barriers did women face in American Society?

Quiz

1. Belief that women and men are equal

2. What does ERA stand for?

3. Which supreme court case legalized abortion?

4. Conservative activist that led the opposition to the ERA?

5. Author of The Feminine Mystique.

Key Terms

•Feminism•Betty Friedan•National Organization for Women (NOW)•Gloria Steinem•Equal Rights Amendment•Phyllis Schlafly

Key Dates

• 1963- Betty Friedan publishes The Feminine Mystique• 1964- Civil Rights Act• 1966- National Organization for Women (NOW) formed• 1971- Gloria Steinem founds National Women’s Political Caucus• 1972- Higher Education Act- Title IX• 1972- Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)• 1973- Roe v. Wade legalizes abortion• 1982- ERA officially fails to be ratified

Women in the Workforce

• 1950- only 33% women had ever worked for wages• 1960- 40% of women worked outside the home•Made up 1/3 of nations workforce

•Many jobs were considered “Men’s Work” and women were barred from those careers•Mainly worked as teachers, nurses, secretaries, retail sales,

and social work•What do these jobs have in common?

Social Activism

• Feminism• Define:

• The belief that women should have economic, political, and social equality with men

• Underlying belief behind women’s movement

• Inspired by Civil Rights and Anti-War Movements• Faced sexism and discrimination in

those movements

A Movement Emerges• 1963- Betty Friedan• Author of The Feminine Mystique• Argued against the view that

women are meant for house work and child bearing • Reaction to 1950s

stereotypical Housewife and social conformity

• Advocated for opportunity for Women in Careers outside the home

Successes and Failures• 1966- National Organization for Women

(NOW) is formed• “…To confront with concrete action

the conditions which now prevent women from enjoying the equality of opportunity…which is their right as individual Americans and Human Beings.”• NOW Statement of Purpose

• New York Radical Women protested the Miss America Pageant • Gloria Steinem helped found the

Women’s Political Caucus to help women get elected to government positions• 1972 she founded Ms. Magazine

• 1972-Higher Education Act• Title IX- helped gain more opportunity for women to go to college

• 1973- Roe v. Wade• Made abortions legal in the United States• Debate still ongoing today

Equal Rights Amendment

• 1972- Congress Passes the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)• Needed 38 of 50 states to ratify the constitution • “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the

United States or by any state on account of sex”• Opposition from conservatives groups stalled the ERA’s ratification• Phyllis Schlafly – Opponent of ERA• Believed ERA was the work of radical Feminists who, “…hate men, hate

marriage, and hate children.”

“Feminism is doomed to failure because it is based on an attempt to repeal and restructure human nature”

•Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.•Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to

enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.•Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years

after the date of ratification

Reflection Question:Why do you believe people would oppose this amendment?

Reflection Questions

•How did the values and conformity of the 1950s affect the women’s movement in the 1960s and 1970s. Think about both the supporters and opponents of the women’s movement? •How do you think most minority women reacted to the women’s movement?