Founded in 1966, the National Organization for Women has become the largest feminist group that advocates for equal opportunity for women.
Although it has now reached 500,000 members, NOW was created by a small group of feminists including Betty Friedman, the author of the Feminine Mystique, actively challenged society's discrimination against women.They were frustrated by the government's lack of action in enforcing anti-discrimination laws, particularly during a discussion of the status of women during the third National Conference of Commissions. After they left feeling frustrated that women's issues were being discussed or acted upon, the group met in Friedman's hotel room to plan out the foundation of the organization.
The organization helped give women jobs in political posts, increased educational and employment opportunities for women, and created laws against harassment of women. In the past, the organization has addressed issues about abortion rights, child care, and pregnancy leave.
To help women receive the recognition that they lacked for their work in the home and workplace, the organization worked to popularize the slogans "Every Mother is a Working Mother" and "women who work outside the home". Additionally, in 1967, NOW became the first organization to advocate for the legalization of abortion laws and the repeal of anti-abortion laws. In an effort to stop violence against women in all spheres of influence, the group aided the federal government in passing the Violence Against Women Act in 1994.
Since its beginnings, one of the organization's main missions has been to get the Equal Rights Amendment of the Constitution ratified. Its purpose is to guarantee equal rights for all US citizens regardless of sex and end all legal distinctions between men and women for divorce, property, and employment. Although the organization hasn't been successful in the ratification yet, NOW continues to fight for its ratification to this day to guarantee legal equality between men and women.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/National-Organization-for-Women
https://www.learningtogive.org/resources/national-organization-women
https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/national-organization-for-women/
https://historyengine.richmond.edu/episodes/view/6334
https://history.hanover.edu/courses/excerpts/111now.html
It's very interesting to me how this group has been fighting for the ERA for so long yet it still hasn't passed. Despite the fact that polls show that a majority of Americans support the passing of the ERA, it still hasn't been made a part of the US constitution. As of this year, the 3/4 of the states needed to ratify the amendment have after Virginia ratified it in January 2020 but there may be an issue because the deadline for 3/4 ratification was in 1982. Some argue that this deadline was not legally binding but it remains to be seen what will end up happening now.
ReplyDeleteSource: https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2020-02-24/ap-norc-poll-most-americans-support-equal-rights-amendment
The information is well organized and gives a good description of the foundation, functions and aims of NOW. Also I would like to add that one of the priorities for activists is to end the criminalization of trauma. Unfortunately, sexual violence agaisnt women and girls is at an alarmingly high rate in the USA today. It is ignored on a cultural and institutional level and women are forced to suffer in silence. Moreover, victims are often criminalized for behavior stemming from their abuse. NOW is aimed at ending violence of all forms against women. Among the steps they want to make is to regard the problem on a state and federal level, uplift protections of women across all sectors, and provide resources for women to address the psychological and emotional trauma stemming from violence. This campaign will contribute greatly to the equality of human rights
ReplyDeletehttps://now.org/nap/ect/