Women's Rights In The 1960s
By the end of the 1960s women had limited rights.
By: Megan Hong
Word Count (essay only):1,489
By the end of the 1960s women rights were still limited but many long term issues were dealt with. It was most notably the time of the American Women’s Rights Movement and although many rights were legislated, it took decades for it to be enacted. Iconic feminism figures spoke and acted upon behalf of all the women, pin-pointing the rights they truly deserve.
Women still greatly lacked the fairness in society they merited. Therefore women themselves took measures to improve and openly dispute about the system. In 1966, the National Organization for Women (NOW) was founded by a group of feminists including Betty Friedan being the largest …show more content…
women’s rights group in the US. NOW seek to end sexual discrimination, especially in the workplace, by means of legislative, lobbying, litigation, and public demonstration. By the next year, 1000 women had joined; four years later membership reached 15000. NOW and similar organizations helped make women increasingly aware of their limited opportunities and strengthened their resolve to increase them. In the mid-to late 1970s, however, the women’s movement stagnated. It failed to broaden its appeal beyond the middle class. Conservative opponents mounted a campaign against the Equal Rights Amendment, and it died in 1982 without gaining the approval of the 38 states needed for ratification. As a result American women continued to be denied of their equality of rights by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
Women fought for a change. Since women were denied basic rights in most aspects of society, from political rights to reproductive rights, women in the United States fought vigorously for equality. For example, women fought for their rights to not be symbolized as ‘beauty objects’ or ‘sex objects’. In 1968, 100 women protested the Miss America Beauty Pageant because it promoted ‘physical attractiveness and charm as the primary measures of a woman’s worth’, especially the swimsuit portion of the contest. Society also believed that a ‘woman could either be a career woman or she could stay at home and have children’. It was believed that if a woman were to become pregnant, she would stay in the home, caring for her children because that was where she belonged. As a reaction women were determined to break through that stereotypical view of being just a domestic docile housewife. Women also struggled to receive equal pay and equal recognition compared to the men in their profession. Since married women had to leave the workforce, it was one of the reasons why no one employed them at child bearing age. During the 1950s and 1960s, increasing numbers of married women entered the labour force, but in 1963 the average working woman earned only 63 per cent of what a man made. Women lacked the satisfaction of justice due to their limited rights.
Unfortunately, these changes took a long time in coming. Women were thought to be feminist militants if they wanted any type of change in society and called communists and man haters if they had anything to do with the liberation movements. Because of these accusations, many housewives felt scared to get involved in the movement which the career women tried to gain their support. Due to the lack of support for the career women, there were only few gains in the early years. It was only when women such as Gloria Steinem (born March 25, 1934), Simone de Beauvoir (January 1908 – 14 April 1986) and Angela Davis (born January 26, 1944) got involved, that normal housewives felt that they could make a difference and their rights were worth fighting for.
Women were still considered less important than men and didn’t have the same opportunities. One major setback that women faced in the 1960s was that as men realized what women were trying to do, some did as much as they could to keep fully qualified women out of their workplaces. When Betty Friedan published her highly influential book The Feminine Mystique in 1963, she proposed several reforms which described the dissatisfaction felt by middle-class American housewives with the narrow role imposed on them by society. One of which was making education more accessible to women. She noted that colleges need to offer classes that focus on academic disciplines instead of ‘self-enrichment’ classes that do not prepare women for careers and that they need to hire more female faculty members that are balancing their mother-wife roles and their careers to serve as positive role models for students. Friedan also emphasized that a major reform needs to include a national education program, which would provide financial aid to woman wanting to continue or return to their education, as well as access to day-care centres. In the 1960s, there were no women bus drivers, welders, fire fighters, news anchors, CEOS or Supreme Court Justices. Women professors, doctors, scientists and lawyers were extremely rare. The percentage of men and women with a bachelor’s degree or more, ages 25 or older were substantially different. As well comparing the low per cent of managers who were women in that time. This proving that there were still many barriers for women in education and in the workplace.
However the obvious advancement of women’s rights was evident in comparison to the lives women led in earlier times. In the past, the life of a woman had been difficult - denied rights, trapped at home their entire life and discriminated against the workplace. The thought that women could have a say in their government and leave home without feeling guilty about leaving their children alone was achieved to an extent. In 1960, the Food and Drug Administration approved birth control pills. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy established the President’s Commission on the Status of Women appointing Eleanor Roosevelt as chairwoman. It made specific recommendations for improvement including fair hiring practices, paid maternity leave, and affordable child care. In 1963, June 10th, the Congress passed the Equal Pay Act, making it illegal for employees to pay a woman less than what a man would receive for the same job. In 1965, the Supreme Court strikes down the one remaining state law prohibiting the use of contraceptives by married couples. In 1967, Executive Order 11375 expanded President Lyndon Johnson’s affirmative action policy of 1965 to cover discrimination based on gender. As a result, federal agencies and contractors must take active measures to ensure that women as well as minorities enjoy the same educational and employment opportunities as white males. In 1968, the EEOC rule that sex-segregated help wanted ads in newspapers are illegal therefore opening the way for women to apply for higher-paying jobs hitherto open only to men. Also, in 1969, California became the first state to adopt a ‘no fault’ divorce law, which allows couples to divorce by mutual consent. By 1985 every state adopted a similar law. Women were beginning to be heard but not all issues were addressed.
It was also after the 1960s were women shown a little more justice. In 1970, a US Court of Appeals rules that jobs held by men and women need to be ‘substantially equal’ but not ‘identical’ to fall under the protection of the Equal Pay Act. This means that an employer, for example, cannot change the job titles of women workers in order to pay them less than men. In 1972, June 23rd, Title IX of the Education Amendments bans sex discrimination in schools. As a result, the enrolment of women in athletics programs and professional schools increased dramatically. In 1973, the Supreme Court established a woman’s right to safe and legal abortion, overriding the anti-abortion laws of many states. In 1974, The Equal Credit Opportunity Act prohibits discrimination in consumer credit practices on the basis of sex, race, marital status, religion, national origin, age, or receipt of public assistance. A wage differential occurring ‘simply because men would not work at the low rates paid women’ is unacceptable. In 1976, the first marital rape law was enacted in Nebraska, making it illegal for a husband to rape his wife. As well as in 1978, The Pregnancy Discrimination Act banned the employment discrimination against pregnant women. Under the Act, women cannot be fired or denied a job or a promotion because she is or may become pregnant, nor can she be forced to take a pregnancy leave if she is willing and able to work. These rights were enacted after decades of persistence and hard work.
In conclusion, by the end of the 1960s, women rights were still limited as many rights struggled to be achieved due to the constant obstacle of criticisms by the society’s concrete views. However though several issues and problems were addressed by the end of the 1960s, some improvements continued further on. In comparison to the life women led earlier, the advancement was monumental however comparing it from today’s perspective, women indeed had very limited rights.
Graph 1 - Percentage of Men and Women with a Bachelor’s Degree …
Graph 1 - Percentage of Men and Women with a Bachelor’s Degree …
Graph 2 - Percentage of Managers Who Are Women
Graph 2 - Percentage of Managers Who Are Women
Bibliography:
Website(s) -
Women in the Workforce, n.d., United States Census Bureau, accessed 25 May 2013, <http://www.census.gov/newsroom/pdf/women_workforce_slides.pdf>.
Notes: This pdf document gave me a very detailed and accurate understanding of the gap between woman and men in terms of their participation in the workforce. By having that information represented in a graph, it was convenient for me to use it as a reliable source in my assignment as it is clear and well explained.
Women 's Rights Movement in the U.S., 2007, Infoplease, accessed 25 May 2013, <http://www.infoplease.com/spot/womenstimeline2.html#ixzz2TLQz8SGp>.
Notes: We were given the timeline in hardcopy in class however by going onto to the website itself it allowed me to have a foundation on the woman’s rights movement and how that progressed from there. Being a very reliable source it gave specific detail on the rights that women achieved and what they had yet to achieve which was extremely helpful for my assignment.
The Women 's Movement, n.d., U.S. Department of State, accessed 25 May 2013, <http://countrystudies.us/united-states/history-131.htm>.
Notes: This site was very useful as it focused on the time frame - 1960s to the 1970s. It spoke in depth about the way some famous feminists of that time significantly took control and changed society on behalf of women’s rights and interests.
The Women 's Liberation Movement of the 1960s, n.d., Vintee Sawhney, accessed 25 May 2013, <http://www.uic.edu/orgs/cwluherstory/_notes/GrrlSmarts/sawhney.html>.
Notes: The author Vintee Sawhney, is a high school student living in Wisconsin.
It was an essay originally produced for her American Studies class. Vintee conducted an e-mail interview with CWLU Herstory Project member Estelle Carol as part of her project. It was a great source as the topic she focused on was similar to what my assignment was about. By having a first-hand source it gave me a better insight of the topic.
The Role of Education in 1960s Movements for Equality, 2011, Yahoo!, accessed25 May 2013, <http://voices.yahoo.com/the-role-education-1960s-movements-equality-10176905.html?cat=37>.
Notes: This source was exceptionally helpful as it not only discussed about the successes of the women rights movement but also the failures in depth. It was comprehendible, useable and most importantly, relevant.
~Images are from Google Images~
~Graphs are from the United States Census Bureau~
--------------------------------------------
[ 1 ]. The Women 's Movement, n.d., U.S. Department of State, accessed 25 May 2013, .
[ 2 ]. The Women 's Liberation Movement of the 1960s, n.d., Vintee Sawhney, accessed 25 May 2013, .
[ 3 ]. The Women 's Liberation Movement of the 1960s, n.d., Vintee Sawhney, accessed 25 May 2013, .
[ 4 ]. Women 's Rights Movement in the U.S., 2007, Infoplease, accessed 25 May 2013,
.
By: Megan Hong
Word Count (essay only):1,489
By the end of the 1960s women rights were still limited but many long term issues were dealt with. It was most notably the time of the American Women’s Rights Movement and although many rights were legislated, it took decades for it to be enacted. Iconic feminism figures spoke and acted upon behalf of all the women, pin-pointing the rights they truly deserve.
Women still greatly lacked the fairness in society they merited. Therefore women themselves took measures to improve and openly dispute about the system. In 1966, the National Organization for Women (NOW) was founded by a group of feminists including Betty Friedan being the largest …show more content…
women’s rights group in the US. NOW seek to end sexual discrimination, especially in the workplace, by means of legislative, lobbying, litigation, and public demonstration. By the next year, 1000 women had joined; four years later membership reached 15000. NOW and similar organizations helped make women increasingly aware of their limited opportunities and strengthened their resolve to increase them. In the mid-to late 1970s, however, the women’s movement stagnated. It failed to broaden its appeal beyond the middle class. Conservative opponents mounted a campaign against the Equal Rights Amendment, and it died in 1982 without gaining the approval of the 38 states needed for ratification. As a result American women continued to be denied of their equality of rights by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
Women fought for a change. Since women were denied basic rights in most aspects of society, from political rights to reproductive rights, women in the United States fought vigorously for equality. For example, women fought for their rights to not be symbolized as ‘beauty objects’ or ‘sex objects’. In 1968, 100 women protested the Miss America Beauty Pageant because it promoted ‘physical attractiveness and charm as the primary measures of a woman’s worth’, especially the swimsuit portion of the contest. Society also believed that a ‘woman could either be a career woman or she could stay at home and have children’. It was believed that if a woman were to become pregnant, she would stay in the home, caring for her children because that was where she belonged. As a reaction women were determined to break through that stereotypical view of being just a domestic docile housewife. Women also struggled to receive equal pay and equal recognition compared to the men in their profession. Since married women had to leave the workforce, it was one of the reasons why no one employed them at child bearing age. During the 1950s and 1960s, increasing numbers of married women entered the labour force, but in 1963 the average working woman earned only 63 per cent of what a man made. Women lacked the satisfaction of justice due to their limited rights.
Unfortunately, these changes took a long time in coming. Women were thought to be feminist militants if they wanted any type of change in society and called communists and man haters if they had anything to do with the liberation movements. Because of these accusations, many housewives felt scared to get involved in the movement which the career women tried to gain their support. Due to the lack of support for the career women, there were only few gains in the early years. It was only when women such as Gloria Steinem (born March 25, 1934), Simone de Beauvoir (January 1908 – 14 April 1986) and Angela Davis (born January 26, 1944) got involved, that normal housewives felt that they could make a difference and their rights were worth fighting for.
Women were still considered less important than men and didn’t have the same opportunities. One major setback that women faced in the 1960s was that as men realized what women were trying to do, some did as much as they could to keep fully qualified women out of their workplaces. When Betty Friedan published her highly influential book The Feminine Mystique in 1963, she proposed several reforms which described the dissatisfaction felt by middle-class American housewives with the narrow role imposed on them by society. One of which was making education more accessible to women. She noted that colleges need to offer classes that focus on academic disciplines instead of ‘self-enrichment’ classes that do not prepare women for careers and that they need to hire more female faculty members that are balancing their mother-wife roles and their careers to serve as positive role models for students. Friedan also emphasized that a major reform needs to include a national education program, which would provide financial aid to woman wanting to continue or return to their education, as well as access to day-care centres. In the 1960s, there were no women bus drivers, welders, fire fighters, news anchors, CEOS or Supreme Court Justices. Women professors, doctors, scientists and lawyers were extremely rare. The percentage of men and women with a bachelor’s degree or more, ages 25 or older were substantially different. As well comparing the low per cent of managers who were women in that time. This proving that there were still many barriers for women in education and in the workplace.
However the obvious advancement of women’s rights was evident in comparison to the lives women led in earlier times. In the past, the life of a woman had been difficult - denied rights, trapped at home their entire life and discriminated against the workplace. The thought that women could have a say in their government and leave home without feeling guilty about leaving their children alone was achieved to an extent. In 1960, the Food and Drug Administration approved birth control pills. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy established the President’s Commission on the Status of Women appointing Eleanor Roosevelt as chairwoman. It made specific recommendations for improvement including fair hiring practices, paid maternity leave, and affordable child care. In 1963, June 10th, the Congress passed the Equal Pay Act, making it illegal for employees to pay a woman less than what a man would receive for the same job. In 1965, the Supreme Court strikes down the one remaining state law prohibiting the use of contraceptives by married couples. In 1967, Executive Order 11375 expanded President Lyndon Johnson’s affirmative action policy of 1965 to cover discrimination based on gender. As a result, federal agencies and contractors must take active measures to ensure that women as well as minorities enjoy the same educational and employment opportunities as white males. In 1968, the EEOC rule that sex-segregated help wanted ads in newspapers are illegal therefore opening the way for women to apply for higher-paying jobs hitherto open only to men. Also, in 1969, California became the first state to adopt a ‘no fault’ divorce law, which allows couples to divorce by mutual consent. By 1985 every state adopted a similar law. Women were beginning to be heard but not all issues were addressed.
It was also after the 1960s were women shown a little more justice. In 1970, a US Court of Appeals rules that jobs held by men and women need to be ‘substantially equal’ but not ‘identical’ to fall under the protection of the Equal Pay Act. This means that an employer, for example, cannot change the job titles of women workers in order to pay them less than men. In 1972, June 23rd, Title IX of the Education Amendments bans sex discrimination in schools. As a result, the enrolment of women in athletics programs and professional schools increased dramatically. In 1973, the Supreme Court established a woman’s right to safe and legal abortion, overriding the anti-abortion laws of many states. In 1974, The Equal Credit Opportunity Act prohibits discrimination in consumer credit practices on the basis of sex, race, marital status, religion, national origin, age, or receipt of public assistance. A wage differential occurring ‘simply because men would not work at the low rates paid women’ is unacceptable. In 1976, the first marital rape law was enacted in Nebraska, making it illegal for a husband to rape his wife. As well as in 1978, The Pregnancy Discrimination Act banned the employment discrimination against pregnant women. Under the Act, women cannot be fired or denied a job or a promotion because she is or may become pregnant, nor can she be forced to take a pregnancy leave if she is willing and able to work. These rights were enacted after decades of persistence and hard work.
In conclusion, by the end of the 1960s, women rights were still limited as many rights struggled to be achieved due to the constant obstacle of criticisms by the society’s concrete views. However though several issues and problems were addressed by the end of the 1960s, some improvements continued further on. In comparison to the life women led earlier, the advancement was monumental however comparing it from today’s perspective, women indeed had very limited rights.
Graph 1 - Percentage of Men and Women with a Bachelor’s Degree …
Graph 1 - Percentage of Men and Women with a Bachelor’s Degree …
Graph 2 - Percentage of Managers Who Are Women
Graph 2 - Percentage of Managers Who Are Women
Bibliography:
Website(s) -
Women in the Workforce, n.d., United States Census Bureau, accessed 25 May 2013, <http://www.census.gov/newsroom/pdf/women_workforce_slides.pdf>.
Notes: This pdf document gave me a very detailed and accurate understanding of the gap between woman and men in terms of their participation in the workforce. By having that information represented in a graph, it was convenient for me to use it as a reliable source in my assignment as it is clear and well explained.
Women 's Rights Movement in the U.S., 2007, Infoplease, accessed 25 May 2013, <http://www.infoplease.com/spot/womenstimeline2.html#ixzz2TLQz8SGp>.
Notes: We were given the timeline in hardcopy in class however by going onto to the website itself it allowed me to have a foundation on the woman’s rights movement and how that progressed from there. Being a very reliable source it gave specific detail on the rights that women achieved and what they had yet to achieve which was extremely helpful for my assignment.
The Women 's Movement, n.d., U.S. Department of State, accessed 25 May 2013, <http://countrystudies.us/united-states/history-131.htm>.
Notes: This site was very useful as it focused on the time frame - 1960s to the 1970s. It spoke in depth about the way some famous feminists of that time significantly took control and changed society on behalf of women’s rights and interests.
The Women 's Liberation Movement of the 1960s, n.d., Vintee Sawhney, accessed 25 May 2013, <http://www.uic.edu/orgs/cwluherstory/_notes/GrrlSmarts/sawhney.html>.
Notes: The author Vintee Sawhney, is a high school student living in Wisconsin.
It was an essay originally produced for her American Studies class. Vintee conducted an e-mail interview with CWLU Herstory Project member Estelle Carol as part of her project. It was a great source as the topic she focused on was similar to what my assignment was about. By having a first-hand source it gave me a better insight of the topic.
The Role of Education in 1960s Movements for Equality, 2011, Yahoo!, accessed25 May 2013, <http://voices.yahoo.com/the-role-education-1960s-movements-equality-10176905.html?cat=37>.
Notes: This source was exceptionally helpful as it not only discussed about the successes of the women rights movement but also the failures in depth. It was comprehendible, useable and most importantly, relevant.
~Images are from Google Images~
~Graphs are from the United States Census Bureau~
--------------------------------------------
[ 1 ]. The Women 's Movement, n.d., U.S. Department of State, accessed 25 May 2013, .
[ 2 ]. The Women 's Liberation Movement of the 1960s, n.d., Vintee Sawhney, accessed 25 May 2013, .
[ 3 ]. The Women 's Liberation Movement of the 1960s, n.d., Vintee Sawhney, accessed 25 May 2013, .
[ 4 ]. Women 's Rights Movement in the U.S., 2007, Infoplease, accessed 25 May 2013,
.