Encyclopedia of American Studies

National Organization for Women

The National Organization for Women (NOW) is an advocacy group that works on behalf of feminist issues. Founded in 1966, NOW spearheaded the emergence of the modern women's movement in the United States. Its organizing members came together at the third national conference of state commissions on the status of women in Washington, D.C. In launching NOW, its founders envisioned an autonomous organization, modeled after the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), that would be independent of any government administration and would take stronger stands on feminist concerns than existing women's groups had. The main impetus behind NOW's founding was the failure of the federal government to enforce Title VII provisions of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which barred employment discrimination based on sex. Charter members of NOW included women involved in the professions, labor unions, politics, and civil rights. The organization's first president was Betty Friedan, author of The Feminine Mystique (1963), a book that sparked awareness of women's restricted roles in American society.

The National Organization for Women's 1966 statement of purpose articulated a philosophy regarding gender roles that broke with past tradition. Its members insisted that both men and women should contribute to childrearing, homemaking, and the economic support of the family. Historically, NOW has been considered the liberal wing of the women's movement, pushing for equality in the public sphere and working for change through legislation and legal challenges. The organization's efforts have been contrasted to the radical women's liberation groups emerging from student movements in the late 1960s, which put greater emphasis on pursuing equality in private life and promoting change through public demonstrations and consciousness-raising activities. Eventually, by the 1970s, many of these younger women joined NOW, and a merging of concerns and political strategies took place. The organization sponsored marches for women's equality and pursued court cases on behalf of women's issues. NOW also promoted the use of the term Ms. instead of Miss or Mrs., titles that denote marital status.

Membership in the National Organization for Women continued to grow with its efforts to gain the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), to preserve the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion, and to support women candidates for political office. During the conservative backlash against the women's movement in the 1980s, NOW found itself on the defensive with the defeat of the ERA and the passage of state-level laws chipping away at abortion rights. In spite of these setbacks, the organization's efforts to promote equality for women have been influential in areas such as employment, education, health and reproduction, and sports and entertainment. NOW has also been an advocate for improved child care services and for laws to combat sexual harassment and violence against women. Increasingly, the organization has become more representative of diverse feminist issues in response to the concerns of lesbians and women of color.

Carol F. Cini

Bibliography

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