Women's Rights In The 1960s

In order to gain a historical understanding of a women’s rights in the twentieth century, it is essential to understand the impact of the women’s feminist movement in the 1960s. In present-day Western society, women enjoy a reasonable level of equality, but they have had less the further back in time one goes. Throughout history, society has treated women differently; from being warriors, powerful priestesses and political leaders, women have also been exploited and judged as inferior to men. Women have gained and lost power at different times during human existence. It is only really in the twentieth century that revolutionary women gained equality. Women’s groups such as the Suffragettes campaigned successfully for women to be granted

Women started actively fighting for equal rights in the 1960s. First, Esther Peterson, the executive officer of the Women’s Bureau of the Department of Labor, took initiative in addressing discrimination against women. With her incentive, President Kennedy summoned a Commission on the Status of Women, designating Eleanor Roosevelt as its chair. In 1963, the report published by that commission addressed discrimination against women in essentially every extent of American life. State and local governments quickly followed suit and started implementing their own commissions for women, to conduct further investigation regarding this issue, and recommend changes that could be introduced. Women’s needs were finally starting to be heard, as they were determinedly battling for more freedom, and plans of action were slowly but surely taking

The equal pay law for women was passed in 1963. This was a big step forward for women in the job industry, since this had never been remotely considered as a possibility in the past. A year later, the Civil Rights Act was passed, prohibiting employment discrimination on the basis of sex as well as race, religion, and national origin. Following its approval, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was established to investigate complaints regarding discrimination. It received 50,000 sex discrimination complaints within the first five years. This commission was a remarkable advancement in the women’s feminist movement, since it allowed any women who felt victimized to speak up, let authorities know and have them react accordingly. Consequently, Betty Friedan, chairs of various state Commissions on the Status of Women, and other feminists agreed to form a civil rights organization for women. In 1966, the National Organization for Women was organized. Soon, multiple other mass-membership organizations followed, addressing the needs of specific groups of women, including Blacks, Latinas, Asians-Americans, lesbians, business owners, aspiring politicians, and professional women of every sort. After years of being treated inferiorly to men, women finally gained more power, rights and opportunities to better their lives, also through various supportive organisations in the