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In this iconoclastic essay, Rossi pointed out what the conservative psychoanalysts and sociologists of the post-war period had chosen to ignore: that "for the first time in the history of any known society, motherhood has become a full-time occupation for adult women . . . .women in all strata of society except the very top were never able to be full-time mothers as the 20th century middle class American woman has become. These women were productive members of farm and craft teams along with their farmer, baker, or printer husbands and other adult kin. Children either shared in the work of the household or were left to amuse themselves; their mothers did not have the time to organize their play; worry about their development, discuss their problems." pages 7 - 8
Discussing the addition of the word sex to the Civil Rights Act of 1964
"In December, 1963 the National Council of the National Woman's party passed a resolution calling for an amendment to the Civil Rights bill to prohibit discrimination based on sex and protesting that, as the bill stood, it "would not even give protection against discrimination because of 'race, color, religion, or national origin' to a White Woman, a Woman of the Christian Religion, or a Woman of Unites States origin." pages 8 - 9
About the time (1963):
"It was also true that white, male politicians promoted prejudice by making minority groups compete against each other in the pursuit of civil and economic rights that should have been theirs as a birthright. The temptation to exploit a backlash to advance one's own group would be hard to resist, given the frustrations that blocked civil rights movements." page 9
Howard W. Smith (D-Va), chairman of the House Rules Committee, a Southern archconservative, sponsored the amendment to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which added sex to the protected categories. His support guaranteed 100 or more votes of deep South Congressmen. With this change, Smith hoped to made the bill so unattractive that it not pass the Congress. And if the bill became law, at least White Women would have the same rights as Black Men.
Congresswomen Martha Griffith (D-Mi) and Katherine St. George (R-NY), strong women's rights advocates, decided to back the amendment but allow Smith to sponsor it, knowing that Smith's sponsorship would bring along the votes of 100 or more deep South Congressmen.
"Though Smith later denied he was insincere in introducing the amendment, Griffiths has said that it was Smith himself who told her he had proposed the amendment as a joke." pages 9 - 10
"Liberals in Congress were reluctant to add the sex provision to the Civil Rights Act because they feared it would endanger its chances of passage, jeopardizing this historic opportunity to advance the civil rights of Blacks. For them it was, as it had been with the passage of the 14th Amendment in 1866 which also excluded women, once again "the Negro's hour." Many conservatives were blind or indifferent to discrimination against women or believed that such discrimination was reasonable to protect women's traditional role.
But, as the ribaldry of the debate swelled among the male representatives, it seemed to betray not a patriarchal gallantry but a deep-rooted contempt for women." page 10
"It is worth noting that every man who had spoken in favor of the sex discrimination amendment, except Rep. Ross Bass (D-Tn), voted against the Civil Rights Act." page 11
"By coalescing with the reactionary Southern strategists, and in the absence still of a widespread national women's rights movement, a handful of feminists had succeeded in pulling off a major political coup." page 11
President Johnson, declaring that it was the "Negro's hour" and fearing for the entire bill, objected to including women in the civil rights bill. Over President Johnson's objections, the House-Senate conference committee left the word sex in the bill for fear of the bill being killed in the House.
The bill was signed into law on July 2, 1963.
Early Effects of the Civil Rights Act of 1963
The Civil Rights Act of 1963 was to be implemented by the newly -created Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). No women were included in the top appointments (Civil Service Grades 16, 17, and 18), and, in fact, none were hired over Grade 12. One of the five commissioners was a woman, Aileen Clarke Hernandez.
"Hernandez noted that "Commission meetings produced a sea of male faces, nearly all of which reflected attitudes that ranged from boredom to virulent hostility whenever the issue of sex discrimination was raised. The message came through clearly that the Commission's priority was race discrimination - and apparently only as it related to Black men.
"There was such insensitivity to sex discrimination," she said, "that a major meeting with employers in California was arranged at a private club which barred women - even though was scheduled to accompany the Chairman to the meeting." " page 13
"Though the majority of the Commission may have been reluctant to deal with sex discrimination, one third of the complaints that began to flow in were filed by women, putting pressure on the Commission for some decisions." page 13
"On November 22, 1965, the Commission released the guidelines covering these complaints [about protective legislation]: "The Commission will not find an unlawful employment practice where an employer's refusal to hire women for certain work is based on a state law which precludes the employment of women for such work, provided that the employer is acting in good faith and that the law in question is reasonably adapted to protect women rather than to subject them to discrimination. . . " " page 17
Beside Hernandez, Richard Graham was the only other Commissioner to take a strongly feminist position. All other Commissioners were either hostile or indifferent to equal opportunity for women.
Because the EEOC would not enforce the anti-discrimination law regarding women, a group of about 20 women, under the leadership of Betty Friedan (author of The Feminine Mystique), assembled in her hotel room during the Third Annual Commission on the Status of Women decided to form an new organization, "the NAACP for women," to fight for equality for women. Subsequent conference events only crystallized in the minds of many women present that "an NAACP for women" was necessary.
First board
Chairman of the Board: Kathryn Clarenbach, head of Wisconsin Commission on Women
President: Betty Friedan, author
Executive Vice President: Aileen Hernandez, retiring EEOC Commissioner
Vice President: Richard Graham, former EEOC Commissioner
Secretary/Treasures: Caroline Davis (page 29)
Board of Directors (in alphabetical order) (page 31):
Statement of Purpose was written by Pauli Murray - included racial diversity from the first draft
Original Task Forces: (table of contents)
Notable by their absence are task forces on reproductive rights, racial discrimination and racial justice, lesbian rights, and violence against women.
From the NOW Statement of Purpose:
"The purpose of NOAW is to take action to bring women into full participation in the mainstream of American society now, exercising all the privileges and responsibilities thereof in truly equal partnership with men." page 159
"With a life span lengthened to nearly 75 years it is no longer either necessary or possible for women to devote the greater part of their lives to child-rearing; yet childbearing and rearing which continues to be a most important part of most women's lives - still is used to justify barring women from equal professional and economic participation and advance." pages 159 - 160
Noted double discrimination toward Negro women. page 161
"We believe that the power of American law, and the protection guaranteed by the US Constitution to the civil rights of all individuals, must be effectively applied and enforced to isolate and remove patterns of sex discrimination, to ensure equality of opportunity in employment and education, and equality of civil and political rights and responsibilities on behalf of women, as well as for Negroes and other deprived groups.
We realize that women's problems are linked to many broader questions of social justice; their solution will require concerted action by many groups." page 161
"We do not accept the token appointment of a few women to high-level positions in government and industry as a substitute for a serious continuing effort to recruit and advance women according to their individual abilities." page 161
"We question the present expectation that all normal women will retire from job or profession for 10 or 15 years, to devote their full time to raising children, only to reenter the job market at a relatively minor level." page 162
"We reject the current assumptions that a man must carry the sole burden of supporting himself, his wife, and family, and that a woman is automatically entitled to lifelong support by a man upon her marriage, or that marriage, home and family are primarily woman's world and responsibility - hers to dominate - his to support. We believe that a true partnership between the sexes demands a different concept of marriage an equitable sharing of the responsibilities of home and children and of the economic burdens of their support." pages 162 - 163
"We believe that women must now exercise their political rights and responsibly as American citizens. They must refuse to be segregated on the basis of sex into separate-and-not-equal ladies auxiliaries in the political parties, and they must demand representation according to their numbers in the regularly constituted part committees - at local, state, and national levels - and in the informal power structure, participating fully in the selection of candidates and political decision-making, and running for office themselves.
In the interests of the human dignity of women, we will protest, and endeavor to change, the false image of women now prevalent in the mass media, and in the texts, ceremonies, laws and practices of our major social institutions. Such images perpetuate contempt for women by society and by women for themselves. We are similarly opposed to all policies and practices - in church, state, college, factory, or office - which, in the guise of protectiveness, not only deny opportunities but also foster in women self-denigration, dependence, and evasion of responsibility, undermine their confidence in their own abilities and foster contempt for women.
NOW will hold itself independent of any political party in order to mobilize the political power of all women and men intent on our goals. We will strive to ensure that no party, candidate, president, senator, governor, congressman, or any public official who betrays or ignores the principle of full equality between the sexes is elected or appointed to office. If it is necessary to mobilize the votes of men and women who believe in our cause, in order to win for women the final right to be fully free and equal human beings, we so commit ourselves.
We believe that women will do most to create a new image of women by acting now, and by speaking out in behalf of their own equality, freedom, and human dignity - not in pleas for special privilege, nor in enmity toward men, who are also victims of the current, half-equality between the sexes - but in an active, self-respecting partnership with men. By so doing, women will develop confidence in their own ability to determine actively, in partnership with men, the conditions of their life, their choices, their future and their society." page 163
Equal Pay Act (1963) mandated that men and women performing the same jobs be paid the same. (Weatherford, p. 121)
EEOC issued its first set of guidelines for employers on state protective legislation. The State laws could be interpreted as Bona Fide Occupational Qualifications (BFOQ) exception to Title VII, provided the employer acted in "good faith" and that the laws effectively protected rather than discriminated against women. The EEOC did not define "protection" or "discrimination." This decision prompted Betty Friedan to phone Pauli Murray for a very historic conservation. (12/02/1965) p. 47
In White v. Crook, a three-judge federal court declared an Alabama law that excluded women from state juries to be unconstitutional. (02/07/1966) p. 48
NOW took on its first legal case, Velma Menglekoch v. the California Industrial Welfare Commission. Menglekock claimed that she had been denied her equal rights to employment due to a protective California law which limited hours for women but not for men. (10/30/1966) p. 48
In Haupt v. Florida, the US Supreme upheld a Florida statue which provided that no female would be called for jury duty unless she had registered to be placed on the jury list. (02/10/1967) p. 49
Colorado became the first state to liberalize abortion laws by authorizing abortion when pregnancy resulted from rape or incest, endangered the woman's physical or mental health, or was likely to result in the birth of a child with severe mental or physical defects. The law required the abortion to be performed in a licensed hospital and unanimously approved by a panel of three doctors. (04/25/1967) p. 49
NOW appeals Thelma Bowe v. Colgate Palmolive Co. in which a group of women were laid off when the company refused to permit them to exercise their seniority to claim jobs lifting beyond the state maximum of 35 pounds. A Federal District Court had found in favor of the company. (07/30/1967) p. 50, Victory for NOW in the Appeals Court (09/26/1969) p. 54
NOW appeals Weeks v. Southern Bell. Weeks had been denied a promotion because of a state law that prohibited women from lifting more than 30 pounds on the job. (02/14/1968) p. 51 In US ex. rel. v. Robinson, the Federal District Court struck down as unconstitutional a Connecticut statute requiring longer prison for women than for men (02/28/1968)
In Rosenfeld v. Southern Pacific Company, the federal district court ruled that Title VII superseded California protective labor laws the restricted overtime for women and maximum weights that women could lift on the job. The case was considered a landmark case and was appealed by the company. (11/22/1968) p. 52
The US Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the EEOC Guidelines prohibiting sex-segregated help wanted ads and denied the appeal of the Newspaper Publishers Association (01/24/1969) p. 53
NOW proclaimed "Public Accommodations Week" and there were actions at "men only" restaurants. [editor's note: In many restaurants, women eating alone were assumed to be prostitutes.] (02/09/1969) p. 53
A Hawaii law allowing abortion for all women who had been residents of the sate for 90 days went into effect. (02/11/1970) p. 55
Under pressure from Los Angeles NOW, Monica Moritz became the first female page in Congress. (02/05/1970) p. 55
NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund legally incorporated (03/16/1970) p. 55
NOW won a limited victory in Seidenberg v. McSorley's Old Ale House, giving women the right to enter a public accommodations "under sufficient control of the state." (11/13/1969) p. 54
Alaska repealed its existing abortion laws when the legislature over-rode the governor's veto by 41-17 (04/30/1970) p. 56
In a class-action suit the Professional Women's Caucus sued every law school in the US receiving federal funds because of discrimination against women (03/26/1971) p. 59
By 9-0, the US Supreme Court found in Reed v. Reed that an Idaho law giving arbitrary preference to men as executors of estates could not to be allowed to "stand in the face of the 14th amendment" and was unconstitutional. (11/22/1971) p. 60
In Eisenstadt v. Baird, a Massachusetts statute restricting the distribution of contraceptives to unmarried persons was invalidated by the US Supreme Court as a violation of the rights of single persons under the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. (03/1972) p. 61
In McGarvey v. Magee-Women's Hospital, a US District Court in Pa. ruled that a fetus is not a "person" or "citizen" within the meaning of the 14 Amendment or the Civil Rights Act, and therefore not entitled to the legal rights and protection they confer. (03/1971) p. 61
In a major victory for NOW and other feminist groups, Congress passed the Education Amendments of 1972 including Title IX (introduced by Rep. Edith Green D-Or) requiring the government to withhold funding for educational institutions which discriminate against women. (06/23/1972) p. 62
Mandatory pregnancy leave statutes, regulations, and policies were successfully challenged in Doe v. Osteopathic Hospital of Wichita, Inc, Bravo v. Board of Education, Heath v, Websterville Board of Education, LaFleur v. Cleveland Board of Education, Pocklington v. Duval County School, Williams v. San Francisco Unified School District, and Robinson v. Rand. (1972) p. 63
In Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, the US Supreme Court struck down state laws restricting women's access to abortion (01/22/1973). p. 64
NOW won its first sex discrimination complaint against a university in Johnson v. U. of Pittsburg (1973) p. 64
In Frontiero v Richardson, the US Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional discrimination to deny benefits to husbands of military servicewomen. (05/14/1973) p. 65
After a 5 campaign and 3 1/2 years of litigation, the US Supreme Court prohibited sex-segregated employment advertisements. (06/21/1973) p. 66
The Fair Housing Act of 1968 was extended to prohibit discrimination based on sex, in addition to the previously covered prohibitions on discrimination due to race, color, religion, or national origin. (08/02/1974)
The Educational Equity Act, which authorized the Secretary of HEW to develop non-sexist curricula, non-discriminatory vocational and career counseling programs, sports education, and other programs, was enacted. (08/21/1974) p. 70
The Equal Credit Opportunity Act passed Congress requiring banks, finance companies, department stores, credit card companies, and government agencies to consider women's income or savings in the same manner in which men's earnings are considered. Credit histories of "family accounts" had to be extended to women as well as men (09/28/1974) p. 70
By 8-1, the US Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional for states to deny women equal opportunity for jury service, voiding a Louisiana statute that automatically excluded any woman from jury service unless she applied for it in writing. (01/21/1975) p. 71
A Utah law requiring divorces fathers to support a son until age 21 but to support a daughter only until the age of 18 was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. (04/15/1975) p. 72
In Weinberger v Weisenfeld, the US Supreme Court held that a Social Security provision giving benefits to widows with minor children and denying benefits to widowers with children as unconstitutional. (1975) p. 72
In striking down a Missouri law, the US Supreme Court declared that women may not be required to have their husbands permission to have and abortion and that minors do not have to have their parents permission to have an abortion. (03/29/1976) p. 75
In GE v Gilbert, the Supreme Court ruled that companies could exclude pregnancy coverage from their health insurance plans. (12/07/1976) p. 76
An equally divided US Supreme Court upheld a decision approving of sexually separate schools for academically superior boys and girls in Vorcjeimer v Philadelphia (04/19/1977) p. 78
In Satty v Nashville Gas, the US Supreme Court held that pregnant employees could be denied sick pay. The court did rule that seniority rights could not be taken away from a woman on leave to give birth. (12/06/1977) p. 80
The obnoxious "head and master" law in Louisiana, which made all Louisiana wives de jure slaves of their husbands, was voted out of existence by the Louisiana Senate, 36 - 2. (07/1978) p. 83
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 reversed the Supreme Court decisions in Gilbert v GE (1976), which denied "pregnant people" disability benefits, and Satty v Nashville Gas (1977), which denied women the use of sick leave during child birth. (10/15/1978) p. 84
In Colautti v Franklin, the US Supreme Court struck down a Pa statute which required a physician performing an abortion to use a method most likely to save the life of a fetus that might be old enough to survive outside of the womb. (01/09/1979) p. 85
In a major decision, the US Supreme Court held that individuals could bring a private law suit to uphold the anti-discrimination provisions of Title IX. Previously, complaints had to go through a cumbersome process through HEW to file suit. (05/14/1979) p. 88
In US Steelworkers of America and Kaiser Aluminum v Weber, the Supreme Court gave a green light to private companies to institute voluntary affirmative action programs to promote the hiring and advancement of women and minorities in traditionally segregated job categories. (06/27/1979) p. 89
In Belliotti v Baird the US Supreme Court overturned a Massachusetts law requiring parental consent for a minor to have an abortion. (07/02/19797) p. 89
In McRae v Harris and Zabaraz v Williams, the US Supreme Court held that denial of Medicaid funds for abortion did not violate the Constitution, upholding the Hyde amendment.
In Continental Can v Minnesota, the Minnesota Supreme Court handed down a landmark decision which held employers responsible for the sexual harassment of female employees by their male co-workers. The Supreme Court strongly affirmed the right of women workers every where to be free of sexual harassment in the work place, whether by boss, supervisor, or co-worker. (06/06/1983) p. 95
The US Supreme Court ruled in North Haven Board of Education v Bell, that the law barring discrimination by schools and educational organizations receiving Federal funding covered not only students but also employees of those institutions. ( 05/17/1981) p. 102
In Grove City College v Bell, the US Supreme Court accepted the Reagan Administrations argument that Title IX banned sex discrimination only in specific programs with an educational institution that directly received Federal funding, a complete reversal of the policy under Presidents Nixon, Ford, and Carter. (02/28/1984) p. 110
A Federal judge ruled that the government must pay women in the US Civil Service system the same as men with the same duties and responsibilities, regardless of where they are located. (04/03/1984) p. 111
The Civil Rights Act of 1984 passed the US House but was defeated in the Senate. It would have overturned the US Supreme Court decision in Grove City v Bell. (10/02/1984) p. 113
In New York State Club Association, Inc v the City of New York, the US Supreme Court upheld as constitutional a New York City ordinance placing sharp limits on male-only clubs. (06/1987) p. 123
Haffer v Temple University was settled with an agreement requiring that the women's athletic budget be in proportion to the percentage of athletes who are women, ending an 8-year-old Title IX lawsuit. (06/1988) p. 127
In Webster v Reproductive Health Services, the US Supreme Court upheld a Missouri statute that said life began at conception, barred the use of public funds to pay for abortion, prohibited abortions at public health facilities, and required physicians to test for fetal viability after the 19th week of pregnancy. (07/03/1989) p. 131
In Wards Cove Packing Co v Antonio and Patterson v McLean Credit Union, the Supreme Court make it much more difficult for employees to win suits challenging sex and race discrimination in the workplace. (06/1989) p. 131
In Mansell v Mansell, the US Supreme Court held that military personnel could deny their ex-spouses a share of their veteran's retirement pay by converting a portion of their pension (divisible marital property) into non-divisible disability payments. (05/31/1989) p. 131
In Hodgon v Minnesota, the US Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that pregnant minors could be required to notify both biological parents before an abortion or seek a judicial authorization through "judicial bypass." (06/25/1990)
In Ohio v Akron Center for Reproductive Health, the Court upheld by 6-3 an Ohio state law requiring notification of one parent or judicial bypass for minors seeking abortions. (06/25/1990)
In Automobile Workers v Johnson Controls, the US Supreme Court declared that employers could not exclude women from jobs in which exposure to toxic substances could harm a developing fetus. (03/20/1991) p. 138
In Rust v Sullivan, the US Supreme Court upheld the "gag rule" prohibiting Title X funded clinics from counseling women on abortion. (05/23/1991) p. 138
District Court Judge George Woods granted a preliminary injunction against the Detroit, MI public schools' plan to open three male-only academies. (08/15/1991) p. 141
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