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The Women's Liberation Movement But obtaining the suffrage did not put an end to their second-class status in a society in which patriarchy (male dominance) and sexism were all-pervasive. While low income women had no choice but to work in low-paid, menial jobs, middle income women were generally expected to stay at home and look after their husbands and children. Women who had been doing the jobs of men during World War II were not happy being pushed back into the kitchen after the war was over. Many felt isolated, lonely and trapped in the new suburbs which expanded rapidly in the 1950s. The Movement for civil rights of the 1950s and 60s put change on the agenda. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 barred discrimination in employment on the basis not just of race, but also religion, national origin and sex. Eventually women would be the main beneficiaries of affirmative action programs. The Movement inspired women to look at their lives, their position in society, and demand fundamental change. Many were stirred into action by The Feminist Mystique, a book written in 1963 by Betty Friedan, who went on to become the president of the new National Organization of Women (NOW) in 1966. NOW's mission was the achievement of "full equality for women in a truly equal partnership with men." Women who got involved in one of the many groups which sprang up in the late 60s and 70s developed new ways of organizing based on small "consciousness-raising" meetings at which they would share personal attitudes and concerns, examine issues of identity, race, class and sexuality, and explore new opportunities for expression and fulfillment. Taking the slogan "the personal is the political" as their guide, they spread the word through demonstrations and forums, and the formation of women's centers, health clinics, battered women's shelters, day care centers and bookstores. A generation after Simone de Beauvoir first used the phrase "women's liberation" in her 1949 book, The Second Sex, women were on the move. Read more about the Women's Liberation Movement in the
Read women's stories: http://womenshistory.about.com/od/60s70s/
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