Similarities Between Eleanor Roosevelt And Gloria Shlafly

Eleanor Roosevelt, Gloria Steinem, and Phyllis Schlafly were three historical figures that were prevalent in the 1960s women’s movement. The first person that helped with the advancement of women’s rights was Eleanor Roosevelt. According to “Eleanor Roosevelt and the Women’s Movement” from The Eleanor Roosevelt papers project, Eleanor Roosevelt became a chair on the Democratic National Committee platform on women’s issues in 1924. Furthermore, Roosevelt used her position as First Lady to keep women involved in the New Deal. She held many press conferences to urge women to speak up about politics, policy, and their individual hopes. Eleanor Roosevelt’s actions in the 1930s through the 1950s were the root of many of the women’s movements in

Since the magazine editors that she worked for would not let her write feminist articles, in 1972, Steinem founded Ms. magazine, which became very prominent in the women’s movement. Using her skills and magazine, Steinem was able to inspire women in the women’s movement. This made women aware of their current situation and push for change. However, some people, like Phyllis Schlafly, were opposed to the advancement of women’s rights. According to Serena K. Mayeri’s article “Two Women, Two Histories” published in Harvard Magazine, Schlafly was responsible for the rise of grassroots religious conservatism because of anti feminist beliefs. Schlafly believed strongly in the male breadwinner/ female homemaker model and thought that “feminism celebrated women’s accomplishments outside of home”, which “threatened wives’ claims on their husbands’ support”. Schalfy’s actions did not help the women’s movement, in fact it held the women’s movement back since it led to the defeat of the Equal Rights Amendment. Although there were people that were opposed to the women’s movement like Phyllis Schlafly, many people such as Eleanor Roosevelt and Gloria Steinem helped advance women’s