Women were discriminated against because of their sex. The Women’s Feminist movement took place during the 1960’s and 1970’s, as white and black women fought against workplace inequality, as they were not provided better jobs because they were considered men’s jobs, and they were receiving nearly half the pay as men were. This lead to the Equal Pay Act, where employers must equally pay women as much as men, and they were not allowed to change the job description to get around paying women the same. This also lead to the Civil Rights Act, which prohibited the discrimination of race, sex, color, and religion. They also fought for reproductive rights, marriage rights, as many of them encountered domestic violence and sexual harassment from their husbands, and were being raped by them.
Woman were domestic slaves nothing more nothing less, that’s how the world viewed them. They were not supposed to have jobs outside of the home, just be a great or acceptable housewife, love their husband, and raised children was their job (Stern, Attacks). Women began to question why they did not have the same opportunities as the men. In 1966, the National Organization of Women was created to help women utilize their privileges and help them become equivalent to the men economical, socially, and politically. They were protesting because they were tired of getting jobs that involved domestic work; not getting a job because they were a woman, setting behind a desk, low wages and idea of what a woman was supposed to do in over-all.
Women were being treated like slaves and were actually miserable. They wanted to have their own time and show their true feelings, but they couldn’t because they always had to be happy when their husband came home from work. In the 1960’s women started to stand up for themselves and fight back about gender discrimination and more. Women wanted equal pay for work, an end to domestic violence, sexual harassment, and a share in duties around the household.
In the source it states, “In the early 1960’s women were discriminated against in the workplace until the civil rights movement barred it. Women were excluded from educational programs, school activities, and everything else that was federally funded” (Falcon 18). This information indicates that many women in their 60s did not have the same opportunities as they enjoy now. Women desired the same rights and liberties as white men. Women wanted more fairness for themselves and future generations.
In terms of racism, the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s had massive impacts in confronting racism. They got civil rights legislation passed, removing the “separate, but equal” doctrine, as well as supported affirmative action practices. When it comes to combating elitism, welfare rights organizations as well as reform groups have worked to combat elitism through broadening the reach of economic and educational opportunities. They have also worked to bring this idea of “classism” to the political arena.
Women in the 1960s and 1970s fought for equal pay and
Since the beginning of the mid-1800's, American females have been involved with social reform movements. This thirst for equality paved the way for many opportunities. In the process, the woman movement has pursued the same equal opportunity rights through the criminal court's system. This era simply wanted the same rights that male offenders already had. However, more than one hundred years later, history repeated itself.
Just like at home, there was inequality in the workplace as well. In the 60s, women were not welcome at professional jobs ("The 1960s-70s American Feminist Movement: Breaking Down Barriers
The 1960s was a decade of rebellion and protesting all across the United States. Protesters were standing up for their beliefs and challenging the norms. Feelings of being surpressed and being infereior according to scoieties terms led the individuals to protest for change. Each movement set out to accomplish a different set of goals and raise awareness for their cause. The 1960s saw a huge variety of movements and marches all accross the country including the Environmental, American Indian, and Womens Movements.
In the 1960s, the roles of men and women in society were beginning to change tremendously, especially for women. More and more women were entering the working world, creating more disparities amongst them in regards to unfair pay and sexual harassment at their jobs. Big changes were also happening in the bedroom. Towards the end of the decade, “more than 80 percent of wives of childbearing age were using contraception after the federal government in 1960 approved a birth control pill.” This allowed women to have a choice when it came to pregnancy, a choice they had never had prior.
The Feminist Movement 1960s Imagine, you are living in the 1960s as a female. You want to go live your life, you do not want to be stuck in a house with children all day long, but you can not go get a job because you are a woman. You can not go and vote because you are a woman, we could not do much because we are women. Feminism, the Equal Pay Act, and the National Organization of Women (NOW) are all part of why we have freedom today as women in our nation.
1960 brought a huge change for women as well. Cultural changes were altering the role of women in American society that more females were entering the paid workforce even though this increased the dissatisfaction among women regarding huge gender disparities in pay and sexual harassment at the workplace. Also among the many changes by the end of the Sixties, many wives of childbearing age were using contraception after the federal government in 1960 approved a birth control pill. They wanted to join the work force and have a further education more than being a mother or wife. This freed many women from unwanted pregnancy and gave them many more choices and freedom in their personal lives.
In the 1960s, magazines, such as “The American Home”, littered coffee tables filled with articles about the socially acceptable standards of parenting. Today, thanks to the ease of accessibility to social media and the nature of media consumption in the US, Instagram and Facebook have replaced magazines and become the new version of “The American Home”. While the media has been helpful to many new parents, it also plays a significant role in defining parenthood. By encouraging and advising housewives in the ‘60s, the media created families that produced co-dependent children, who turned into co-dependent adults. The media played a role in setting expectations for mothers/parents and affecting the development of children in the 1960s through
Sit-ins, riots, boycotts, radical students: this was the landscape of America in the 1960s. Referred to as the “radical ‘60s’, it was a time when people were questioning society. African Americans were fighting for equality, low-income families were pleading for assistance from the government, and the youth culture was finding its voice and using it to rebel against the societal rules thrust upon them. While activists pushed for government reform, others wanted government abolishment; they felt the world would be better without a government, the people should rule the country. Feminists, such as Valerie Solanis, thought there should be a government, but one run by women, the sane, clear thinking gender.
II.WOMEN RIGHTS IN THE 50s The 1950s was known by many as the decade of conformity, meaning both gen-ders were pinned to traditional gender roles. Men worked as the breadwinners while women worked in the houses. This notion, basically makes one understand, that the women rights movement was in its developing phase and being a woman basically meant being a housewife. This makes the disadvantages such as the marriage bar policy and lack of diversity in the movement of women rights in the 1950s outweigh its ad-vantages.