Betty Friedan was born on February 4, 1921. As a young girl her father got sick, so her mom had to work outside the home to help take care of her family. Because of this she knew that a mother could work outside the house and still be able to give the care that her family needed.
She was a writer, activist, and feminist. She was an important role in women’s movements and rights.
She wrote the book The Feminine Mystique in 1963. Her goal with the book was to bring women into equality with men in the workplace while still being able to go home and take care of her house and family. She knew from her own experience that not all women were happy staying at home and being a homemaker. She decided that she would take a survey from the other women that she graduated with from Smith College finding that most women were happy to be homemakers. This was what she used as a basis for her book.
She was the first president of NOW (National Organization for Women) one of the most influential organizations that helped women get their rights. She was not only the first president, but also one of the founders of the organization in 1966. The goal of the organization was to bring equality for women in the United States. In 1970, after she stepped down from her position of president for NOW she helped organize the nationwide Women’s Strike for Equality.She was a strong supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment, which was passed by both the House and the Senate, but was never ratified by enough states to become an amendment. During her life she helped found many organizations that helped in the fight for women’s rights and equality. She wrote 6 books about women’s equality, but the most influence is her first which really helped to push women to work outside the home while they still took care of their families.
Friedan stayed active in politics all throughout her life. She supported many other organizations and helped them to get their rights was well, some she helped were gay rights and abortion rights. She died on February 4, 2006.
Sources
N.p., n.d. Web. <http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FBetty_Friedan>.
"Betty Friedan." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2015. <http://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/betty-friedan>.
Comments
Well done!!