Mission

The National Organization for Women aims to take action to bring true equality for all women in America, and toward a fully equal partnership of the sexes.

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Why NOW?

  • Full-time women workers earn on average only 60% of what men earn.
  • Women comprise less than 1% of federal judges, less than 4% of all lawyers, and 7% of doctors; yet women represent 51% of the population.
  • Women are only earning 1 out of every 3 B.A. or M.A. granted, and only 1 in 10 of the Ph.D.’s granted.
  • Despite Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin, women still face discrimination in the work place intended to restrict their access to promotions, such as limits on the hours they work, and the amount of weight they can lift.
  •  Women face restricted public accommodations, such as “Male-only lunch hours” or “Male-only executive flights”, because society assumes that “Women don’t do business” or that “‘Normal’ women will retire for 10-15 years to raise children”.

And these are only a few examples of the written and unwritten discrimination that women face in society. NOW is dedicated to the proposition that women, first and foremost, are human beings, who, like all other people in our society, must have the chance to develop their fullest human potential. We organize to initiate or support action, nationally, or in any part of this nation, by individuals or organizations, to break through the silken curtain of prejudice and discrimination against women in government, industry, the professions, the churches, the political parties, the judiciary, the labor unions, in education, science, medicine, law, religion and every other field of importance in American society.

NOW Demands!

NOW initiates and supports actions which aim to break down the prejudice and discrimination against women present in all facets of United States society. NOW also specifically demands:

  • That the United States Congress immediately pass the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution to provide that “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex” and that such then be immediately ratified by the several States.
  • That equal employment opportunity be guaranteed to all women, as well as men by insisting that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission enforce the prohibitions against sex discrimination in employment under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the same vigor as it enforces the prohibitions against racial discrimination.
  • That women be protected by law to insure their rights to return to their jobs within a reasonable time after childbirth without loss of seniority or other accrued benefits and be paid maternity leave as a form of social security and/or employee benefit.
  • Immediate revision of tax laws to permit the deduction of home and child care expenses for working parents.
  • That child care facilities be established by law on the same basis as parks, libraries and public schools adequate to the needs of children, from the pre-school years through adolescence, as a community resource to be used by all citizens from all income levels.
  •  That the right of women to be educated to their full potential equally with men be secured by Federal and State legislation, eliminating all discrimination and segregation by sex, written and unwritten, at all levels of education including college, graduate and professional schools, loans and fellowships and Federal and State training programs, such as the job Corps.
  • The right of women in poverty to secure job training, housing and family allowances on equal terms with men, but without prejudice to a parent’s right to remain at home to care for his or her children; revision of welfare legislation and poverty programs which deny women dignity, privacy and self respect.
  •  The right of women to control their own reproductive lives by removing from penal codes the laws limiting access to contraceptive information and devices and laws governing abortion.

IF you stand with NOW for the equality of women in society, join or donate to NOW and join in our pickets, demonstrations and petitions throughout the country!

IF you want to keep up to date with NOW’s most recent actions, accomplishments in women’s equality and organizational changes check out the NOW Blog!