Liana+and+Cassidy+--Women's+Rights+Movement+1960-Present

= __Women's Rights: 1960- Present__ = By Liana Nierenberg and Cassidy Way media type="file" key="iamwoman.mp3" align="center" width="240" height="20"



 **Thesis:** The women's rights movements from the 1960's to present were successful in helping women gain many rights, including rights to abortion and birth control and the right to equal pay. Women now have access to safe and legal abortions throughout most of the world and birth control is easily accessible. Women, who used to make 77 cents to every man's dollar, now are closer than ever to equal pay with the passing of paycheck fairness act.

** Required Questions ** : 1) What historical forces led to the rise of the movement? 2) What methods/tactics were used to lead the movement? 3) What major figures involved in the movement? 4) Was/Is the movement successful in achieving its goals?

Birth Control/ Abortion Rights Movement
**What Started the Movement? **  A historical force that lead to the birth control/ abortion movement was the sexual revolution. This allowed people to become open and unafraid of their sexuality which in return led to contraception and the pill, and the legalization of abortion. It gave women the power to choose when to start a family and didn't lock themselves into a role as a mother before they were ready. The freedom that women gained was monumental. Women were then able to finally get abortions legally as opposed to illegally, saving thousands of lives. Currently, 78,000 women die from unsafe abortions every year and this number was greater before they were legal. Black women and Hispanic women are the most at risk by going through an unsafe abortion, and poor women would risk their lives to do so. The birth control/ abortion movement was key in allowing women to do as they want while also being in control of their bodies.



** Who Were/Are Some of the Major Figures of the Movement? **

**Margaret Sanger, 1879-1966 **  Margaret Sanger was a key figure in this particular women's rights movement because in 1921, she founded the National Birth Control League, which is known today as Planned Parenthood Federation. The organization provided education about preventing pregnancies in fertile women and were supported by protestant organizations. Earlier in 1916, Sanger and her sister opened a birth control clinic that gave away devices called diaphragms in order to help women prevent pregnancies. Sanger was important throughout this movement because she set a precedent for future birth control and abortion rights leaders.

Left: Margaret Sanger Right: Emma Goldman

** Emma Goldman, 1869-1940 ** Emma Goldman worked to advance a woman's right to birth control by smuggling it into the country. She believed that women were restrained because of the requirement placed on them to bear children and that "marriage was legalized prostitution." Along with the birth control movement, Goldman was a leader in the free speech and other women's rights movements.

**Betty Friedan, 1921-2006 **  Friedan was the author of //The Feminine Mystique // <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;"> in 1963, a book arguing that women shouldn't be confined to just "finding a husband and bearing children." Betty Friedan inspired women to do more than just be forced to have children, and birth control and abortions gave them this freedom.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;">Left: Betty Friedan Right: Ted Kennedy

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 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: left;">Ted Kennedy, 1932-2009 ** <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: left;">Kennedy worked hard in congress to expand women's freedoms and rights. In 1972, he helped to start the Women, Infants and Children Nutrition Program, which provided health care and nutrition for pregnant or breastfeeding women and children under the age of five. The Senator established the National Domestic Violence hot line in 1994 to help women in bad relationships and helped stop a Supreme Court judge from being confirmed by speaking out about potential judge's opposition to the civil rights and women's rights. The Senator has done more than just set up hot lines and support bills. Kennedy was a dedicated supported of a woman's reproductive rights, leading him to become a sponsor of the Equal Rights Amendment and a leader in the Family and Medical Leave Act in 1994. Also in 1994, Ted Kennedy helped to pass the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE). This act protected the safety of patients and limited anti-abortion groups. Senator Kennedy spent his life striving to make women's rights to birth control, abortion and equality a reality for women in the country.


 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Gloria Steinem, 1934- Present **Steinem's efforts as both a feminist and an abortion rights leader made her into a famous writer and leader. in 1972 she founded //<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Ms. // magazine, a magazine for feminists which became instantly successful. She was very active in founding political groups and co-founded groups such as Choice USA. In 2004 when Bush was running for president, she boldly said, "If he is elected in 2004, abortion will be criminalized in this country." Gloria also starred in the documentary //<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">I Had An Abortion. // In this film, she goes on to talk about the abortion she had when she was younger. Gloria Steinem is currently in the Women's Hall of Fame.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; line-height: normal;">**<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Terry O'Neill, 1953-present ** <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; line-height: normal;"> O'Neill is the current president of the National Organization for Women (NOW). She is a supporter of women's rights and is working towards advancing reproductive freedoms, ending sex discrimination and achieving equality for all women. Terry has written papers about abortion rights for Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">

<span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;">Left: Terry O'Neill Right: Nancy Keenan

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">**<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Nancy Keenan, 1952- Present ** Nancy Keenan is the current president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, an organization that works to let women keep their pro-choice rights. The program has helped get 44 pro-choice seats in the House of Representatives and between 2006 and 2008, nine pro-choice senators. She spends her time working to defeat pro-life ballots, including when South Dakota tried to ban abortion.

**<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Important Cases **

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">__Griswold v Connecticut, 1965__
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">The Case: **<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;"> Estelle Griswold was arrested for giving out information about birth control to married couples.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">The Result: **<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;"> The Courts established that married couples have a right to privacy and the use of contraception.

__Eisentadt v Baird, 1972__
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">The Result: **<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;"> The case removed a Massachusetts law saying that giving contraceptives to single people was illegal. The case gave single women the right to birth control.

__Roe v Wade, 1973__
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">The Result: <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Women gained the right to decide whether or not they want to terminate their pregnancy. Since women are already powerless in the role of mother, the ability to chose when they become one gives them freedom to eliminate unexpected pregnancies. **

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;"> Pictured Above: Buttons used to support women and their freedom

<span style="color: #e88c91; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">** Why is this movement controversial? ** <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;"> The topic of abortion is controversial because of the two different groups, pro-life and pro-choice's views on the subject. Their beliefs are as follows: <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">KEY --- Legal on request --- Legal for maternal life, health, mental health, rape, fetal defects, and/or socioeconomic factors --- Legal for or illegal with exception for maternal life, health, mental health, rape, and/or fetal defects --- Illegal with exception for maternal life, health, mental health and/or rape --- Illegal with exception for maternal life, health, and/or mental health --- Illegal with no exceptions --- No information
 * Pro-Life:**
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Abortions should be illegal because embryos are people and have rights too.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">The pro-life supporters are primarily of the Christian religion. They believe killing a fetus is like killing a person.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Some groups are against birth control and emergency contraceptives because it prevents an embryo from forming.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">The French pro-life movement has attracted several thousand people, as have other countries like Spain.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Abortion is an attack on an innocent person.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Generally argue the fetal rights as opposed to the woman's reproductive rights
 * Pro-Choice:**
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Women should have control over their body and whether or not they have an abortion.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Access to sec education, safe and legal abortions, and contraceptives
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Legal abortions protect women from the dangers of an illegal abortion
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Allows women to have abortions when they want one, the pregnancy threatens the mother's health, or in cases of rape [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/56/AbortionLawsMap-NoLegend.png/800px-AbortionLawsMap-NoLegend.png width="568" height="267" align="center" caption="Where abortion is legal and illegal around the world" link="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/AbortionLawsMap-NoLegend.png"]]

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #e88c91; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 156%;">Why is access to abortion and birth control important? <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;"> Abortions give women the ability to chose for themselves when they want to start a family, rather than forcing them to start one just because they got pregnant. This allows children to grow up in more financially stable and sage environments, as opposed to being raised poor. Making abortion legal also prevents illegal abortions from taking place. This would also give power to the lower class, because even when abortions were illegal, wealthy women could still have safer abortions with private doctors. Each year, 78,000 women die from an unsafe abortion and making it legal could prevent this. Its legality also effects black and Puerto Rican women who collectively made up 94% of all U.S. women who died of illegal abortions. Access to abortions and birth control has "equalized women by giving them the right to manage their own body."



**What methods and tactics have been used to further this movement?** <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">The tactics that have been used include forming groups such as <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">NARAL Pro-Choice America and the National Organization for Women and protests. Each y ear, marches take place in order to support pro-choice ideas or even pro-life ideas. Each year on January 22, the same date of the Roe v. Wade trial, thousands of people meet in Washington D.C., hoping to influence representatives that abortion policies should be rejected. This pro-life demonstration is done anually.

**Was this movement successful?** <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">This movement to make birth control and abortion legal was very successful because not only did it make birth control accessible to everyone, but it made it easier to have access to legal abortions. This small feat for women has gained them new freedoms to reproduce when the time is right without the pressure of becoming a mother to quickly. Although there is a long way to go in order to make abortion accepted by everyone, but since 1960, this movement has been extremely successful.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 156%;">** The Gender Wage Gap **



<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;"> <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: left;">Ever since women gained the rights to work in the same occupations as men, there has always been inequality in the work place. One reason for this is because sometimes women’s skills are less valued than mens. A huge inequality is the amount of salary each gender receives. In some cases, women earn less money than men for doing literally the same job. Census shows actual data of a wage gap. For example, in 1989 generally American women were only paid 66 percent to their male equivalent’s salary. Other Census research also shows that it is unclear when the gender wage gap will finally close. Even over four decades after congress outlawed salary discrimination based on gender, women are still paid on average 77 cents for every man's dollar. In October 2009, women became 50 percent of workers on U.S. payroll for the first time. When women and men are doing equal jobs, there is no valid reason for then to receive different salaries

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">** Equal Pay Act of 1963 ** <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 96%;">The Equal Pay Act was a law that aimed to abolish unfair wages based on sex. It was signed into law by John F. Kennedy. This law provided that no employers could discriminate their employees due to gender. The first lines read: AN ACT: To prohibit discrimination on account of sex in the payment of wages by employers engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce. In other words, this act made it illegal for women to be paid lower wages strictly because of their gender. It is extremely dissapointing that almost 50 years after the Equal Pay Act, the gender wage gap is still considerably open.



<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">** Important Cases After the Equal Pay Act: Schultz V. Wheaton Glass Co. (1970)- U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that jobs have to be "substantially equal" but not "identical" to qualify for the Equal Pay Act. **

Corning Glass Works V. Brennan (1974)- U.S. Supreme Court ruled that employers can not defend paying women lower salaries because men would not accept lower rates. This case decision reinforced the idea that there must be equal wages for equal work. Lilly Ledbetter was an employee at Goodyear tires. She was one of the few women supervisors and she had suspicions that she was being paid much less than the other male supervisors. When she received a note stating the salaries of three of her male coworkers, she realized that she was being paid 15-40 percent less than them. She filed a complaint to the EEOC and went on trial. The jury compensated 3.3 million dollars that she deserved. But then, the court of appeals reversed the verdict and claimed that she filed her complaint later than 180 days of her unfair paycheck. When she went to the Supreme Court in 2007 to try to get justice, the court told her that she should have tried to sue her company within the 180 days. Lilly lost the case with a 5 - 4 vote. The court ruled that workers cannot challenge their paychecks, even if they are ongoing, after the allowed time of 180 days. This decision severely damaged employees rights to speak up about discrimination through paychecks and challenge their employers unfair ways.
 * Ledbetter V. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. **

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;"> ** Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act ** On January 29, 2009 Barack Obama signed his first piece of legislation, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Before, workers were able to bring their salary discrimination to court within 180 days of an unfair paycheck. This act restored the employees right to go to court in protest of their discrimination.

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<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">The Paycheck Fairness Act This bill is meant to __strengthen and restore the Equal Pay Act of 1963__ by <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;"> Lilly Ledbetter said herself that if the Paycheck Fairness Act was in law during the time she was getting unfair wages, she would have been able to ask her employer what her salary was compared to her fellow employees without retaliation. This law was passed by the house on January 9, 2009. Many believe that this act could finally close the gap for good.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Making it necessary for employers to show that differences in wages are because of factors other than gender
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Making more severe punishments for equal pay violations
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">prohibiting punishment for workers who reveal their own wages

Ironically, millions of families rely solely on the mother to make a living. This is mostly because more men lost their jobs in the recent economic recession. Many steps have been taken to try to close the Gender Wage Gap but it is still very open, and may take time to fully close. Although the goals of equal salaries for men and women have not been met yet, each new act and court case brings women a step closer to receiving equal wages.