In America on the 26th August 1970 the women strike for equality took place in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the passing of the nineteenth amendment which effectively gave American women the right to vote. The rally was sponsored by the National organisation for women (NOW) and it’s then president “Betty Friedan, who wanted an “action” that would show the American media the scope and power of second-wave feminism.” (COHEN, 2015) with the aim for women to stop working for a day and draw attention to decimation and unequal pay.
Over twenty thousand women took part in the march across the country, and similarly to the suffrage movement it featured placards with slogans such as “Don’t Iron While the Strike is Hot” and simply “women demand equality” .The participating women were diverse but the three main goals of the event were clear and to the point and reflected the overall spirit of second-wave feminism: free abortion on demand, equal opportunity in employment and education, and the establishment of 24/7 childcare centres.(Cohen,2015) The strike also promoted other second wave feminist goals more generally such as political rights for women and social equality in relationships such as marriage.
The aim of the march was to draw attention to equality and the outrage people had due to the fact that women were being treated like second class citizens. At the time of the protest women didn’t have the same rights and freedoms of men, and despite the passing of the equal pay Act of 1963 which prohibited discrimination of pay between two people who had the same job, women still comparatively earned 59 cents for each dollar a man made there were also issues with the amount women that were be granted access to higher education with only 5-10% of women being accepted into institutes of higher education. Therefore, women came together in order to ensure that all citizens were treated equally through a non-violent campaign.
Despite some jeering from men and reactionary women’s groups, Friedan declared the day’s events a success “beyond our wildest dreams.” It was also noted that organisers were also pleased the number of African-American women that participate in the protests as the feminist movement had been largely a white, middle-class phenomenon. (Jwa, n.d.)
The strike received extensive media coverage with both negative and positive reactions. A reporter from the Washington post Phyllis Schlafly stated” that this was a mighty movement and would set America on the right path.”By 1977 the Federal amendment proposing for the equal rights for women was considered by the legislatures of every state and 35 of them approved it. The equality strike is considered a turning point in history for women and stimulated many others to stand up for equality.
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Eve Smith: SAB935 Creative Dissent 
