One of the seven original task forces of the National Organization for Women (NOW) was the Task Force on Women in Poverty. Feminists of the 1960s and 1970s are sometimes remembered as mostly middle-class white women who were out of touch with the struggles of women in poverty. However, NOW had a Task Force on Women in Poverty from the beginning.
The chairwoman of the initial Task Force on Women in Poverty was Anna Arnold Hedgeman, who worked for decades as an educator, leader and civil rights advocate. During the early years of NOW, the organization worked to call attention to the feminization of poverty and welfare as a women's issue.
NOW continues to work on issues related to economic justice for women, including Social Security and economic rights for mothers and caregivers.