It is not surprising that the National Organization for Women (NOW) created a Task Force on Equal Opportunity of Employment as one of its seven initial task forces. Equal opportunity of employment was a chief focus area of NOW and 1960s feminism.
In fact, NOW was partly born out of frustration at the discrimination women faced in the workplace and in seeking employment. Two of NOW’s original officers, Richard Graham and Aileen Hernandez, were members of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). They had often disagreed with their fellow Commissioners, who were either unwilling or unable to really combat sex discrimination.
Despite the inclusion of “sex” in Title VII of the the Civil Rights Act, women still faced segregated job ads, a long fight for equal pay, and harassment with little to no protection. They also often dealt with social stigma for working outside the home or working-class poverty, depending on their social class.
The 1966 Statement of Purpose declared that NOW was “opposed to all policies and practices -- in church, state, college, factory, or office -- which, in the guise of protectiveness, not only deny opportunities but also foster in women self-denigration, dependence, and evasion of responsibility.”
The NOW task force on Equal Opportunity of Employment protested commonplace practices such as:
- Sex-segregated job ads (i.e. “Help Wanted Male” and “Help Wanted Female”)
- Keeping women out of high-paying jobs that required lifting more than 35 pounds
- Prohibitions on the number of hours women could work
- Failure of federal contractors to file affirmative action plans for hiring women
In the early years after NOW was formed, the Task Force on Equal Opportunity of Employment pressured the government to end discrimination. NOW members organized demonstrations at EEOC field offices across the United States.