Three Decades of Struggle: The Equal Rights Amendment

“I remember the first time I wore pants to school, the last day of my junior year. I didn’t imagine how different it would be.”Recounted Denise Prisk about women’s dress codes at school. “After all, we all wore pants during the summer because we didn’t want to have to mend our dresses all the time. But, I argued with myself as I crossed the small threshold of the front doors, most of these people had seen me in pants a few times. They often caught my sisters and me hanging around the creek in pants or shorts. But the small, old school looked new in my eyes. Somehow, everything seemed different. In ways, the world seemed so much more open for women. Even though the small things matter, women weren’t just being allowed to wear pants to school, there were women in high jobs, women that were respected by both genders in authority.” The world was changing for women through the decades, and it was an empowering change.

Many women struggled in the 1950s to make their place in America. After the war, though women were introduced to the workforce due to the necessity of workers and the lack of men, women were expected to go back to being homemakers. Some of the women did go back to their homes, but some women were dissatisfied with the housewife track and continued to work outside of their homes. There were also many inspirational feminist books written in the 1950s, like the “Feminine Mystique” by Betty Friedan. Books like this discussed things like women continuing to pursue successful careers, and others challenged views on equal rights. These daring moves, though they didn’t have many gains, helped the equal movements become more prevalent in society.

There were many struggles in the 1960s for women. Although they were allowed in some higher jobs, the Equal Rights Amendment was not in effect. The Equal Rights Amendment would mean that women would have equal rights as men, and would be treated equally in things such as court and divorces. Though feminine movements were becoming more common, many had trouble getting people to sympathize, especially privileged women that didn’t work.“The women who remained active, even devoted, directed their efforts towards influencing the elites”. Many of the social movements were small and local and weren’t widespread. Women like Alice Paul struggled to the National Women’s Party to pass the Equal Rights Amendment, and it wasn’t until 1972 that it was passed by Congress. Even though women were fighting hard for equal rights, many of the social movements struggled through the 1960s to not only get men to support them, but they also struggled to get privileged women to sympathize with their efforts.

There were many notable women in the working world in the 1970s. Women like Jeanie Seligmann and Lynn Povich infiltrated the journalism industry, taking head positions and promoting women’s health and education. Women were then became more knowledged in their health and were more informed about subjects that focused on them. There were also women in the spotlight, like Rosalynn Carter, the First Lady, that we’re doing many things for women’s rights. Carter traveled to international conferences when her husband couldn’t go and was unaccompanied except for protective staff. This showed how, even internationally, women were beginning to be accepted more often in larger roles, and respected in those roles. Many remarkable women were taking high-paying jobs, and taking control in the 1970s.

Throughout the three-decade period, many advances were made in the equal rights movement for women. Many improvements were made, such as women taking jobs outside of the house in the 1950s. The pressure on passing the Equal Rights Amendment increased greatly in the 60s, though it didn’t get passed by Congress until later. The decade with the biggest advancements, however, was the 1970s. Many women not only were in large roles but were also respected in those roles. They were also able to get information and news for women more widespread, even including it into newspapers. Many girls were also allowed to wear pants to school in the 1970s. There were many advancements in those three decades for women’s rights and many liberating changes.