Second Wave Feminism

The first wave of feminism gained women the right to vote, but there was still a long way to go regarding women's rights. Women were still treated as second-class citizens in the workplace and had very few rights. Second Wave Feminism changed that, paving the way toward greater equality between men and women in America.

Women's Liberation poster by Gary Yanker, 1970. Source: Library of Congress, Wikimedia Commons.

Second Wave Feminism Definition

Second Wave Feminism was a women's rights movement beginning in the early 1960s and ending in the early 1980s. Many mark the beginning of the Second Wave with the publication of Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique in 1963, which opened many women's eyes to possibilities of fulfillment outside the home.

Second Wave Feminism Timeline

The Second Wave of Feminism primarily took place during the 1960s and 1970s in America, but the circumstances that led to the movement happened much earlier.

Before 1963

During World War II, women entered the workforce to support the war effort and address a shortage of male workers brought on by the draft. After the War ended, they were sent back to the domestic sphere to marry returning soldiers and raise children. Even though women had gained the right to vote in the First Wave of the feminist movement, they had very few rights otherwise.

Women in Post World War II America were considered second-class citizens. They were barred from many universities and from holding certain jobs. When they did find work, it was for lower pay than men and often restricted to menial positions. In addition, poor and African-American women faced forced sterilization, usually done without their knowledge, during unrelated medical procedures.

White, middle-class married women were expected to stay home, do all the housework, and raise the children. One such woman was writer Betty Friedan, who worked while married despite the stigma against it until she was fired for being pregnant. Locked into domestic life, she began to ponder why she felt dissatisfied with the life she was told should be the ultimate goal for women: a house in the suburbs, economic security, a husband and children to care for. This dissatisfaction, and the guilt that followed it, was the "problem with no name."

1963: The Movement Begins

Friedan published the Feminine Mystique in 1963, defining the "problem with no name" as the loss of a woman's identity as an individual when they relegate themselves to a solely domestic life. The woman becomes only someone's wife or someone's mother and is no longer herself. Friedan argued that in order for a woman to have a meaningful life, she needed to work outside the home. The book resonated with countless American women who felt the same sense of dissatisfaction with domestic life as Freidan described. They wished to leave the life their husbands and the media prescribed for them and demanded a place in the public sphere.

In 1964, President Kennedy passed Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibited employment discrimination on the basis of sex in addition to race, religion, and national origin. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was set up to investigate workplace discrimination. However, they initially refused to deal with sex discrimination cases. Friedan and other activists formed the National Organization for Women (NOW) in 1966 to pressure the EEOC to enforce Title VII.

The 1960s also saw the dawn of the protest movement surrounding civil rights and the Vietnam War. The male leaders of these movements refused to include women in their leadership, so these women formed their own protest movements for women's liberation. The women's liberationists strove for an equal role in society alongside men and to remove the stigma of a woman's active participation in politics, activism, and leadership.

Women's Liberation March in Washington, D.C., 1970 by Warren K. Leffler. Source: Library of Congress, Wikimedia Commons

Second Wave Feminism Goals

The primary aims of the Second Wave were to increase social and employment equality and establish reproductive rights for women in the United States. To accomplish these goals, women's rights activists turned to the political arena to push formal legislation designed to protect women and close the rights gap between men and women.

Other goals for Second Wave feminists included free childcare, which would allow women of all socioeconomic backgrounds to work outside the home. In addition, they lobbied for married women to hold credit cards and bank accounts in their own names. They also argued for the introduction of no-fault divorce, which removed the rule that one could only seek divorce if there were a fault in the marriage, such as adultery.

Additionally, they sought to protect women by drawing greater awareness to domestic violence and rape issues. Finally, they emphasized the importance of women's health and demanded medical specialists who understood a woman's body. This emphasis led to the opening of clinics and greater encouragement for women to become physicians.

Second Wave Feminism Leaders

Let us take a look at the leaders of the second wave feminism.

Betty Friedan

Betty Friedan was a writer and political activist.

Betty Friedan in 1978 by Lynn Gilbert. Source: Lynn Gilbert, CC-SA-BY-4.0, Wikimedia Commons

In 1963, she published The Feminine Mystique, which sparked the Second Wave movement. Friedan believed that the way to create lasting change for women's rights was through the political arena. She co-founded the National Organization for Women (NOW) to force the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission in 1968 to recognize sex discrimination in the workplace. Friedan spearheaded the Women's March for Equality in 1970 to raise awareness of the growing women's rights movement. Additionally, she co-founded the National Women's Political Caucus to recruit and train women to gain political positions.

Gloria Steinem

Gloria Steinem gained renown in 1963 when she published an exposé while working as a Playboy Bunny at the New York Playboy Club.

Gloria Steinem in 1972 by Warren K. Leffler. Source: Library of Congress, Wikimedia Commons.

The article, titled "A Bunny's Tale," detailed how female employees were mistreated and exploited by the Club's management, even to the point of demands for sexual favors. Steinem's women's rights activism began in 1969 with the publication of an article titled "After Black Power, Women's Liberation" for New York Magazine. In the article, she offered a new perspective on the concept of liberation, stating,

Steinem founded the feminist publication Ms. Magazine in 1972, immediately gaining an extensive following. Through her success with Ms. Steinem became the first woman to speak at the National Press Club. She co-founded the National Women's Political Caucus with Friedan in 1971 and remains a vocal advocate for reproductive and civil rights.

Shirley Chisholm

Shirley Chisholm was the first Black woman elected to Congress in 1968, representing Brooklyn, New York.

Shirley Chisholm in 1972 by Thomas J. O'Halloran. Source: Library of Congress, Wikimedia Commons

She championed the women's and minority rights movements during her seven terms. In 1972, she was the first woman and African American to run for President.

Chisholm advocated for better childcare to improve employment opportunities for women and the poor. She co-founded the National Women's Political Caucus alongside Friedan and Steinem. Additionally, she argued for the Equal Rights Amendment beginning in 1970, which would pass Congress in 1972. In her speech on August 10, 1970, she asked:

Chisholm served in Congress until 1983. She then accepted a chair position at Mount Holyoke College and gave lectures at numerous other colleges. In 1990, she co-founded African American Women for Reproductive Freedom, raising awareness that even after Roe v. Wade, abortion was still not a choice for many African American women because of the stigma and judgment associated with the operation.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a lawyer, women's rights activist, and Supreme Court judge.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 1977 by Lynn Gilbert. Source: CC-BY-SA-4.0, Wikimedia Commons

She founded the Women's Rights Law Reporter in 1970, which was the first law journal to deal exclusively with women's rights. In 1972 Ginsburg co-founded the American Civil Liberties Union's Women's Rights Project and became its general counsel the following year. In her first year in this role, she defended women in more than 300 gender discrimination cases. Between 1973 to 1976, she argued six gender discrimination cases to the Supreme Court and won five. Ginsburg also fought against the forced sterilization of Black women, filing a federal suit in 1973 on behalf of a woman sterilized by the state of North Carolina. She was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1993, where she continued her fight against gender discrimination.

Second Wave Feminism Achievements

The most significant achievements of the Second Wave fall into two main categories: women's discrimination and workplace rights and reproductive rights. Each type saw political inroads with landmark Supreme Court cases and legislation, paving the way for better inclusion of women in the workforce and government and offering protection for women's health.

Women's Discrimination and Rights in the Workplace

Before the Second Wave, women were discriminated against in the workplace by their male colleagues and supervisors. They often did the same work for less pay or were restricted from specific positions because of their gender. Additionally, many state laws explicitly barred women from holding estates or seeking a divorce. Consequently, creating legal protections for women against gender discrimination was a primary goal for Second Wave feminists.

Title VII and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, employers could not discriminate against employees on the basis of sex. However, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) that was set up to enforce these new laws refused to act in cases of sex discrimination. Betty Friedan and other women's rights activists founded the National Organization for Women (NOW) to fight this decision. They successfully pressured the EEOC to act on women's behalf.

Pregnancy Discrimination Act (1978)

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act made it illegal for employers to discriminate against pregnant employees. Under the Act, pregnant women are offered the same protections as disabled employees. Congress passed the law in response to a Supreme Court case that ruled against a woman fired for being pregnant, claiming that under the Equal Protection Clause, there was no discrimination. However, because men could not get pregnant, they ruled that for the healthcare coverage to be equal, it could not cover pregnancy. The Act overturned this verdict and allowed pregnant women full healthcare and employment protection.

Reproductive Rights

Activists put great energy into securing women's reproductive rights during the Second Wave. Women started controlling the conversation about their own healthcare and demanding the right to choose whether or when to have children. Women's rights activists achieved significant victories in several landmark Supreme Court cases.

Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)

The first Supreme Court case to deal with reproductive rights was Griswold v. Connecticut, which determined that married couples could use contraception without government restrictions. The Court removed a Connecticut law that banned any attempt to prevent the conception of a child because it violated the right to marital privacy. This concept of privacy regarding reproductive decisions was to form the basis of additional progressive Court rulings, expanding women's rights regarding their own healthcare.

Eisenstadt v. Baird (1972)

William Baird gave a condom to an unmarried student after a lecture at Boston University and was charged with a felony. Under Massachusetts' strict "Crimes Against Chastity" law, contraception for unmarried people was illegal, as was distributing contraception without a medical license. The Supreme Court took up the case after a series of appeals, declaring that Massachusetts illegally discriminated against nonmarried couples by allowing contraception for only married couples. This case was a significant win for advocates of women's reproductive rights.

Roe v. Wade (1973)

Winning reproductive rights was a major goal for Second Wave feminist activists. Abortions were illegal and subject to intense punishment in the 1960s, but due to ardent activism by the early 1970s, women could obtain a legal abortion in some states. Roe v. Wade struck down a Texas law prohibiting abortion under any circumstances, including when a woman's health was at risk or in cases of rape or incest. In addition, the Supreme Court established a new standard that made abortions during the first trimester legal because they fell under a woman's right to privacy, recently established in previous Court cases.

The right for women to seek an abortion has been a hotly contested issue for decades and only intensified under Roe v. Wade. While women's rights activists see it as a cornerstone of a woman's right to privacy and to make decisions about her own healthcare, conservative, religious activists see it as taking a life. Conservatives have long chipped away at the rights provided by Roe v. Wade, for example, disallowing the use of Medicaid for abortion treatment. In 2022, the conservative side won the day when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, again giving individual state legislatures the choice of whether to allow abortions in their state.