University Libraries
Women’s Equality Day
By Kevin Cretsos
On Aug. 26, 1970 — 50 years after the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote — 50,000 activists flooded the streets of New York City to participate in the Women’s Strike for Equality. With sponsorship from the National Organization for Women (NOW), activist Betty Friedan led a protest that would spark a movement of second-wave feminism.
The protest spread throughout cities across the country. Housewives went on strike from domestic duties to march, holding signs like “Don’t Iron While the Strike is Hot.” Women from different political and cultural identities united in cause to challenge the status quo of gender identity, employment discrimination, and gender politics.
The movement would help shape greater equality in education with the passing of Title IX in 1972, prohibiting sex-based discrimination in educational institutions. To commemorate the Women’s Strike for Equality, U.S. Rep. Bella Abzug of New York introduced legislation to establish Aug. 26 as Women’s Equality Day; the bill was passed into law in 1973.
In remembering the legacy of Aug. 26, check out some of the Libraries’ resources on women’s suffrage and the history of feminist activism:
Books
- Women's America: Refocusing the Past, edited by Linda K. Kerber
- Feminism Unfinished: A Short, Surprising History of American Women's Movements, by Dorothy Sue Cobble
- Remaking Black Power: How Black Women Transformed an Era, by Ashley D. Farmer
- The Intersection of Race and Gender in National Politics, by Wanda V. Parham-Payne.
- Watching Women's Liberation, 1970: Feminism’s Pivotal Year on the Network News, by Bonnie J. Dow
- Black Women and Politics in New York City, by Julie A. Gallagher
- Speaking Out: Activism and Protest in the 1960s and 1970s, edited by Heather Ann Thompson
- Women Politicking Politely: Advancing Feminism in the 1960s and 1970s, by Kimberly Wilmot Voss
- Equal: Women Reshape American Law, by Fred Strebeigh
- Feminist Coalitions: Historical Perspectives on Second-Wave Feminism in the United States, edited by Stephanie Gilmore
- Governing NOW: Grassroots Activism in the National Organization for Women, by Maryann Barakso
e-Books
- Constitutional Orphan: Gender Equality and the Nineteenth Amendment, by Paula A. Monopoli
- Front Pages, Front Lines: Media and the Fight for Women’s Suffrage, edited by Linda Steiner
- 100 Years of Women's Suffrage: A University of Illinois Press Anthology, compiled by Dawn Durante
- Forging the Franchise: The Political Origins of the Women's Vote, by Dawn Langan Teele
- Funding Feminism: Monied Women, Philanthropy, and the Women’s Movement, 1870-1967, by Joan Marie Johnson
- Rethinking American Women’s Activism, by Annelise Orleck
Electronic Resources
- Women’s Suffrage: Fact Sheet, Elizabeth C. Larson, Kristi R. Meltvedt
- Database: Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000
- Video: The Historic Women's Suffrage March on Washington, by Michelle Mehrtens (video).
— Kevin Cretsos is a library systems support specialist and a member of the University Libraries diversity and inclusion team.