The National Organization for Women Celebrates 40 Fabulous Years

Statement of NOW President Kim Gandy

June 30, 2006

It's not every day we have a landmark anniversary to celebrate, but over the last four decades the National Organization for Women has spent every day fighting for women's rights. We continue to fight because women continue to struggle for equality. This anniversary is an opportunity to focus the country's attention on what we have accomplished, and how much more we have to do.

It was June 30, 1966. Lyndon Johnson was the President of United States and the Beatles arrived in Tokyo as part of their final world tour. Twenty-eight women changed our lives and our status as women forever.

Gathered in Washington, D.C., for a meeting of the state Commissions on the Status of Women, the women were determined to enforce the new federal law banning sex discrimination in employment. But they were informed that their role was only "advisory" and they were blocked from taking action. So they responded by taking a different action—launching a civil rights movement for women. Each woman contributed $5 to help fund the new organization, and the late Betty Friedan wrote on a paper napkin the acronym "NOW." Those three letters started a revolution.

During the last 40 years we have endured setbacks but also achieved extraordinary successes. It's hard for many to believe that 40 years ago flight attendants were fired for being older than 32, and women were routinely canned for being pregnant. Classified ads were separated into "Help Wanted Male" and "Help Wanted Female." Women could not establish their own credit and did not have equal access to education. NOW fought all of those battles, and we won.

Today, we are facing new challenges in protecting our gains and advancing women's rights. Just this week, House Republicans announced they intend to hold votes on issues such as abortion, immigration, and same-sex marriage in the coming months, and state legislatures have undertaken unprecedented attacks on women's reproductive rights. Women's wages have increased to 77% of men's wages (from 59%) but we still deserve the other 23 cents. Women are only 15% of Congress and state governors, and we're a long way from equitable representation among policymakers in government and corporations.

The organization that started with 28 courageous women in 1966 has grown to more than 500,000 contributing members today. Betty Friedan, who died earlier this year at the age of 85, is not here to celebrate today, but she would have been proud. I look at my two young daughters today and am grateful that their lives will be a little easier because women like Betty laid the groundwork for them, and millions of other women and men picked up the banner and carried on the fight.

NOW will be formally celebrating our anniversary starting with the National NOW Conference and Young Feminist Summit in Albany, N.Y., from July 21 through July 23. We hope women everywhere will join us at this empowering and motivating event, where we will also be planning our strategy and priorities for the coming year. We will continue our celebration by honoring courageous women at our annual Intrepid Awards Gala event on September 14.

As we mark the 40th anniversary of the National Organization for Women today, the spotlight is on the feminists, past and present, who fought tirelessly for women's rights, and those who will follow in their footsteps—never giving up the dream of full equality for all.

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For Immediate Release
Contact: Latoya Veal w. 202-628-8669, ext. 116, c. 301-660-3447

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