Second Wave of-WPS Office

Second Wave of Feminism
The second wave feminism movement took place in the

1960s and 1970s and focused on issues of equality and
discrimination. Starting initially in the United States with
American women, the feminist liberation movement soon
spread to other Western countries. The historical primary
sources available in Gale’s Women’s Studies Archive
provide scholars with unique primary sources and
documents through which to explore this era of feminism
and understand how it fits with other liberation
movements, from suffrage to modern feminism.
Researchers can search the available materials to uncover
details of the feminist movement across the years, from
the early years of suffrage through the second wave and
other twentieth century political movements.
Unfolding in the context of the anti-war and civil rights

movement, the catalyst for second wave feminism was
Betty Friedan’s 1963 book, The Feminine Mystique, which
criticized the postwar belief that a woman’s role was to
marry and bear children. Though her feminist thinking
wasn’t revolutionary—indeed, there were many similar
feminist thinkers before Friedan, including Simone de
Beauvoir—The Feminine Mystique had a far greater reach,
bringing feminism to the attention of everyday women,
mothers, and housewives. The feminist movement took
off, focusing on public and private injustices, such as rape,
reproductive rights, domestic violence, and workplace
harassment. Second wave feminists cared deeply about
exposing and overcoming the casual, systemic racism
present in society—unlike the suffragists and suffragettes
of the nineteenth century, who focused largely on political
equality through suffrage. Second wave feminists realized
that women’s cultural and political inequalities were
inextricably linked. They worked under a unifying goal of
social equality, with sexuality and reproductive rights
being central concerns to the liberation movement, and
with much of the movement’s energy being focused on
passing the Equal Rights Amendment.
Although the Equal Rights Amendment still hasn’t been

ratified, second wave feminism had many successes. The
approval of the contraceptive pill by the Food and Drug
Administration in 1960 gave women more control over
their reproductive rights—within five years, around 6
million women were using it. Feminists also worked and
gained women the right to hold credit cards and apply for
mortgages in their own name and outlawed marital rape.
Awareness around domestic violence was raised, and
gender and women’s studies departments were founded
at universities and colleges. The passing of the Equal Pay
Act in 1963, Title IX in 1972, and Roe v. Wade in 1973 were
legislative victories for feminists.
Gender equality and equity
Gender equity is the process of being fair to women and

men according to their respective needs. To ensure
fairness, strategies and measures are needed to
compensate for women’s historical and social
disadvantages that prevent women and men from
otherwise operating on a level playing field. The picture
demonstrates the comparison of gender equity with
‘equality’ (where it has been assumed that everyone
benefits equally from the same support).
Gender equity leads to actual gender equality. Actual

gender equality means equal outcomes for men and
women; equal enjoyment by women and men of goods,
opportunities, resources and rewards. Gender justice is
the ideal end point, and can be achieved by removing
barriers to opportunities and resources through
addressing the root causes of gender inequality.
Where gender inequality exists, it is generally women who

are excluded or disadvantaged in relation to decision-
making and access to economic and social resources.
Therefore, the empowerment of women is key in achieving
gender equality, with a focus on identifying and redressing
power imbalances and ensuring that women have more
autonomy to manage their own lives.
Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality
of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to
resources and opportunities regardless of gender,
including economic participation and decision-making, and
the state of valuing different behaviors, aspirations, and
needs equally, also regardless of gender.
Gender equality can refer to equal opportunities or formal
equality based on gender or refer to equal representation
or equality of outcomes for gender, also called substantive
equality.[3] Gender equality is the goal, while gender
neutrality and gender equity are practices and ways of
thinking that help achieve the goal. Gender parity, which is
used to measure gender balance in a given situation, can
aid in achieving substantive gender equality but is not the
goal in and of itself. Gender equality is strongly tied to
women's rights, and often requires policy changes.

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Second Wave of Feminism

The second wave feminism movement took place in the

Unfolding in the context of the anti-war and civil rights

Although the Equal Rights Amendment still hasn’t been

Gender equality and equity

Gender equity is the process of being fair to women and

Gender equity leads to actual gender equality. Actual

Where gender inequality exists, it is generally women who

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