Sex Discrimination

For many years, women were discriminated against because of their gender, even after they gained the right to vote by the Nineteenth Amendment. While reading this article, I found it very interesting that due to the Married Women's Independent Citizenship Act, women did not have the ability to have citizenship, without having a husband. This showed me that women were not looked upon as independent people, but rather as dependent people, who were to rely upon others. While the men were busy fighting in a war or trying to make ends meet during the Great Depression, the women would take over their husbands duties at home. Many women and men worked equal jobs, but ultimately, men were payed higher wages for their work. I believe that a huge change truly came for women in 1963, when the Equal Pay Act went into effect. Although this act still did not cause there to be complete equality for women, it was truly a new beginning for women. One group that I believe was very influential in the 1960s is the National Organization for Women (NOW). "NOW organized protest demonstrations and pickets of major organizations denigrating women. For instance, NOW was instrumental in making The New York Times stop printing a separate job section for women." This group had a very large impact on stopping gender discrimination. By protesting and participating in organizations, women were able to freely express their opinions and beliefs, as well as fight for their rights. In my opinion, NOW, as well as the fight for gender equality reminds me of the fight for racial equality. There were many organizations led by blacks, where they would protest and try to get laws passed to gain equality. For example, Martin Luther King Jr. led protests and marches and he tried to end racial discrimination. I believe that NOW tried to do the same thing, but instead of trying to end racial discrimination, they fought to end gender discrimination, by protesting and organizing demonstrations. Being a women myself, I feel very proud to know that my own gender worked as hard as they did and came together, in order to gain equality for themselves as well as the future generations of women.

"sex discrimination." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 31 Jan. 2010. http://www.americanhistory.abc-clio.com/.