Political, Legal & Economic Changes (DP IB History: SL): Revision Note

Summary

• The feminist movement achieved significant legal and political reforms during the 1960s and 1970s, including new laws addressing workplace discrimination, education equality, and reproductive rights

• Feminist organisations successfully lobbied government institutions and used courts to challenge gender discrimination, leading to key rulings such as Roe v. Wade (1973)

• Women gained greater political representation and influence, supported by groups such as the National Women's Political Caucus (NWPC)

• Economic opportunities improved through legislation such as the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Political changes

Increased political representation

• Feminist activism contributed to a gradual increase in women participating in politics and government

  • This challenged traditional male dominance in political institutions

• The National Women's Political Caucus was founded in 1971 by figures such as Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan and Shirley Chisholm

  • It aimed to increase the number of women elected to political office

  • The caucus worked by:

    • Supporting female candidates

    • Lobbying political parties

    • Encouraging women to run for office

• Shirley Chisholm became the first Black woman elected to Congress in 1968

  • Chisholm later ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1972

  • This demonstrated growing political opportunities for women

• The number of women in Congress increased gradually during the 1970s

  • This reflected the growing acceptance of women in political leadership roles

Historiography
Jo Freeman
The Politics of Women’s Liberation (1975)
Freeman argued that feminist groups successfully used political lobbying to increase women’s influence in government and public life.

Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)

• The Equal Rights Amendment became a central political goal of feminist organisations

  • The ERA aimed to guarantee equal legal rights regardless of sex

• In 1972, Congress passed the ERA and sent it to the states for ratification

  • Feminist organisations such as National Organization for Women (NOW) lobbied state legislatures to ratify the amendment

  • By 1977, 35 states had ratified the ERA

  • The amendment ultimately failed to reach the required 38 states

• Opposition led by Phyllis Schlafly argued that the ERA would undermine traditional gender roles and family structures

• The failure of the ERA demonstrated the limits of feminist political influence

Historiography
Phyllis Schlafly

The Power of the Positive Woman (1977)

• Schlafly argued that women should value traditional family roles, stating that “A woman should have the right to be in the home as a wife and mother.”

• She believed the ERA would remove legal distinctions that protected women and undermine the family.

Legal changes

Workplace equality legislation

• The Equal Pay Act of 1963

  • This Act aimed to reduce wage differences between men and women performing the same work

• The Civil Rights Act of 1964, particularly Title VII,

  • Banned employment discrimination based on sex, race, religion, or national origin

• Feminist organisations used these laws to challenge discriminatory employment practices

• The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission became an important institution for enforcing workplace equality

Title IX (1972)

• Title IX prohibited gender discrimination in education programs receiving federal funding

• Title IX significantly expanded women's access to higher education and professional careers

• Universities increased funding for women’s sports and educational opportunities

• Title IX helped challenge institutional authority by forcing educational institutions to change discriminatory policies

Supreme Court cases

• Ruth Bader Ginsburg played a major role in advancing women's legal rights through her work with the ACLU Women's Rights Project

• Reed v. Reed (1971)

  • The Supreme Court ruled that gender discrimination violated the Constitution

• Frontiero v. Richardson (1973)

  • The Court ruled against gender discrimination in military benefits

• These rulings helped establish the legal principle that gender discrimination was unconstitutional

Reproductive rights

• The Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade (1973) legalised abortion nationwide

  • The Court ruled that the Constitution protected a woman's right to privacy, which extended to abortion

• This decision represented a major legal challenge to state authority and traditional gender roles

Economic changes

Employment opportunities

• Women’s participation in the workforce increased significantly during this period

  • Rates among married women rose from approximately 38% in 1960 to over 50% by 1980

  • This reflected a major shift in traditional gender roles

• Legal reforms such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) and Equal Pay Act of 1963 enabled women to enter previously male-dominated professions, including:

  • Law

  • Medicine

  • Business

• Feminist activism helped challenge workplace discrimination and barriers to promotion

• Laws banning employment discrimination improved opportunities for women in business, education, and government

Historiography
Alice Kessler-Harris
Out to Work: A History of Wage-Earning Women in the United States (1982)

• Kessler-Harris argues that increased workforce participation changed expectations but did not eliminate inequality

• She emphasises that economic change was real but incomplete

Wage equality

• Despite the Equal Pay Act of 1963, women continued to earn significantly less than men

  • During the early 1970s, women earned approximately 60% of male wages on average

  • This demonstrated that legal reforms had limited immediate impact on economic equality

• Many women remained in lower-paid sectors such as clerical work, retail, and service industries

  • This highlighted structural barriers that persisted despite feminist activism

• Wage gaps began to narrow gradually during the late 1970s

  • Increasing numbers of married women entered the workforce, reflecting changing economic roles

Expansion of education

• Title IX increased female participation in universities

• Women gained access to previously male-dominated professions such as law and medicine

• Greater educational access contributed to long-term economic improvements