EP 757 A Leader in the Feminist Movement Assesses Its Progress and Challenges in 2024

Our guest is a feminist trailblazer who had an inside look at the feminist movement as it progressed from the 1960’s on. Her insights and odes to those who made it possible for women to have virtual integration into all aspects of commerce, the arts and even sports, as we’ve seen, is a far cry from the conditions that existed prior to Betty Friedan and she co-founding the National Organization for Women. Muriel Fox, author of “The Women’s Revolution: How We Changed Your Life”, reminds us that women often could not get mortgages or credit cards on their own, were at the whim of their husbands, even if the behavior would today be considered illegal, at the same time women served longer prison sentences because at the time they were considered ‘harder to rehabilitate’ and the pay inequity was 59 cents on the dollar. Oh, yes, often times job seekers were told whether the position was meant for a woman or a man. We’ve come a long way, baby, but still have much further to go. It’s hard to believe that in 2024 a defining issue of the presidential campaign involves the U.S. Supreme Court’s rescinding a woman’s right to an abortion, unless granted by a state, after a previous court signed on to Roe v. Wade fifty years ago. We will take the long view on today’s episode and discuss prospects for the Equal Rights Amendment that has never become the law of the land.

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