Economic Justice

NOW is fighting for equality in jobs, pay, credit, insurance, pensions, fringe benefits, and Social Security — through legislation, negotiation, labor organizing, education, and litigation. We are helping women break through the "glass ceiling" of the executive suite, and break loose of the "sticky floor" — the dead-end, low wage jobs that keep so many women in poverty. NOW is actively opposed to punitive welfare reform that harms the most vulnerable women and children in our society.

Lesbian/Gay Rights

NOW is committed to fighting discrimination based on sexual orientation in all areas, including employment, housing, public accommodations, child custody, and military and immigration policy. NOW asserts the right of lesbians and gays to live their lives with dignity and security.

Reproductive Rights

NOW affirms that these are issues of life and death for women, not mere matters of choice. NOW supports access to safe and legal abortion, to effective birth control, to reproductive health and education. We oppose attempts to restrict these rights through legislation, regulation (like the gag rule) or Constitutional amendment.

NOW supports the right of women to have children, including appropriate pre-natal care and quality child care. We oppose government efforts to limit or discourage childbearing, such as family caps and involuntary sterilization. (See Medical Students for Choice)

Ending Violence Against Women

NOW challenges and acts to change the image of women as victims, which leaves them vulnerable to sexual assault and spouse abuse. We pioneered model rape and spouse assault legislation as well as support programs for battered women, and NOW was instrumental in passing groundbreaking federal legislation, the Violence Against Women Act. In recent years, increasing anti-abortion violence has been used to limit women's access to reproductive health services, and NOW has brought a precedent-setting racketeering case against these terrorists.

Eliminating Racism

NOW condemns racism and takes action against racism as one of the organization's top priorities. Seeing human rights as indivisible, we are committed to identifying and fighting against those barriers to equality and justice that are imposed by racism.

Advancement of Disability Rights

Women with disabilities face multiple forms of discrimination, making it even harder to achieve their goals. They are disproportionately affected by unequal wages, unemployment, poverty, sexual and physical abuse, and lack of insurance and benefits.

To solve these problems, we must push for universal health care, Medicaid and Medicare funding and accessible medical services. The Americans with Disabilities Act needs enforcement and funding to work.

We must educate doctors, teachers, judges, police officers and others who may be ill prepared to serve women with disabilities. We should demand more research on disabilities that strike women in greater numbers and health conditions that women with disabilities develop; and we need to press for industry-independent studies on complications related to breast implants. We must also raise awareness about invisible disabilities, such as chemical sensitivities and cognitive, developmental, mental or learning disabilities.

These are not the only issues that fall into the wide-ranging category of women's rights. We are concerned, too, about women's health needs, the attitudes toward and position of women in organized religion, the image of women in the media, the special problems of rural women, and many others. All are part of our organizational purpose to "bring women into full participation in the mainstream of American society NOW."

Is there something you can do to make equality a reality for your sisters, your mothers, your daughters, yourself?

Yes, there is...Join NOW

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June 23, 2009

Since its passage on June 23, 1972, there have been repeated attacks on Title IX, the civil rights law that guarantees equal educational opportunities to women and girls. After eight years of Bush administration regulations limiting the impact and effectiveness of Title IX, there is now an opportunity to reinvigorate the law and once again prohibit sex discrimination in educational programs receiving federal funds.

Millions of women and girls have reaped the rewards of Title IX since it was launched 37 years ago with the active support of NOW. According to Women's Sports Foundation, the number of women in school sports increased in 2001 to almost 2.8 million, a nearly ten-fold increase from 294,000 in 1972. Young girls can now watch their favorite women's sports teams in the WNBA and see women's soccer on television; there is a proliferation of sports magazines geared to women; and new generations are being exposed to sports like never before. But the lack of equitable funding and repeated weakening of the law has set women and girls back, and there are many repairs to be done.

With a new administration in the White House, President Obama has an opportunity to restore the integrity of Title IX, both in athletics and in education, particularly with regard to single-sex school regulations that promote sex stereotyping and limit girls' educational opportunities in public schools. The Department of Education must return to its responsibility to promote gender equity and enforcement of the law, and a good start would be to heed the call of the Coalition for Women's Appointments to fill the job of Special Assistant for Gender Equity (SAGE). That position, which was created to "advise the Secretary and Deputy Secretary on all matters relating to gender equity" and "promote, coordinate, and evaluate gender equity programs, including the dissemination of information, technical assistance, and coordination of research activities" languished unfilled during the entire eight years of the Bush administration.

bachmanwms@gmail.com or 247-7377