National Organization for Women

National Organization for Women (NOW), group founded (1966) to support "full equality for women in America in a truly equal partnership with men." Its founder and first president was feminist leader Betty Friedan, author of The Feminine Mystique (1963). Through a program of legislative lobbying, court litigation, and public demonstrations, NOW seeks to end sexual discrimination in employment. The largest women's rights group in the United States, it also supports the establishment of child-care centers for working mothers, legalized abortion, and paid maternity leave, as well as adoption of the equal rights amendment to the U.S. Constitution. NOW works to elect women to office, and seeks the abolition of alimony laws. It consists of approximately 250,000 members, including men, in 800 local chapters affiliated with the main office, located in Washington, D.C.

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National Organization for Women (NOW)

U.S. women's rights organization. It was founded in 1966 by Betty Friedan to promote equal rights for women, particularly in the area of employment. With some 500,000 members (both women and men) and 550 chapters, it addresses, through lobbying and litigation, issues such as child care, pregnancy leave, and abortion and pension rights. In the 1970s its major concern was passage of the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution, though the amendment failed in 1982. NOW has been more successful at the state level, where it has lobbied for state equal rights amendments and comparable-worth (equal pay for equal work) legislation.