The modern women's movement in the United States occurred in two major waves. The first wave of the feminist movement took place between 1880 and 1930 and included major influences, such as Emma Goldman, Margaret Sanger, Jane Addams and Carrie Chapman Catt. The major achievement of the period was securing the right to suffrage via the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920. However, the movement for liberty and equality suffered, and ultimately collapsed, following the Great Depression and the Second World War.

After a brief period of inertia, the women's movement gained momentum with the onset of the 1960s. After the war, increasing numbers of women joined the paid workforce, although mostly as waitresses, cleaners, shop assistants or secretaries. The second wave of feminism had many successes and failures in relation to provoking a reaction from the government, and gaining media attention.

18 states refused to allow women to be jurors, 17 forbade them from being bartenders and 6 said they could not enter into financial agreements without a male co-signatory

Women’s Magazines, films and advertisements of the 1950s promoted domesticity as the norm and ideal

Twice as many women were employed in 1968 as in 1940. Working women were naturally ore aware of and inclined to discuss inequality in the workplace

Sociologists pointed out how girls were trained to play with dolls and later felt under pressure to emphasise their femininity and hide their intelligence

She wrote about what she described as ‘the problem that has no name’

The Feminine Mystique averred that women were imprisoned in a ‘comfortable concentration camp’

She urged women to break out of the camp and fulfil their potential

The book tapped into women’s discontent and was a bestseller, particularly among college students

It publicised that groups could be discriminated against on the grounds of culture and physical characteristics

It showed the power of pressure groups in gaining legislative reform

Women faced discrimination and sexual harassment in organisations such as SNCC, SCLC and CORE which inspired many female CR activists to campaign for gender as well as racial equality

This prompted Betty Friedan, pioneers of the labour movement, business women, professional women and participants of the CRM to form the National Organisation for Women (NOW)

NOW aimed to monitor the enforcement of the legislation, and to demand an amendment to the Constitution that affirmed women’s right to equality

NOW’s tactics included litigation, political pressure, public information campaigns and protests

Produced a Bill of Rights for Women, which sought the enforcement of Title VII, equal access to education, employment, maternity leave and reproductive rights

From 1967, women discussed discrimination and inequality in consciousness-raising meetings in colleges and in the community

Gloria Steinem published Ms. a magazine that explored issues such as female sexuality and the glass ceiling

They threw bras, girdles, curlers, flash eyelashes, wigs and other “women’s garbage’ into a freedom trash-can

They sang “ Atlantic City is a town without class, they raise your morals and they judge your ass

This woman was a high school junior in 1971 when she wanted to compete for her school's swim team in St. Paul, Minnesota. She was told she could not because her school did not allow it

A United States law enacted on June 23, 1972 that states: "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."