Knowra Women’s liberation movement Women’s liberation movement A social movement seeking to challenge women’s subordination in law, work, family, and culture. It is associated especially with the second-wave feminist activism that expanded from the 1960s onward.
Second-wave feminism : A period of feminist activism, especially from the 1960s through the 1980s, focused on legal, social, and cultural inequality. The movement formed a major part of this broader wave of feminism.
Consciousness-raising : A feminist practice in which small groups discuss personal experiences to identify shared patterns of inequality. It translated private experiences into collective analysis and organizing.
Equal Pay Act of 1963 : A United States federal law requiring equal pay for equal work regardless of sex, subject to specified exceptions. Pay discrimination became a central target of campaigns for workplace equality.
Liberal feminism : A feminist approach that seeks gender equality through legal rights, policy reform, and access to existing institutions. The contrast highlights disagreements over reforming institutions versus transforming social relations.
Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 : A United States federal law prohibiting employment discrimination based on pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. It addressed workplace exclusion that equal-opportunity rules had often left unresolved.
National Organization for Women : A United States feminist organization founded in 1966 to pursue women’s equality through advocacy and legal reform. NOW connected movement demands to organized national campaigns and institutions.
Women’s liberation conferences : Gatherings where activists debated feminist demands, built networks, and planned campaigns. Conferences connected local groups and helped establish shared movement priorities.
Title IX : A 1972 United States federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in federally funded education programs. Its protections advanced movement demands for equal educational opportunity.
Radical feminism : A feminist tradition that identifies patriarchy as a fundamental system of social power. Radical analysis shaped many movement groups and their critiques of everyday life.
Equal Rights Amendment : A proposed amendment to the United States Constitution that would explicitly prohibit legal discrimination on the basis of sex. The campaign became a major legislative effort and source of movement conflict.
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