What is NOW?

NOW stands for the National Organization for Women. NOW is dedicated to making legal, political, social and economic change in our society in order to achieve our goal, which is to eliminate sexism and end all oppression.

When and how was NOW founded?

NOW was established on June 30, 1966 in Washington, D.C., by people attending the Third National Conference of the Commission on the Status of Women. Among NOW’s 28 founders was its first president, Betty Friedan, author of The Feminine Mystique(1963). Another founder, the late Rev. Pauli Murray, the first African-American woman Episcopal priest, co-authored NOW’s original Read more …

What does NOW do?

NOW strives to: eliminate discrimination and harassment in the workplace, schools, the justice system, and all other sectors of society; secure abortion, birth control and reproductive rights for all women; end all forms of violence against women; eradicate racism, sexism, and homophobia; promote equality and justice in our society. NOW achieves its goals through direct mass actions (including marches, rallies, Read more …

What are NOW’s official priorities?

NOW’s official priorities are pressing for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that will guarantee equal rights for women; achieving economic equality for women; championing abortion rights, reproductive freedom and other women’s health issues; supporting civil rights for all and opposing racism; opposing bigotry against lesbians and gays; and ending violence against women.