Three Points:

1) NOW observed that the status of women in American society had actually been declining in recent years. They supported this with facts and identified that 75% of working women were relegated to routine jobs that required little skill and earned on average 60% of what men earned.
2) NOW demanded a concerted effort on the part of the government and civil rights organizations to integrate women into the “mainstream of American society.” Women must be provided equal opportunities as men to fulfill their potential.
3) To realize any major advances and provoke change, women needed to unify and mobilize. For fear of discouraging any group of women, NOW did not affiliate itself with any political party. Women had often refrained from voicing their indignation with their position in society for worry of being labelled a feminist, but this attitude must change for any real progress to be made.

Questions:

1) What initiatives did NOW take to enhance the status of women? What impact did they have on the women’s rights movement in America?
2) Did NOW collaborate or receive support from any civil rights organizations?

Observation:

NOW’s Statement of Purpose outlined very specific goals and used facts to prove the inequality of women. I found some of there statistics very startling as I had not realized the extent of male domination in the U.S. only some-odd years ago. I also found it interesting that NOW used the increasing life span of women as support for women going out and achieving outside the household.