- National Women's Conference
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In the spirit of the United Nations' proclamation that 1975 was the International Women's Year, on January 9, 1974, U.S. President Gerald Ford issued Executive Order 11832 creating a National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year "to promote equality between men and women". In 1977 President Jimmy Carter chose a new Commission and appointed Congresswoman Bella Abzug to head it. Numerous events were held over the next two years, culminating in the National Women's Conference in November 1977. [1]
Contents
Event
During November 18-21, 1977, twenty-thousand women descended upon Houston, Texas for the National Women's Conference. The goal was to hammer out a Plan of Action to be presented to the Carter Administration and Congress for consideration and/or adoption. Each of the twenty-six Resolutions on Women's Rights in the Plan was proposed to the attendees and voted upon collectively.
The opening ceremony speakers included: First Ladies Rosalynn Carter, Betty Ford and Lady Bird Johnson, activists Coretta Scott King, Bella Abzug, Betty Friedan, Barbara Jordan, Liz Carpenter, and Jean Stapleton. Maya Angelou read the declaration of intent.
Heated debates ensued over issues like the Equal Rights Amendment, reproductive rights, child care funding, sexual orientation, and the rights of disabled, minority and aging women. There was also a lengthy discussion about disarmament and a series of talks featuring numerous women who had reached impressive levels of responsibility in governmental positions such as chair of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Assistant Secretary for the United States Department of Commerce, and head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Outcome
"The National Plan of Action was submitted to the president and Congress in March 1978, and a month later Carter established the National Advisory Committee for Women. The Senate granted a three-year extension for ratification of the ERA within a year of the Houston meeting; this unprecedented move was viewed as a major postconference achievement, despite the final failure of the amendment in 1982."[2] Under political pressure, President Carter fired Abzug from the Commission.[3] No further action was taken by the Administration or Congress on the Plan.
References
External resources
1977 National Women's Conference: A Question of Choices. A production of KERA-TV, Dallas/Fort Worth. Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collections. University of Georgia Libraries.
The Center for the Historical Study of Women and Gender. Binghamton University, New York. "How Did the National Women's Conference in Houston in 1977 Shape a Feminist Agenda for the Future?" http://womhist.alexanderstreet.com/dp59/doclist.htm
Daily Breakthrough. Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University. (Published daily during the National Women’s Conference, Nov. 18-20, 1977.)
Feminists in politics: a panel analysis of the First National Women's Conference. By Alice S. Rossi. http://books.google.com/books?id=6j0qAAAAYAAJ&source=gbs_ViewAPI
Handbook of Texas. http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/NN/pwngq.html
Diana Mara Henry Photography (Photos from the conference.) http://www.dianamarahenry.com/
National Women's Conference, 1977, Audiotape collection (T-88). Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University. http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:RAD.SCHL:sch01249
JoFreeman.com (Photos from the conference.) http://uic.edu/orgs/cwluherstory/jofreeman/photos/IWY1977.html
Ann J. Lane, National Women’s Conference in Houston interviews (T-66). Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University. http://hollis.harvard.edu/?itemid=%7Clibrary/m/aleph%7C011530970
Marjorie Randal National Women's Conference Collection, Courtesy of Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries. http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/uhwarc/00018/warc-00018.html
National Women's Conference Records, Archives and Special Collections Library, Vassar College Libraries. http://specialcollections.vassar.edu/findingaids/national_womens_conference.html
The Spirit of Women: Sisters of '77. http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/sistersof77/
Categories:- Feminism and history
- 1977 in the United States
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