Divided We Stand

The International Women’s Year

President Gerald Ford appointed a US National Commission on the Observance of International Women’s Year (IWY) to coordinate events in the United States related to the UN’s World Plan of Action on women’s issues and its International Women’s Year in 1975.

President John F. Kennedy established a Commission on the Status of Women in 1961. It issues a report in 1963 reporting that most women were homemakers, but they were living longer and joining the workforce in larger percentages. The report called for women to participate more in public life, supported practical proposals such as affordable child care, and highlighted special challenges confronting poor women and women of color. It led directly to the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and to Congressional approval of the Equal Rights Amendment in 1972.

By 1967, all 50 states had women’s commissions. These commissions and groups like the National Organization for Women (NOW) fostered a growing network of politically active women. Ratification of the ERA was a bipartisan goal and passage seemed inevitable.

The IWY Commission recommended bringing more women into the professions...