The
Presidential CommissionIn the United States, a Presidential Commission is a special task force ordained by the President to complete some special research or investigation...
on the Status of Women (PCSW) was established to advise the
President of the United StatesThe President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition...
on issues concerning the status of women. It was created by
John F. KennedyJohn Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
's executive order 10980 signed December 14, 1961.
John F. KennedyJohn Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
's administration proposed the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women as a "compromise" measure. It would address people who were concerned about women's status while avoiding alienating the Kennedy administration's labor base through a potential mention of the
Equal Rights AmendmentThe Equal Rights Amendment was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution which was intended to guarantee that equal rights under any federal, state, or local law could not be denied on account of sex...
.
The
Presidential CommissionIn the United States, a Presidential Commission is a special task force ordained by the President to complete some special research or investigation...
on the Status of Women (PCSW) was established to advise the
President of the United StatesThe President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition...
on issues concerning the status of women. It was created by
John F. KennedyJohn Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
's executive order 10980 signed December 14, 1961.
Background
John F. KennedyJohn Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
's administration proposed the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women as a "compromise" measure. It would address people who were concerned about women's status while avoiding alienating the Kennedy administration's labor base through a potential mention of the
Equal Rights AmendmentThe Equal Rights Amendment was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution which was intended to guarantee that equal rights under any federal, state, or local law could not be denied on account of sex...
. While running for the presidency in 1960 John F. Kennedy approached Eleanor Roosevelt for political support. It was granted in exchange for a promise to establish the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women.
Equality vs. protective legislation
Legislation related to women in the workplace up to this time had usually taken the form of protective legislation. Protective legislation advocated gender-based workplace restrictions for women on the belief that their biological differences needed to be accommodated in the workplace. Supported by many 19th century progressives including some feminists (
difference feministsDifference feminism is a philosophy that stresses that men and women are ontologically different versions of the human being. Many Catholics adhere to and have written on the philosophy, though the philosophy is not specifically Catholic...
), protective legislation was supposed to help working women avoid workplace injury and exploitation. However, more often protective legislation provided employers with the justification to avoid hiring women altogether. If women needed so many accommodations in the workplace, it was subsequently easier and cheaper for employers to only hire men.
Until the 1970s,
organized laborA trade union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas, such as working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labor contracts with employers...
opposed the
Equal Rights AmendmentThe Equal Rights Amendment was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution which was intended to guarantee that equal rights under any federal, state, or local law could not be denied on account of sex...
(which would have prevented laws which held different standards for men and women), believing that women workers deserved or needed protective legislation as opposed to equal rights.
The commission is formed
When PCSW began in 1961, Congress began considering 412 pieces of legislation related to women's status. The PCSW's very existence gave the federal government an incentive to again consider women's rights and roles as being a serious issue worthy of political debate and public policymaking. Within that same time period, the
Supreme CourtThe Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States, and leads the federal judiciary. It consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight Associate Justices, who are nominated by the President and confirmed with the "advice and consent" of the Senate...
handed down rulings which allowed women to serve on juries and married couples to use
contraceptiveBirth control is a regimen of one or more actions, devices, sexual practices, or medications followed in order to deliberately prevent or reduce the likelihood of pregnancy or childbirth...
s.
The Kennedy administration itself publicly positioned the PCSW as a
Cold War eraThe Cold War was the continuing state of political conflict, military tension, and economic competition existing after World War II , primarily between the USSR and its satellite states, and the powers of the Western world, including the United States...
initiative to free up women's talents for national security purposes. To win against "
the redsCommunism is a socioeconomic structure and political ideology that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless society based on common ownership and control of the means of production and property in general. Karl Marx posited that communism would be the final stage in human...
", America needed everybody. America could not have everybody if the nation lacked information about women's sociolegal status.
Eleanor RooseveltAnna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and assumed a role as an advocate for civil rights...
, widow of President
Franklin D. RooseveltFranklin Delano Roosevelt , the only U.S. President elected to more than two terms, was a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
, was appointed to chair the PCSW. Roosevelt chaired the PCSW until her death in 1962. A replacement was subsequently appointed to continue the work.
PCSW Members
PCSW committee members came from professional organizations, trade unions, religious groups, social and political clubs. Contrary to latter assertions by some activists from the women's liberation movement, the members were not uniformly white and middle class. They also included men.
- Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and assumed a role as an advocate for civil rights...
, Chair
- Dr. Richard A. Lester, President of Economics, Princeton University
Princeton University a private university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League and is considered one of the Colonial Colleges....
, Vice Chair
- Mrs. Esther Peterson
Esther Eggertsen Peterson was a lifelong consumer and women's advocate.-Background:The daughter of Danish immigrants, Esther Eggertsen grew up in a Mormon family in Provo, Utah. She graduated from Brigham Young University in 1927 with a degree in physical education. She moved to New York City...
, Assistant Secretary of Labor, Executive Vice Chair
- Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician. He was a younger brother of President John F. Kennedy and acted as one of his advisers during his presidency. From 1961 to 1964, he was the U.S...
, Attorney General
- Orville L. Freeman, Secretary of Agriculture
- Luther H. Hodges
Luther Hartwell Hodges was an American poliician, who served as the Democratic governor of the state of North Carolina from 1954 to 1961 and as United States Secretary of Commerce from 1961 to 1965....
, Secretary of Commerce
- Arthur J. Goldberg, Secretary of Labor
- Abraham A. Ribicoff
Abraham Alexander Ribicoff was an American United States Democratic Party politician. He served in the United States Congress, as governor of Connecticut and as President John F. Kennedy's Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare...
, Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare
- John W. Macy Jr., Chair, United States Civil Service Commission
The United States Civil Service Commission was created by the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, which was passed into law on January 16, 1883. The commission was created to administer the civil service of the United States federal government in response to the assassination of President James...
- Senator George D. Aiken (R Vermont)
- Senator Maurine B. Neuberger (D Oregon)
- Representative Edith Green
Edith Louise Starrett Green was an American politician and educator in the state of Oregon. A native of South Dakota, she was raised in Oregon and completed her education at the University of Oregon and Stanford University...
(D Oregon)
- Representative Jessica M. Weis
Jessica McCullough Weis was a two term Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Rochester, New York....
(R New York)
- Mrs. Ellen Body, Rancher and civic leader, Henrietta, Texas
- Dr. Mary I. Bunting, President, Radcliffe College
Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was the coordinate college for Harvard University. It was also one of the Seven Sisters colleges. Radcliffe College conferred joint Harvard-Radcliffe diplomas beginning in 1963 and a formal merger agreement with...
- Mrs. Mary R. Callahan, Member, Executive Board, International Union of Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers, AFL-CIO
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL-CIO, is a national trade union center, the largest federation of unions in the United States and Canada, made up of 65 national and international unions, together representing more than 10 million workers. It...
- Dr. Henry David, President, New School for Social Research
- Miss Dorothy Height
Dorothy Irene Height is an African American administrator, educator, social activist, and a 2004 recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal.-Biography:...
, President, National Council of Negro WomenThe National Council of Negro Women is a non-profit organization with the mission to advance the opportunities and the quality of life for African American women, their families and communities. NCNW fulfills this mission through research, advocacy, national and community based services and...
; Director, Leadership Training Services, Young Women's Christian Association-United States:* Young Women's Christian Association * Young Women's Christian Association of Cincinnati *Griswold Memorial Young Women's Christian Association, Columbus, OH, listed on the NRHP in Ohio...
- Mrs. Margaret Hickey, lawyer, Contributing Editor, Ladies Home Journal
- Mrs. Viola H. Hymes, National President, National Council of Jewish Women
The National Council of Jewish Women is an organization dedicated to community action and forward social movement according to 14 core principles based on and inspired by Jewish values...
- Edgar F. Kaiser, Industrialist
- Miss Margaret J. Mealey, Executive Director, National Council of Catholic Women
- Miss Marguerite Rawalt
Dr. Marguerite Rawalt was an American writer and lawyer who lobbied in Congress on behalf of women's rights. She worked for the Internal Revenue Service for 30 years, and served on the board of directors for numerous interest groups relating to women's rights issues...
, lawyer, former president of National Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs; branch chief in Office of Chief Counsel, IRS
- William F. Schnitzler, Secretary-Treasuer, AFL-CIO
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL-CIO, is a national trade union center, the largest federation of unions in the United States and Canada, made up of 65 national and international unions, together representing more than 10 million workers. It...
- Dr. Caroline Ware, Sociologist, Historian for UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on 16 November 1945...
- Dr. Cynthia Wedel, psychologist, teacher, former Vice President, National Council of Churches
The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA is an ecumenical partnership of 35 Christian faith groups in the United States...
; Member, National Board of Girl Scouts of AmericaThe Girl Scouts of the United States of America is a youth organization for girls in the United States and American girls living abroad...
The Presidential Report on American Women
October 1963, the PCSW issued their final report documenting the status of American women.
The report criticized inequalities facing the American woman in a "free" society while paradoxically praising traditional gender roles as themselves being anti-communist.
Reflecting the then-position of labor and Kennedy's labor ties, the report avoided mentioning the
Equal Rights AmendmentThe Equal Rights Amendment was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution which was intended to guarantee that equal rights under any federal, state, or local law could not be denied on account of sex...
as a potential remedy.
Coverage of the Commission and Report
U.S. Department of Labor Women's Bureau head
Esther PetersonEsther Eggertsen Peterson was a lifelong consumer and women's advocate.-Background:The daughter of Danish immigrants, Esther Eggertsen grew up in a Mormon family in Provo, Utah. She graduated from Brigham Young University in 1927 with a degree in physical education. She moved to New York City...
appeared on The Today Show to discuss commission findings and ramifications.
The
Associated PressThe Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
ran a four-part nationwide story on the final report recommendations, and a 1965 mass-market book was published of the findings.
Creation of a national commission subsequently encouraged states and localities (cities, colleges and universities...etc) to begin studying women's sociolegal status. All fifty states had commissions in operation by 1967.
In 1970 these commissions formed the Interstate Association of Commissions on the Status of Women (IACSW) and in 1975, the IACSW became the National Association of Commissions for Women (NACW) (www.nacw.org). At that time, the NACW expanded to include city and county commissions.
PCSW founds the National Organization for Women
The PCSW was only supposed to research and report on women's status, but that process subsequently radicalized many commission members. Realizing that they were not alone in caring about women's rights, an underground activist network quickly spread across America. It was only then a matter of time before the network publicly organized.
At a subsequent 1966 Citizens Advisory Council on the Status of Women (successor to the PCSW), several of the attendees began talking with each other about their similar frustrations with the
Equal Employment Opportunity CommissionThe U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is a federal agency whose goal is ending employment discrimination. The EEOC investigates discrimination complaints based on an individual's race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, disability and retaliation for reporting and/or opposing...
's (EEOC) lack of interest in enforcing sex non-discrimination.
Howard W. SmithHoward Worth Smith , Democratic U.S. Congressman from Virginia, was a leader of the Conservative Coalition and an avid segregationist.-Early life and education:...
(Virginia) previously had added 'sex' into the 1964 Civil Rights Act to attempt derailing the measure so
African AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa. In the United States, the terms are generally used for Americans with at least partial Sub-Saharan African ancestry...
s would not gain
civil rightsCivil and political rights are a class of rights and freedoms that protect individuals from unwarranted government action and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression....
.
Much to his own surprise, the entire amended Act passed into law without additional floor debate. For the first time, the United States had a law against sex discrimination in federally-funded public accommodations.
Because enforcement against sex discrimination was proving to be much more difficult, the CACSW conference attendees subsequently wanted to create an independent organization--a "NAACP for women" which would press for enforcement of this law and for acchieving other objectives.
The
National Organization for WomenThe National Organization for Women is the largest feminist organization in the United States. It was founded in 1966 and has a membership of 500,000 contributing members and 5987 chapters in all 50 U.S...
(NOW) was founded by former CACSW/PCSW members and public leaders who had grown very frustrated that sociolegal reality was very slow to catch up with both the written laws and their own aspirations of women's equality. A former EEOC commissioner,
Richard GrahamRichard Graham is a historian specializing in nineteenth-century Brazil. He was formerly Professor of History, University of Texas at Austin, and is now professor emeritus there.-Works:...
, was on NOW's first officer board as a Vice President.
Sources
- Davis, F. (1999). Moving the mountain: The women's movement in America since 1960. Chicago: University of Illinois.
- Martin, J. M. (2003). The presidency and women: Promise, performance, and illusion. College Station, Texas: Texas A&M.