At the brink of the Cold War, women were still fighting for equal rights and would still be through the 1970 s. In the beginning of the Cold War the Equal Pay for Equal Work is reintroduced to make working conditions and pay equal for men and women. This bill was first introduced in 1972 to Congress, but was vetoed later on, when reintroduced it was not ratified until 1963. The returning men from World War II also brought a problem to women s equality because many were losing their jobs due to the returning servicemen. Studies say that although women were being laid-off and having their jobs turned over to servicemen, that 80% of all women working were still wanting to continue working. A major overturn in women s rights was when Margaret Chase Smith was the first woman to be elected in the US Senate in 1948, and then later became the first woman to run for President in 1964. 1957 became a milestone for women when the number of men and women voting were equal for a first time.

This showed that women were no longer afraid to vote for what they thought was right.

Women s rights were again respectable when a report by the President s

Commission on the Status of Women reported discrimination against women in

almost every way of life. It created the women be able to receive community property in marriages. The Civil Rights Act in 1964 became a major part of the American woman s dream, as some pictures and cartoons of women depicted the woman s place is at the home as entertainment, and a cook, this brought a whole new meaning to the woman s place out in the world. The Civil Rights Act banned the discrimination of any person because of their race, sex, religion, etc.

Throughout the sixties, women s groups appeared in the US Both groups were started by female students that were active in the civil rights movement and political organizations. These liberation groups were most of the time without a leader, and tended to focus on a person s experience. Liberation groups fought for the rights of women through campaigns and the strict enforcement of equal rights laws.

The National Organization for Women (NOW) was founded by author Betty

Friedan and many other leading men and women. NOW helped fight sexual

discrimination, against education opportunities, employment, wages, and divorce. One of the major goals of NOW was to get the Equal Rights Amendment into the Constitution, which stated that men and women must be treated equally by the law. That goal is still in effect because it was not approved by the number of required states by the deadline. Today, NOW is one of the largest women s organizations in the US with both men and women supporters, that now supports and helps women through getting them to run for political offices of all kinds.

The Women s Equity Action League helped monitor educational programs to

identify inequalities in the pay and promotion in the faculty. This program drew attention to the chilly classroom climate, which discouraged female students from discussing and participating in the classrooms. Groups like the Women s Political Caucus, in 1971, focused on finding and helping women candidates for political positions.

The separation of girls from different sports were changed when the Little League decides to involve girls in the baseball sport in deference to a change in social climate, which became the start of the softball branch to keep girls away from the baseball side of the game. This is later on put on challenge when girls begin to start playing guys sports like football, high school wrestling, even to trying out for high school guys baseball teams. One example of a female athlete in a guys sport is Katie Hnida, she was the number one ranked football kicker in the state of Colorado.

Women fighting for rights to be able to terminate pregnancy is a strong issue in the late 1800 s and will continue to be an issue on whether it should be legal or not today. Many people think that abortions should not be legal because having an abortion is like murdering a human being. Many think that in specific situations, abortion is necessary, to rid of the unwanted child due to the result of rape, or any other such punishment in that sort.

What women who call themselves the third wave have been confronting

issues on abortion, the enrollment of military academies, service in combat,

leadership in religious worship, the mommy track, porno, sexual harassment,

surrogate motherhood, Social Security benefits. Many of these women are

confronting these issues so that their daughters and grand-daughters will have an opportunity to develop their own skills and go after their dreams.