IV 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 695 

Honoring the life and accomplishments of Betty Friedan. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 16, 2006 

Ms. SOLIS (for herself, Mrs. CAPPS, Mrs. MALONEY, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of 

Texas, Ms. LEE, Mr. NADLER, Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Ms. 

MCCOLLUM of Minnesota, Ms. WATERS, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. EVANS, Ms. 

DELAURO, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. FARR, Ms. PELOSI, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. 

MCDERMOTT, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, and Ms. SCHAKOWSKY) submitted the 

following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Government 

Reform 

RESOLUTION 

Honoring the life and accomplishments of Betty Friedan. 

Whereas Betty Friedan was born to Harry and Miriam Goldstein on February 4, 1921, in Peoria, Illinois, as Bettye 

Naomi Goldstein, the eldest of three children; 

Whereas Betty Friedan graduated as valedictorian of her 

high school in 1938, graduated summa cum laude from 

Smith College in 1942, and completed graduate work in 

psychology at the University of California, Berkeley; 

Whereas Betty Friedan won a second fellowship to study for 

her doctoral degree at the University of California at 

Berkley, an honor that had never previously been awarded to a psychologist or a woman; 


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Whereas Betty Friedan began a study in 1957 at the 15th 

reunion of her graduating class from Smith College about 

the lives of women in the post-World War II era, and 

that study eventually became the popular, 

groundbreaking nonfiction book published in 1963, ‘‘The 

Feminine Mystique’’; 

Whereas Betty Friedan helped launch the modern women’s 

rights movement by identifying ‘‘the problem that has no 

name’’ with the publication of ‘‘The Feminine Mystique’’, 

which is widely regarded as one of the most influential 

nonfiction books of the 20th century, had sold more than 

3,000,000 copies by the year 2000, and has been translated into many languages; 

Whereas Betty Friedan and 27 other women and men founded the National Organization of Women (NOW) in June 

1966, a highly influential organization promoting equality 

for women that grew into the largest feminist organization in the United States; 

Whereas Betty Friedan was elected NOW’s first president in 

1966, and served in that role until 1970, and coauthored, 

with Dr. Pauli Murray, NOW’s original Statement of 

Purpose, which began, ‘‘The purpose of NOW is to take 

action to bring women into full participation in the mainstream of American society now, exercising all the privileges and responsibilities thereof in truly equal partnership with men.’’; 

Whereas Betty Friedan, during her tenure as president of 

NOW, encouraged the Equal Employment Opportunity 

Commission (EEOC) to enforce laws prohibiting sex discrimination in the workplace and to ban help wanted advertisements that were segregated by sex; 


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Whereas Betty Friedan, during her tenure as president of 

NOW, encouraged President Lyndon Johnson in 1967 to 

sign Executive Order 11375 to bar gender discrimination 

in Federal employment and in employment by Federal 

contractors and subcontractors; this Executive Order 

11375 expanded the scope of Executive Order 11246, 

which was signed in 1965 and barred discrimination on 

the basis of race, color, religion, or national origin; 

Whereas Betty Friedan, during her tenure as president of 

NOW, worked towards the elimination of sex discrimination in the airline industry, in which prior to 1968, almost all stewardesses were women, and were usually fired 

when they married or reached 32; 

Whereas Betty Friedan helped lead the NOW Women’s 

Strike for Equality on August 26, 1970, in New York 

City in which hundreds of thousands of women and some 

men marched on the 50th anniversary of women earning 

the right to vote with the ratification of the 19th Amendment; 

Whereas Betty Friedan helped establish the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws in 1969, now 

known as NARAL Pro-Choice America, a leading national advocacy group dedicated to protecting the right to 

privacy and reproductive freedom; 

Whereas Betty Friedan, with Congresswoman Bella Abzug 

and Gloria Steinem, helped establish the National Women’s Political Caucus in 1971, a group dedicated to increasing women’s participation in the political process 

and promoting pro-choice women candidates for elected 

and appointed offices at all levels of government regardless of party affiliation; 


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Whereas Betty Friedan continued to write influential books 

throughout her life, including ‘‘It Changed My Life: 

Writings on the Women’s Movement’’, published in 1976, 

‘‘The Second Stage’’, published in 1978, ‘‘The Fountain 

of Age’’, published in 1994, ‘‘Beyond Gender: The New 

Politics of Work and Family’’, published in 1997, ‘‘Life 

So Far: A Memoir’’, published in 2000; 

Whereas Betty Friedan contributed to the academic world as 

a Visiting Distinguished Professor at the University of 

Southern California, New York University, University of 

California at Los Angeles, George Mason University, and 

as an Adjunct Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars; and most recently, she 

served as Distinguished Visiting Professor at Cornell 

University, School of Industrial and Labor Relations and 

Director of the New Paradigm Program at the Institute 

for Women and Work; 

Whereas Betty Friedan advocated on behalf of women as well 

as the elderly, children and working families throughout 

her life; 

Whereas Betty Friedan helped change the way women and 

men thought about gender roles at a time of important 

political and social change in the United States; 

Whereas Betty Friedan helped give a voice to thousands of 

women and helped them realize their immense potential 

to contribute to the business, educational and political 

realms, as well as family life; 

Whereas Betty Friedan helped launch the women’s rights 

movement that left an enduring mark on many of the advancements toward gender equality in the last 50 years, 

including pay equity, child care for working women, inVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:26 Feb 18, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR695.IH HR695

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creasing numbers of women entering the workforce and 

protecting reproductive choice, and that the work towards 

equality must continue; and 

Whereas Betty Friedan died on February 4, 2006, at the age 

of 85, in Washington, DC: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives recog2 nizes and honors the work and contributions of Betty 

3 Friedan to the improvement of the status of women and 

4 women’s lives in the United States and around the world. 

Æ 


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