Second Wave Movement

The Second Wave took place during the 1960's to the 1980's. This movement was focused on gender inequality in laws and culture; it addressed issues of discrimination and expressed a desire to end it.

During 1961, then-President John Kennedy established the President's Commission on the Status of Women. He appointed Eleanor Roosevelt as chairwomen. In the report that was issued by the Commission in 1963 it documented much evidence of discrimination against women in the workplace. It made for specific recommendations for improvement.

In June 1963, Congress passed the Equal Pay Act. This act made it illegal for employers to pay a women less than a man for the same job.(Brunner) It is interesting to note though that today women on average are paid 77% of a man's pay.(Fitzpatrick) Through the next five years, more commissions and expanded orders came out that would investigate workplace complaints, impose penalties, prohibit discrimination based on gender which would enforce that federal agencies and contractors took active measures to ensure that women - and minorities - had the same educational and employment opportunities as white males. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (which came out in 1964) ruled in 1968 that sex-segregated help wanted ads in the newspapers were illegal. Later in 1973 this ruling was upheld by the Supreme Court which opened the way for women to apply for higher-paying jobs which were before only open to men.