- Second wave feminism It challenged the basis of women’s roles in society and was influenced by writers such as Betty Friedan.
- A study published in 1963 and commissioned by President Kennedy, called ‘Report on American Women.’
Several highly educated women had worked on this survey, and it was read by the elite who found the statistics of unequal pay, opportunities, political participation, and status disturbing.
- The 1960s was an era of change with the grassroots movement. The Republican Ascendancy of the Eisenhower years gave way to a reforming Democratic administration led by Kennedy.
His ‘New Frontier’, while not closely defined, gave the impression that change, and modernisation was needed in the USA. Johnson expanded on this idea in his ‘Great Society’ programme.
- The re-emergence of political demands coincided with a period of change in US politics and society. (Parallels could be drawn with the Progressive Era and the New Deal) The reappraisal of what was important to US society in the 1960s, especially after Kennedy’s death, led to a reconsideration of the role of women.