America today is a lot different than centuries ago. One of the most aspects that changed the most in particular is women. Liberty, career, freedom to vote, and freedom of ones’ body are the main points of contrast. In today's society, women are far more liberated than they were hundreds of years ago, when compared to the concept of the conservative women in the 1800’s. Throughout history, the fate of women has been greatly centered on domestic work. Women remained indoors, producing clothing, preparing and preserving food, and doing other, what would be called today, “house work”. Society has generally figured that women should be responsible for work in the home over anything else. Such a strongly embedded mindset has affected the activities in which women have been able to participate. Education and work outside of the home have been areas that many women have been unable to access in society because social norms have dictated that women should focus on domestic work. However, these women have deviated outside the norms of society. Through their dedication and determination, they have changed the way women are perceived – making them all incredible and extraordinary women who shaped America.
Over the years women have been pushing for the same equality as men. Women are typically looked down upon and are ignored when it comes to standing up for their rights. In the 1960s an organization called the National Organization for Women was established. This main focus of the organization is to eliminate discrimination in the workplace, secure abortion, birth control and reproductive rights for all women, and end all forms of violence towards women. Betty Friedan wrote NOWs official mission statement which says, “…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”. [8] She goes into detailed exploration of what she believes is the problem for these women. Friedan uses statistics, theories, and first-person accounts to show that the problem is the idealized image of women society has created, which she calls The Feminine Mystique. Women have been confined to the roles of a housewife and a mother, denied of education and career opportunities. Friedan successfully proves that the feminine mystique denies women the opportunity to develop their own ideas by discussing women's educational process, effective look at media, and first-hand accounts with other women. The first reason why NOW is such an important organization is because it focuses on the discrimination towards women in the work place. Women have been discriminated from many different jobs for years. It is common for some men to believe that women are not as capable as