National Organization for Women

American  

noun

1. a women's rights organization founded in 1966.

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National Organization for Women Cultural  

1. A major feminist organization, founded in the middle 1960s, when the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission failed to enforce a clause in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibiting discrimination on the basis of gender. One of its founders was Betty Friedan. NOW has worked to promote occupational opportunities for women and has supported legislative proposals that would guarantee women equality with men.

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Example Sentences

Friedan co-founded the National Organization for Women in 1966, which lobbied for equal job opportunities, equal pay and for enforcement of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, prohibiting sex discrimination in employment.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 12, 2025

His nomination as director was denounced by the ACLU, the NAACP, the National Organization for Women, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and many other civil rights and civil liberties organizations.

From Salon • Aug. 18, 2025

Her mother, Carole Osman, founded the Broward County chapter of the National Organization for Women and Friedman spent her childhood canvassing for abortion rights and the Equal Rights Amendment at her side.

From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2024

Friedan, a towering figure in the women’s movement who died in 2006, wrote the 1963 groundbreaking book “The Feminine Mystique” and co-founded the National Organization for Women and the National Women’s Political Caucus.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 9, 2023

The National Organization for Women was formed in 1966.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson