Betty Friedan | Radcliffe Institute

In 1961 John F. Kennedy established a presidential commission to examine and report on the status of American women. The President's Commission on the Status of Women invited Betty Friedan to be part of their Mass Media Consultation in 1963. Friedan's copy of the commission's report is heavily annotated with asterisks next to recommendations she favored and ideas for future stories. The Schlesinger Library at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study houses Betty Friedan's extensive papers. Learn more at

Betty Friedan received thousands of letters in response to her book, The Feminine Mystique. Gerda Lerner was at the beginning of her career as a historian when she wrote a letter to Betty Friedan critiquing the her assumption of universality of experience based on gender. Lerner's early articulation of the importance of race and class to gender realities shows how pioneering she was. The Schlesinger Library at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study houses Betty Friedan's extensive papers. Learn more at

Frustrated with the slow rate of change in laws and cultural expectations for women, a group of men and women founded the National Organization for Women (NOW) in 1966. Betty Friedan was president of NOW from 1966 to 1970. Accomplishments during her tenure include achieving an end to sex-segregated job advertisements and advocating for affordable child care. The Schlesinger Library at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study houses Betty Friedan's extensive papers. Learn more at