10/29/2026
, October 29, 1966, Betty Friedan was elected as the first president of the National Organization for Women (NOW), helping establish what would become the largest grassroots feminist organization in the United States.
Friedan was best known for her 1963 book, “The Feminine Mystique," which challenged prevailing assumptions about women’s roles in American society and helped spark the second-wave feminist movement.
NOW was founded to advocate for women’s equality and to encourage the enforcement of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited employment discrimination on the basis of s*x. Over the decades, the organization has promoted feminist ideals, led societal change, and protected the equal rights of women and girls.