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Top 10 Facts about Betty Friedan

Betty Friedan, a journalist, activist, and co-founder of the National Organization for Women, was a key figure in the 1960s and 1970s women’s rights movement. She dropped out of the graduate program after a year to work as a reporter for the Federated Press in New York.

But why is Betty Friedan a woman you need to know about?

Betty Friedan (1921-2006) pioneered new ground with her book The Feminine Mystique (1963), which explored the idea of women achieving personal fulfilment outside of their traditional roles.

As one of the founders of the National Organization for Women, she also contributed to the advancement of women’s rights (NOW).

1. Friedan’s mother’s frustration in the workplace inspired her career

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Betty’s mother Miriam expressed her frustration with her decision to leave her career as a newspaper editor in order to become a wife and mother. Why couldn’t her mother have both, she wondered?

Friedan had her own experience as a graduate student in psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, when she felt forced to give up her education in order to marry.

The idea of a woman being compelled to prioritize her personal life over her other accomplishments would eventually inspire her career focus.

2. She was fired when she was pregnant with her second baby

Friedan obtained a job at UE News, a labour trade newspaper, after marrying ad executive Carl Friedan in 1947. Friedan got a new perspective on the challenging environment that women face in the workplace.

Friedan was able to take one-year maternity leave after the birth of her first kid. When she became pregnant for the second time, she was not given leave; instead, she was dismissed, with her coworkers expecting her to request more time off.

3. Her work started as a survey

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Friedan decided to poll her female former classmates about how pleased they were with the balance between their professional and personal life during her Smith College class’s 15th-anniversary reunion in 1957.

Friedan had secured freelance magazine work, was happy and expected that others would have similar experiences. They didn’t, however. Their days seemed to be consumed by washing, chores, and child-rearing, while their dreams were put on hold.

Friedan discovered these phenomena in follow-up interviews with other women, and it was supposed to be the subject of magazine pieces. When editors refused to cover such a contentious subject, it became the basis for The Feminine Mystique.

4. A newspaper strike had an effect on her book

Despite an awful choice of timing, The Feminine Mystique made such an influence, which is a testimonial to its potency.

When the book was released in 1963, New York City newspapers were in the midst of a four-month worker’s strike, limiting the prospects for major publishing titles to gain recognition.

(To boost awareness, the papers would carry reviews or advertisements.) Friedan’s efforts, despite this, were not unappreciated.

The book was excerpted in women’s magazines, and W.W. Norton, the publisher, organized one of the first book tours. She sold more than

1.4 million copies and sparked a nationwide debate over women’s rights.

5. Her professional and personal life were both highly criticized

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Friedan’s analysis of deep-seated unhappiness with gender roles did not go over well with everyone. Some newspaper reviews slammed the book as hysterical and Friedan as overly analytical, while others mocked her appearance and insulted her personally. Friedan was described as having a “magnificent kind of ugliness” by a Washington Post reporter in 1995.

6. Friedan co-founded the National Organization For Women (NOW)

Friedan understood three years after releasing “The Feminine Mystique” that the debate she had provoked was far from over.

She drew three letters on a napkin—NOW—to support the women who were expressing their desire for equal rights.

Additionally, she teamed up with officials from the Third National Conference of Commissions on the Status of Women to start a new advocacy group.

Friedan was elected as the organization’s first president, and a series of public protests against cultural discrimination began. 

7. She organized a nationwide strike of women

Women holding placards. Photo by Callum Shaw on

In 1970, Friedan embarked on one of her most daring endeavours yet: organizing a nationwide women’s strike to raise attention to the unfair distribution of labour in both domestic and commercial settings.

50,000 women marched to the streets of New York City during the Women’s Strike for Equality March, waving signs and expressing their deep dissatisfaction. According to some media, it was the largest demonstration since the women’s suffrage movement decades before.

Title IX, which gave women equal rights in federally funded educational programs, was passed in 1972 as a result of the initiative. Following the strike, NOW membership increased by 50%.

8. She confronted a Supreme Court nominee and won

Friedan taught in 1970 that Supreme Court nominee Judge Harrold Carswell had a history of sexual discrimination, including a judgement in favour of a company that refused to hire a woman because she was a mother.

Friedan opted to appear during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, believing that having an all-male Supreme Court was enough of a problem.

Friedan also galvanized NOW supporters to contact their senators and ask them to vote against Carswell’s confirmation. Carswell was never appointed to the Supreme Court as a result of his efforts.

9. Friedan also fought for abortion rights

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In 1969, Friedan founded the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws (now known as NARAL Pro-Choice America) to fight for abortion rights. She desired that women play a larger role in the political process.

10. Friedan’s husband found it hard to deal with the feminist approach

Friedan’s husband was a strong supporter of her book The Feminine Mystique. However, the marriage was put under strain as a result of her celebrity and subsequent controversies, as well as her activism. In May 1969, they separated after allegations of abuse on both sides.

Betty Friedan laid the groundwork for the modern feminist movement, without her work a lot of women would still be shy to admit that maybe motherhood and chores wasn’t their cup of tea.

She died at 85 at her home of congestive heart failure, according to a cousin, Emily Bazelon.